Notre Dame's Arike Ogunbowale drains not one, but both of Notre Dame's game-winning shots in the final seconds to lead the Fighting Irish to a national championship. (0:55)

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- First she punched the padded support behind the basket in frustration.

A few minutes later she threw her hands in the air in exultation.

As her last shot dropped through the net, the most frustrating 39 minutes, 57 seconds of Arike Ogunbowale's young basketball life vanished into the same air that would soon be filled by confetti.

Her 3-pointer in the final second -- and it will go down as the greatest last-second shot in championship game history even if there was still one-tenth of a second left on the clock -- lifted Notre Dame to a 61-58 win against Mississippi State and the biggest comeback in championship game history.

It also bumped the game-winning shot she hit Friday, which beat UConn in overtime in the semifinals, one spot down basketball's greatest-hits list.

Arike Ogwunbowale took the inbounds pass, spun toward the baseline, took two dribbles and launched the game-winning shot off essentially one leg. Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Ogunbowale fell five points shy of becoming the fifth player to score 150 points in one NCAA tournament, but never has naming the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player been more of a foregone conclusion. As Notre Dame associate coach Niele Ivey put it, Ogunbowale hit the shot of a lifetime -- then did it again less than 48 hours later.

"To do that twice in one weekend, the biggest stage in college basketball, it's crazy," Ogunbowale admitted.

The sequel also looked unlikely for much of the evening in Columbus. After a quick start, Notre Dame ran aground against Mississippi State's defense. Bringing the ball up court or executing an inbounds pass became perilous adventures. No one bore the brunt of the frustration more than Ogunbowale. She missed 9 of 10 shots in the opening half. She had missed two more shots by the time Notre Dame reached its nadir, trailing by 15 points with a little less than seven minutes to play in the third quarter. Even as Notre Dame rallied and pulled level, the frustration of the cold shooting showed when she smacked the stanchion after a miss.

"I was missing a lot of bunnies with the layups, it was a little frustrating," Ogunbowale said. "But I knew I had to keep shooting, keep going to the basket. My teammates, they tell me to keep shooting, but I think that's just my mentality. I'm never going to stop."

She nearly hit a much less dramatic, and higher percentage, game winner after Notre Dame's Jackie Young came up with a steal on a scramble (and what Mississippi State will forever believe was a Marina Mabrey foul on Morgan William) with less than 10 seconds to play in the game. But Mississippi State center Teaira McCowan's foul just before Young passed the ball instead gave Notre Dame the ball to inbound in the offensive end with three second left.

play 0:34 Ogunbowale wins the national championship for Notre Dame On April 1, 2018, Arike Ogunbowale sinks a game-winning 3-pointer for the Fighting Irish to claim the national championship against the Bulldogs.

It was the 6-foot-7 McCowan's fifth foul, which is why the ball wasn't even supposed to be in Ogunbowale's hands for the final play. The primary option was post Jessica Shepard on the near block. Shepard had hit 8-of-10 shots to that point and led Notre Dame with 19 points.

"Because Jess was playing so well and McCowan had fouled out," Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said of going through Shepard instead of Friday's hero. "We definitely thought we had an advantage in there. Plus, they had a foul to give, I thought. So we didn't want to do anything that was going away from the basket, where they could maybe [foul and] take some time off the clock. We thought get as close to the basket as you can with Jess. She could turn and shoot and maybe get fouled. That was the first option.

"Arike hadn't been shooting the ball particularly well. Jess was."

Mississippi State took a timeout the first time Notre Dame set up to inbound the ball. What Notre Dame wanted to do was apparent.

"We knew they were going to come into their post player because Teaira had just fouled out," Mississippi State guard Blair Schaefer said. "We doubled that, we took away their first option."

Initially guarding Young as she inbounded the ball, Schaefer dropped off by design to help on Shepard in the post.

"We had [Zion Campbell] behind her because she's smaller, and we had Blair to sag back on her," Bulldogs associate head coach Johnnie Harris said of Shepard. "So they didn't get that option. The second option, they were screening up top -- we switched the screen, but we didn't deny it."

