What Tho' The Odds! Notre Dame 91, UConn 89
Epic! Instant Classic! Notre Dame Moment!
Whatever grandiose word or phrase one wants to use, it would be fitting following the 91-89 Fighting Irish overtime triumph against No. 1 and then 36-0 Connecticut Friday night in Columbus, Ohio.
Junior guard Arike Ogunbowale’s jumper from just inside the three-point line hit the bottom of the net with one second left in overtime to send Notre Dame (34-3) into Sunday’s national title showdown against 37-1 Mississippi State (6 p.m. ESPN).
Besieged by an unprecedented litany of injuries (four torn ACLs) and two transfers the past 12 months, head coach Muffet McGraw’s squad took every punch from the UConn dynasty but was the one left standing at the end of this superheavyweight bout.
“That’s that Fighting Irish spirit,” McGraw told ESPN after the game. “They were resilient, they just keep on fighting.”
The top scorer in the tournament with a 25.4 average through five games (including 27 versus UConn), Ogunbowale’s shot will be remembered as one of the most famous in school history, ranking as the women’s version of Dwight Clay’s corner jumper on Jan. 19, 1974 to end No. 1-ranked UCLA’s NCAA-record 88-game winning streak. Ogunbowale’s clutch basket came with former Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe “The Black Mamba” Bryant sitting right behind the UConn bench.
“I didn’t want them to get a chance to get the ball in,” Ogunbowale told ESPN of taking the shot in the final second. “I wanted to Mamba mentality. Kobe’s here, so that’s what I tried to channel ... I practice this all the time. It’s everybody’s dream to get a game-winning shot. I prepared for this moment.”
Almost overshadowed was a phenomenal performance by Irish sophomore guard Jackie Young, who tallied a career high 32 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the floor — 2-of-4 from three — 10-of-11 from the foul line, and hauled in 11 rebounds. Junior forward Jessica Shepard recorded what has become a typical double-double in the tournament with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Most impressive was how Notre Dame kept its poise when it appeared to be on the verge of collapsing.
• Connecticut took command in the second quarter when it outscored Notre Dame 27-10, building a 41-30 lead at one point before the Irish managed to cut it to 41-34 at halftime.
• With 6:44 left in regulation, the Huskies were still ahead 67-59 before the Irish calmly chipped away while UConn began to become more rattled in the rare tight situation it faced.
• After Notre Dame had taken a 79-74 lead with 21.3 seconds remaining, UConn’s Napheesa Collier drained a three and then Kia Nurse stole an in-bounds Irish pass on the side that she converted into a breakaway lay-up to knot the score at 79.
Following another Irish turnover, UConn had the ball on its side of the floor with 3.6 seconds left, but a 10-foot bank shot by Gabby Williams came up short. Nevertheless, a golden opportunity to put away the game in regulation was missed — but it didn’t demoralize the Irish in overtime.
“We were a little dejected at the end of regulation, but Arike I think was madder than anyone,” McGraw said. “She wanted the ball in her hands and we put it there at the end of the game.”
• In the overtime, Notre Dame appeared to have the game in hand again with an 89-84 advantage and 44 seconds left — but a Collier basket, two missed free throws by Ogunbowale and a Crystal Dangerfield three-pointer tied the game at 89. The Irish took a timeout with 14 seconds remaining to set up the final shot for Ogunbowale.
Even after that, the Irish were not able to fully celebrate until UConn's Katie Lou Samuelson's catch-and-shoot from about 10-feet away off the "tip drill" on a three-quarters length pass bounced off the backboard and rim as time expired.
Also vital was flipping the rebounding chart. UConn had a 24-15 advantage in the first half, and that resulted in a 16-4 second-chance points domination by the Huskies. In the second half, the Irish out-rebounded UConn 23-17 — and this time won the second-chance points, 13-5.
Led by Young, Notre Dame asserted control early with a 15-6 first quarter lead that ballooned to 24-11 in the final minute of the first quarter. At the time, UConn had converted only five of its 19 field goal attempts, notably 2-of-10 from three-point range.
A three by the Huskies’ Katie Lou Samuelson at the horn to end the first quarter began a 13-0 run, but more pivotal was the insertion of 6-6 Duke transfer Azura Stevens. UConn’s lengthier lineup no longer settled on jump shots, found the middle and creases of the Irish defense and converted 12-of-19 field goals (no three-point attempts) in the second quarter while outscoring Notre Dame 27-10 in the second 10-minute sequence for the 41-34 halftime lead. Meanwhile, the Irish were only 5-of-16 from the floor in the second quarter.
A three by junior guard Marina Mabrey provided Notre Dame its first lead of the second half at 54-53, and it turned into ebbs and flows for both programs thereafter.
“They’re a great team, we’re a great team,” Ogunbowale said. “There’s no need for us to be scared of anybody. Coach McGraw recruits players that are made for this moment. We’re all hungry to win.”
Three-Point Play
1. Russia/Finland Dynamic
We always remind that maybe the greatest upset in American sports annals — the 1980 United States hockey team stunning the invincible Soviet Red Army — was not the gold medal game. Team USA still had to rally a couple of days later to beat Finland for the gold.
That is what Notre Dame is facing after this euphoria. The last four teams to defeat UConn in the national semifinals all lost in the championship game — notably the Fighting Irish in 2011 and 2012, and Mississippi State last season.
The most heartbreaking of all was defeating Tennessee and UConn back-to-back in 2011, but losing to Texas A&M in the ultimate the-one-that-got-away game. It would be gut wrenching for it to happen again the way this team has battled all year.
2. Irish Win ‘Best of Seven’
Notre Dame is now 4-3 against UConn in the Final Four — and 4-1 in the semifinal contests. This latest victory came 17 years to the day of beating the Huskies the first time in the national semifinals (March 30, 2001) — and two days later the Irish on April 1 defeated Purdue 68-66 for their lone national title. Good omen?
3. Pick Your Poison
While Ogunbowale rightfully earned numerous All-America honors, Shepard and Mabrey received All-ACC and some honorable mention All-America notice, and senior Kathryn Westbeld has been celebrated as the glue who holds all the pieces together, the sophomore Young became the watched pot that boiled over against the Huskies. UConn challenged her to beat them, and she did not shrink from the opportunity, including converting two three-pointers after coming into the game only 9-of-35 (25.7 percent) beyond the arc. Little wonder that McGraw believes she has the potential to be recognized as one of the all-time greats at the school.
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