By WFAN.com
Two nights after hitting the game-winning shot to oust previously unbeaten Connecticut, Notre Dame's Arike Ogunbowale proved Sunday night she is as clutch as they come.
Ogunbowale hit a 3-pointer with one second remaining to lift the Fighting Irish to their second national championship in school history, beating Mississippi State 61-58 in Columbus, Ohio.
The dramatic shot came after Notre Dame erased a 15-point, second-half deficit. The Bulldogs took a 40-25 lead on Victoria Vivians' 3-pointer with 6:42 to play in the third quarter. But the Irish then went on an 18-1 run that extended into the fourth quarter.
Ogunbowale is getting accustomed to playing the hero. Her jumper in overtime Friday night gave Notre Dame a 91-89 victory in overtime against powerhouse UConn. The irony Sunday night was that she had a poor shooting performance otherwise, scoring 18 points on 6-of-21 (28.6 percent) from the floor.
But she connected on the one that mattered most.
"It just felt right," Ogunbowale said of the game-winner. "I practice late-game (shots) all the time. I just ran to (teammate) Jackie (Young) and said, 'Throw it to me, throw it to me.'"
NOTRE DAME... WOW pic.twitter.com/Vs3uR9a9nx
— NCAA Women's BKB (@ncaawbb) April 2, 2018Jessica Shepard led the Fighting Irish with 19 points. New Jersey native Marina Mabrey added 10 points.
Notre Dame's first national title since 2001 was an improbable one. The Irish lost four players to torn ACLs during the season, but they showed their resiliency, going 35-3 -- all their losses were to top-five teams (Louisville twice and UConn once).
Vivians scored 21 points to lead Mississippi State (37-2), which lost in the championship game for the second consecutive year. Teaira McCowan had 18 points and 17 rebounds.