On the perimeter, Mississippi State's Victoria Vivans guarded Kathryn Westbeld, and Roshunda Johnson guarded Ogunbowale. When Westbeld set a screen on Johnson, Ogunbowale got between the Mississippi State defenders and the ball on the sideline.

"When we say we're going to switch something, that means we're going to switch to deny," Schaefer said. "But we didn't switch to deny. They're great players and they made that one more [play] tonight."

Notre Dame associate coach Carol Owens noted how important to the whole sequence it was that Ogunbowale moved so quickly and assertively toward the ball.

"Last time, against Connecticut, we couldn't get the ball in and they stole it," Owens said of a botched play at the end of regulation in that game. "She just came in and boxed her man out and got the ball."

No less important was Young's decision making. Her ability to take on much of point guard duties in the second half was key to Notre Dame rallying in the first place. On the final play, the sophomore showed that vision and poise by not forcing the ball to Shepard.

Notre Dame still had two timeouts if it needed them, but Young didn't panic.

"For me, taking the ball out of bounds, whatever I was looking at, I didn't like the way it looked," Young said. "Before that I had told Arike, 'Hey, if this matchup doesn't look right, make sure you come back to the ball.' I made sure she was heading my way and I passed it to her. When I gave it to her, I knew she was going to do something big."

Ogunbowale was a step from the sideline and still well beyond the 3-point line when she caught the short pass. With her back to the basket and three seconds left, there was no opportunity to drive. And for a right-handed shooter, there was really only one direction to go without creating an awkward shot back across her body. Not that the corner 3 is necessarily her favorite.

"If I could have picked a shot, I would have chose a layup," Ogunbowale said. "It's not what I really wanted, it's just what happened."

The final play was designed for forward Jessica Shepard, who seemingly had an advantage inside with Teaira McCowan having fouled out, to take the final shot. But Jackie Young inbounded the pass to Arike Ogunbowale instead. Andrew Hancock for ESPN

Ogunbowale spun toward the baseline, took two dribbles and launched a shot off essentially one leg, her left leg trailing in the air before she landed well out of bounds.

It bears repeating that, at that moment, Ogunbowale had missed 15 of 20 shots in the biggest game of her life. She had missed jump shots and layups. Normally a lock from the line, she had even missed two free throws. But from the moment she arrived in South Bend, she has always looked for the next shot. Among the throng in the locker room after the win was WNBA point guard Lindsay Allen, who played the past two seasons with Ogunbowale.

"She was coming in the gym shooting, no matter what," Allen said. "No matter if she hit the first five shots or missed the first 10 shots, she was going to keep shooting. We had that confidence in her. With her it was just learning when to take those shots and when to risk taking those sort of iffy shots during the course of a game. But she's learned over time and she's hit huge shots over the course of her career, none bigger than in the Final Four."

Notre Dame's consistent excellence over almost the past decade created a line of succession from Skylar Diggins to Kayla McBride to Jewell Loyd. One star followed another.

"Her and Sky are probably the most confident players I've been around," Ivey said. "She doesn't show too much emotion. When she gets frustrated, she fouls. That's her way of kind of relieving the frustration. She punches things. She gets mad. But she never thinks she can't score."

play 0:53 McGraw calls Ogunbowale's winning shot a miracle Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw says her team came out with a new belief in the second half, which led them to the comeback win in the national championship game.

So, no, there wasn't any doubt in her mind that she would take the shot or that it would go in -- certainly no doubt she would admit.

"She always practices that shot in warm-ups, and it irritates me because she misses it a lot," Mabrey said. "We'll be trying to move to our next drill in warm-ups, and she'll shoot that. Honestly, it doesn't go in all that often.

"I saw her do the shot tonight, and I thought, 'That's good.' I had a really good angle and I saw the rotation, and I was like, 'Wow, she is the absolute GOAT.'"

Not all involved were quite so sure.

"I didn't have a clue," Shepard said. "I was just going in for the rebound again. But after last game, you've kind of got to count on it going in."

The trajectory helped, but the ball seemed to hang in the air longer than physics should allow.

"This one was such a high arc-er, I was like, 'I can't tell if that's going to go in or not,'" Notre Dame associate coach Carol Owens said. "The UConn [game-winning shot] definitely looked truer than any shot -- her combo move and then the shot.

