Fansided

NCAA Women’s Championship: Notre Dame wins on Arike Ogunbowale buzzer beater

ByPatrick Schmidt|
COLUMBUS, OH - APRIL 01: Kristina Nelson #21, Arike Ogunbowale #24 and Jackie Young #5 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrate their comeback during the third quarter against the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs in the championship game of the 2018 NCAA Women's Final Four at Nationwide Arena on April 1, 2018 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH - APRIL 01: Kristina Nelson #21, Arike Ogunbowale #24 and Jackie Young #5 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrate their comeback during the third quarter against the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs in the championship game of the 2018 NCAA Women's Final Four at Nationwide Arena on April 1, 2018 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Notre Dame wins their first national title in 17 years and did so in dramatic fashion.

The end of the game vs. Mississippi State was just like the end to their semifinal win against Connecticut. Arike Ogunbowale sank the game-winning basket vs. UConn to get to the championship game and there was a strong sense of deja vu when she sank the game-winning three with .1 seconds remaining to break the hearts of Bulldogs fans in the process.

College athletics has given fans some heart-stopping finishes in recent years and this one will go down in the history books as one of the best finishes in women’s college basketball. Simply incredible.

The Fighting Irish were the victors, 61-58 in an instant classic.

There will be many Mississippi State fans who are feeling upset because there could have been a foul called after Morgan William got mugged with five seconds remaining before Ogunbowale made history.

The 16 years between Muffett McGraw’s first and second national titles is the longest between the first and second championship in women’s history.

Notre Dame looked to be in serious trouble at halftime after they only scored three points in the second quarter and trailed 30-17 at halftime. But the Irish had a big third quarter, outscoring the Bulldogs 24-11 as the game went to the fourth quarter all tied up.

And it looked like regulation wouldn’t be enough to settle this game before Ogunbowale put on her cape and was a superhero for the second straight game. She definitely showed off that “Mamba Mentality” Kobe Bryant told her about after her clutch shot handed UConn their first loss of the year and eliminated them from the tournament in what may have been the best Final Four in history, as ESPN’s Adam Amin said in the aftermath of the game.

Jessica Shepard led the Irish with 19 points and led the team with two assists too. Ogunbowale finished with 18 points on 6-of-21 shooting and missed her first two 3-point attempts before the one that will be live in infamy.

Victoria Vivians led Mississippi State with 21 points and Teaira McCowan had a big game with a game-high 17 rebounds.