Notre Dame's Arike Ogunbowale delivered two of the biggest shots of this year's Final Four, and her heroics helped her earn most outstanding player honors in the NCAA women's basketball tournament.
Ogunbowale floated a 3-pointer from the corner with 0.1 seconds left Sunday, lifting the Irish to their second women's basketball title with a thrilling, 61-58 comeback victory over Mississippi State in the NCAA championship game.
It was the second straight game in which Ogunbowale, a junior guard, hit a shot in the final second to carry the Irish to victory. Her jumper with one second remaining in overtime knocked off previously unbeaten UConn in the semifinals on Friday.
On Sunday, with the score tied, Ogunbowale took an inbounds pass from Jackie Young, dribbled twice toward the corner and, closely guarded, lofted home an off-balance 3 in front of the Notre Dame bench. It was close to the same spot on the court where she took down the Huskies, too.
"It just felt right," said Ogunbowale, who scored 16 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, who scored 27 points in the win over UConn, made the Final Four all-tournament team, along with teammate Jessica Shepard. Rounding out the team were Mississippi State's Teaira McCowan and Victoria Vivians and UConn's Napheesa Collier.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