"This one was like, 'I need to get this up so the shot clock doesn't go off.'"

play 0:56 Ogunbowale: Game winner 'just felt right' Arike Ogunbowale explains she practices game-winning situations all the time, which helped her make two big shots to lead Notre Dame to a national championship.

Lili Thompson was the first player with her hand in the air on the Notre Dame bench, the ball not yet at the basket as she counted it good. Thompson was among the reasons this wasn't supposed to be a championship year for the Fighting Irish. Not this year. A former standout at Stanford, she transferred to Notre Dame for her final season and was expected to handle a lion's share of the minutes at point guard. An ACL tear, one of four for the Fighting Irish, ended that.

But down to six players, Notre Dame got its shot. Ogunbowale took care of the rest.

"That's two nights in a row," Thompson said. "I mean, I have as much faith as anybody as her -- I'm surprised, but I'm not surprised she knocked it down. It looked good.

"That's Arike, she makes those crazy shots in big moments."

It was a stage made for her. And in what was undoubtedly the greatest Final Four in the history of the women's game, people took notice. Ogunbowale swore that the national championship meant more than the shoutout from Kobe Bryant, but the grin on her face after the game as she recounted the tweet she got from the Black Mamba suggested it was a close call.

"For me to be looking up to him my whole life really," Ogunbowale said. "And for him to say my name, follow me, it's just unreal."

Certainly no more unreal than hitting two game-winning shots in the Final Four.</s>Notre Dame and Mississippi State face off in a battle of No. 1 seeds in the NCAA women's basketball national championship game on Sunday, April 1, 2018 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

Mississippi State's Teaira McCowan and Notre Dame's Arike Ogunbowale (24) reach for the ball during the first half in the final of the women's NCAA Final Four college basketball tournament, Sunday, April 1, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio.

Notre Dame's Jackie Young and Mississippi State's Teaira McCowan (15) tip off the first half in the final of the women's NCAA Final Four college basketball tournament, Sunday, April 1, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio.

Notre Dame's Jessica Shepard, left, and Mississippi State's Blair Schaefer reach for a loose ball during the first half in the final of the women's NCAA Final Four college basketball tournament, Sunday, April 1, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio.

Mississippi State's Victoria Vivians (35) and Notre Dame's Kathryn Westbeld (33) reach for a rebound during the first half in the final of the women's NCAA Final Four college basketball tournament, Sunday, April 1, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio.

Mississippi State's Roshunda Johnson (11) is defended by Notre Dame's Marina Mabrey (3) during the first half in the final of the women's NCAA Final Four college basketball tournament, Sunday, April 1, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio.

Mississippi State's Teaira McCowan greets fans as the team arrives for the championship game against Notre Dame in the Final Four of the NCAA women's college basketball tournament Sunday, April 1, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio.

Notre Dame's Kathryn Westbeld and Kristina Nelson greet fans as they arrive for the final against Mississippi State of the NCAA Final Four women's college basketball tournament Sunday, April 1, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio.

Mississippi State's Teaira McCowan greets fans as the team arrives for the championship game against Notre Dame in the Final Four of the NCAA women's college basketball tournament Sunday, April 1, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio.

Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw and her husband, Matt McGraw, arrive for the team's championship game against Mississippi State in the Final Four of the NCAA women's college basketball tournament, Sunday, April 1, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio.

Mississippi State coach Vic Schaefer arrives for the championship game against Mississippi State in the Final Four of the NCAA women's college basketball tournament Sunday, April 1, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio.</s>Arike Ogunbowale hit the shot of her life — again.

Ogunbowale floated in a 3-pointer from the corner with 0.1 seconds left, lifting Notre Dame to its second women's basketball title with a thrilling 61-58 comeback 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 remaining in overtime knocked off previously unbeaten UConn in the semifinals Friday.

With this game tied, Ogunbowale took the 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. 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 earned most outstanding player honors for the tournament.

All the Irish players could celebrate after pulling off the biggest comeback in title game history. They rallied from a 15-point deficit in the third quarter and were down five in the final 1:58. Marina Mabrey hit a 3-pointer from the wing and Young had a shot in the lane to tie it.

