COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Milwaukee native Arike Ogunbowale hit a 3-pointer from the corner with a tenth of a second on the clock to lift Notre Dame to its second women's basketball title, a 61-58 victory over Mississippi State in the NCAA championship game on Sunday night.
It was the second straight game that the junior guard hit a shot in the final second to carry the Irish. Her jumper with one second left knocked off previously unbeaten UConn in the semifinals.
NOTRE DAME... WOW pic.twitter.com/Vs3uR9a9nx
— NCAA Women's BKB (@ncaawbb) April 2, 2018
Ogunbowale went to high school at Milwaukee’s Divine Savior Holy Angels where shew as a 2015 McDonald’s High School All-America selection, just the third female Wisconsin native ever to earn McDonald’s All-America status. She was also a three-time Gatorade Wisconsin High School Player of the Year and a three-time Associated Press Wisconsin High School Player of the Year from 2013-15.
With the game tied, Ogunbowale took the inbounds pass and dribbled to the corner, hitting the game-winner.
"It just felt right," said Ogunbowale, who scored 14 of her 18 points in the second half. "I practice late-game all the time. I just ran to Jackie and said, 'Throw it to me, throw it to me.'"
Ogunbowale earned most outstanding player honors for the tournament.
The title came 17 years to the day after the Irish's only other championship in 2001.
They pulled off the biggest comeback in title game history, rallying from a 15-point deficit in the third quarter and a five-point deficit in the final 1:58.
It’s been a whirlwind weekend for Ogunbowale, that included a Twitter back-and-forth with Kobe Bryant, who was in the stands for Friday’s game.
Bryant congratulated on Ogunbowale on Twitter, and she responded that her life was “complete” after receiving the compliment.
Bryant responded that her “life would be complete by finishing the job on Sunday.”
Consider that job complete.
Big time shot Arike! We are a @UConnWBB family but we love seeing great players making great plays. I know my lil sis @jewellloyd is happy Well done @ndwbb good luck on Sunday #mambamentality 🙌 https://t.co/8DxHkNURN7
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) March 31, 2018
Wow, my life is complete. The GOAT 😭🙌🏾 https://t.co/91wiItW0KN
— Arike Ogunbowale (@Arike_O) March 31, 2018
Nah... it’s complete by finishing the job on Sunday @Arike_O #MambaMentality https://t.co/pvL95JCZHn
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) March 31, 2018
