Notre Dame Beats Mississippi State for NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship

Every basketball player has a dream of winning an important game with a last second basket. Notre Dame’s Arike Ogunbowale lived out that dream in both games of the 2018 Women’s Final Four in Columbus, Ohio.

On March 29th, Notre Dame took on undefeated UCONN in a national semifinal. The game was all tied up 79-79 at the end of regulation. It was tied at 89-89 when Ogunbowale hit a jumper with one second left in overtime for a 91-89 win over the Huskies. This scenario happened to UCONN last season; that undefeated team lost in a national semifinal on a last second shot to Mississippi State.

Speaking of Mississippi State, the Bulldogs happened to be the opponent for Notre Dame in the National Championship game, having defeated Louisville in their semifinal. Last season, Mississippi State couldn’t follow up the UCONN victory and lost to South Carolina in the championship game, so they were looking to take that last step to the top. With the score tied 58-58 with time running out, it looked like this one would go into overtime, too. But Ogunbowale hit a three pointer with 0.2 seconds left to give the Fighting Irish a 61-58 victory and their second NCAA title (the first was in 2001).

Ogunbowale, who scored 27 points in the UCONN win and 18 against Mississippi State, was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. She led the Irish in scoring this season. The junior from Milwaukee is the sister of former University of Wisconsin running back Dare Ogunbowale. Look for her in the WNBA when her college career is over.