The title came 17 years to the day after Notre Dame's only other championship in 2001 on Easter.

"It's Easter Sunday, and all the Catholics were praying for us," said coach Muffet McGraw, who was wearing floral shoes in honor of the holiday.

When the final buzzer sounded, a wild celebration started with the Irish faithful who were part of the sellout crowd. McGraw's team had fallen short four times in seven years in the title game, losing in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015. Many of the Notre Dame alums who were on teams that had fallen just short of winning a title were there to enjoy it, including Natalie Achonwa, Natalie Novosel and Becca Bruszewki

This version of McGraw's squad refused to lose, and the run was even more improbable because the Irish lost four players over the season to ACL injuries.

Tied as the clock ran down, Mississippi State star Teaira McCowan missed a layup with 27.8 seconds left, and both teams turned the ball over. McCowan then fouled out of the game stopping an Irish fast break and set up the final 3 seconds.

After Ogunbowale's clutch shot, the officials huddled and put one-tenth of a second on the clock. A couple of Mississippi State players had already headed for the locker room, while Notre Dame players celebrated.

The court was cleared, and Mississippi State tossed a futile inbounds pass into the lane as the buzzer sounded.

For the fourth straight NCAA game, the Irish found themselves trailing at the half. They were down 40-25 early in the third quarter before finally getting on track offensively. The Irish closed the period with a 16-1 run to tie the game at 41 heading to the final quarter.

The Irish (35-3) were buoyed by severe foul trouble by Mississippi State that saw all five of its starters with three fouls in the third quarter.

It didn't look good for the Irish in the first half. After getting out to a 12-6 lead with 3:41 left in the opening quarter, Mississippi State outscored Notre Dame 24-5 the remainder of the half. The Irish went just over 8 minutes without a point, missing seven shots and committing five turnovers during the game-changing run.

At the same time, the 6-foot-7 McCowan and Victoria Vivians were powering the Bulldogs offense. McCowan got the burst going with five straight points and Vivians capped it with the final six points to give the Bulldogs a 30-17 lead at the half.

Vivians finished with 21 points and McCowan 18 to go along with 17 rebounds to lead the Bulldogs (37-2).

The Irish had just three points in the second quarter, setting an NCAA Tournament record for the fewest points in a period. That was five less than the previous mark for futility set by Syracuse in 2016 against UConn.

It didn't matter in the end as Notre Dame found a way to rally, just as they had done all season.

"This team is relentlessly driven," said Jess Shepard, who scored 19 points to lead the Irish. "We've been down multiple times this year, but nobody stops us."

This was McGraw's 800th win at Notre Dame and the 888th of her career.

Notre Dame women beat UConn on last-second shot in OT to advance to national title game »</s>(AP Photo/Ron Schwane). Mississippi State's Victoria Vivians greets fans as the team arrives for the championship game against Notre Dame in the Final Four of the NCAA women's college basketball tournament Sunday, April 1, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio.

(AP Photo/Ron Schwane). Notre Dame's Arike Ogunbowale arrives for the team's championship game against Mississippi State in the Final Four of the NCAA women's college basketball tournament Sunday, April 1, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio.

(AP Photo/Ron Schwane). Mississippi State coach Vic Schaefer arrives for the championship game against Notre Dame in the Final Four of the NCAA women's college basketball tournament Sunday, April 1, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio.

(AP Photo/Ron Schwane). Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw and her husband, Matt McGraw, arrive for the team's championship game against Mississippi State in the Final Four of the NCAA women's college basketball tournament, Sunday, April 1, 2018, in Columb...

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - 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.

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.

Notre Dame had been to the championship game four other times in the previous seven years, falling short each time. But this version of Muffet McGraw's squad refused to lose, and the run was even more improbable because the Irish lost four players over the season to ACL injuries.

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.

Marina Mabrey hit a 3-pointer from the wing and then Jackie Young had a shot in the lane to tie it.

After Teaira McCowan missed a layup with 27.8 seconds left, both teams turned the ball over. McCowan then fouled out of the game stopping an Irish fastbreak and set up the final 3 seconds.

For the fourth straight NCAA game, the Irish found themselves trailing at the half. They were down 40-25 early in the third quarter before finally getting on track offensively. The Irish closed the period with a 16-1 run to tie the game at 41 heading to the final quarter.

The Irish were buoyed by severe foul trouble by Mississippi State that saw all five of its starters with three fouls in the third quarter.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>Arike Ogunbowale floated in a three-pointer from the corner with 0.1 seconds left, lifting Notre Dame to a thrilling 61-58 comeback victory over Mississippi State. She also made the winning shot in Friday’s semifinal victory over Connecticut.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Arike Ogunbowale made the shot of her life — again.

Ogunbowale floated in a three-pointer from the corner with 0.1 seconds left, lifting Notre Dame to its second women’s basketball title with a thrilling 61-58 comeback victory over Mississippi State in the NCAA championship game Sunday night.

It was the second straight game the junior guard made a shot in the final second to carry the Fighting Irish. Her jumper with one second left in overtime knocked off previously unbeaten Connecticut in the semifinals Friday.

With the title game tied, Ogunbowale took the inbounds pass from Jackie Young, dribbled toward the right corner and, guarded by Victoria Vivians, lofted home a three from in front of the Notre Dame bench, nearly the same angle as her shot that beat UConn.

“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 was voted most outstanding player and also received a congratulatory tweet from NBA legend Kobe Bryant.

The Irish pulled off the biggest comeback in title-game history. They rallied from a 15-point deficit in the third quarter and were down by five in the final 1:58. Marina Mabrey made a three-pointer from the wing and Young had a shot in the lane to tie the score.

The title came 17 years after Notre Dame (35-3) won its only other championship, in 2001 on Easter.

“It’s Easter Sunday, and all the Catholics were praying for us,” said Irish coach Muffet McGraw, who was wearing floral shoes in honor of the holiday.

McGraw’s team had fallen short four times in five years in the final, losing in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015.

This version of McGraw’s squad refused to lose, and the run was even more improbable because the Irish lost four players over the season to ACL injuries.

Tied as the clock ran down, Mississippi State standout Teaira McCowan missed a layup with 27.8 seconds left, and both teams turned the ball over in a wild sequence. McCowan fouled out of the game stopping an Irish fast break after consecutive turnovers and that set up the final three seconds.

After Ogunbowale’s clutch shot, officials huddled and put one-tenth of a second on the clock. Some Mississippi State players had already headed for the locker room.

The court was cleared, and the Bulldogs (37-2) tossed a futile inbounds pass into the lane at the buzzer.</s>(AP Photo/Ron Schwane). Mississippi State's Victoria Vivians greets fans as the team arrives for the championship game against Notre Dame in the Final Four of the NCAA women's college basketball tournament Sunday, April 1, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio.

(AP Photo/Ron Schwane). Notre Dame's Arike Ogunbowale arrives for the team's championship game against Mississippi State in the Final Four of the NCAA women's college basketball tournament Sunday, April 1, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio.

(AP Photo/Ron Schwane). Mississippi State coach Vic Schaefer arrives for the championship game against Notre Dame in the Final Four of the NCAA women's college basketball tournament Sunday, April 1, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio.

(AP Photo/Ron Schwane). Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw and her husband, Matt McGraw, arrive for the team's championship game against Mississippi State in the Final Four of the NCAA women's college basketball tournament, Sunday, April 1, 2018, in Columb...

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Mississippi State and Notre Dame have arrived in style, walking the red carpet into the arena a few hours before the women's basketball NCAA championship game.

The Bulldogs are looking for their first national championship in school history, while the Irish are trying to win their second - 17 years to the day after Muffet McGraw's team won the program's only title.

Both teams advanced to Sunday's title game with thrilling overtime victories in the Final Four.

The Irish will need to find a way to slow down Mississippi State center Teaira McCowan, who set a national semifinals record with 25 rebounds.

The game has been sold out for a month, and dozens of scalpers were outside looking for tickets hours before tipoff.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>The head coaches for tonight’s national title clash (6 p.m. ET on ESPN) between 34-3 Notre Dame and 37-1 Mississippi State have a different way of looking at what they face against each other.



For Notre Dame’s Muffet McGraw, it’s about overcoming the “L” word — letdown — after the epic 91-89 overtime win versus No. 1 UConn on Friday night.

The “Miracle On Ice” by the 1980 United States hockey team was not just about defeating the invincible Soviet Union Red Army team — but then still having enough left to rally from a 2-1 deficit in the third and final period to defeat Finland for the gold medal.

Each of the last four teams to defeat Connecticut in the national semifinal — Stanford in 2008, Notre Dame in 2011 and 2012, and Mississippi State last year — did not have enough remaining in the emotional fuel tank to win the championship game as well.

“Any time you beat Connecticut ... it’s just such an emotional win, it makes it hard to get back to work,” McGraw admitted. “You feel like that should have been the championship game. You’re thinking, ‘We should be going home right now.’ ”

Naturally Bulldogs had coach Vic Schaefer offers a different perspective — even though he experienced the letdown himself last year.

“The only thing worse than playing Connecticut is playing the team that beat them,” he said.

Last year it was Mississippi State that won the semifinal outing against UConn in overtime with a buzzer-beating shot by current 5-5 senior guard Morgan William, snapping the Huskies’ record 111-game winning streak. Alas, little was left for the Bulldogs in the 67-55 loss to South Carolina in the championship showdown less than 48 hours later.

Notre Dame defeated 36-0 UConn in virtually identical fashion this Friday on junior guard Arike Ogunbowale’s jumper with one second left in overtime for a two-point triumph.

Here are some other storylines for the national title showdown, from 10 to 1.

10 Notre Dame sophomore guard Jackie Young emerged from the shadows this Friday by converting 10 field goals (in 15 attempts) and 10 free throws (in 11 attempts) in the overtime victory versus No. 1 UConn for a career high 32 points.

Also, Mississippi State missed its first 10 shots in the semifinal win versus Louisville — against whom the Irish were 0-2 this season — before winning by 10 in overtime.

9 Straight years Notre Dame has reached at least the Sweet 16, joining the "Final Four" that also includes UConn, Baylor and Stanford. McGraw is trying to join the company of those coaches who are multiple national title award winners.

8 Over the past eight seasons, this is Notre Dame’s fifth appearance in the national title game. It lost each of the previous four: Texas A&M in 2011 (76-70), Baylor in 2012 (80-61), and UConn in 2014 (79-58) and 2015 (63-53). The assistant on the bench for Texas A&M in 2011 was Schaefer — now the head coach for Mississippi State.

7 Mississippi State joins Notre Dame as one of only seven teams in history to play in back-to-back NCAA Tournament championship games. As noted, the Bulldogs lost 67-55 last year to SEC rival South Carolina, but returned virtually everyone on the roster.

6 In what will be its sixth and final NCAA Tournament game this year, Notre Dame needs 86 points to break the all-time record for scoring in the tourney, set by UConn in 2000. In the five contests played so far Notre Dame has averaged 92.4 points, and the 91 versus Connecticut in the semifinal was the most yielded by the Huskies in 17 years. 



The starting five has averaged 85.2 points, led by junior All-American guard Ogunbowale’s 25.4 figure, the best in the tourney. Her 20.9 scoring average is a single season Notre Dame record so far, eclipsing the 20.4 standard set by Katryna Gaither during the program’s first Final Four campaign in 1996-97.

5 While Notre Dame has its own “Iron 5,” Mississippi’s State top quintet has started all 38 games together this season. The veteran lineup includes three seniors in 6-1 All-American Victoria Vivians (19.8 points per game, including 25 versus Louisville in the semifinal), 5-7 Blair Schaefer (9.1), the head coach’s daughter, and the aforementioned 5-5 William to complement fifth-year 5-7 senior Roshunda Johnson (11.6), whose clutch three-pointer in regulation versus Louisville sent the game into overtime.

The greatest challenge, however, might be towering 6-7 junior Teaira McCowan, who is averaging 18.2 points and 13.9 rebounds — second in the country — per game. McCowan’s 25 rebounds in Friday’s win versus Louisville (seven in overtime) were the second-most in tourney history, and 13 came on offense. She accounted for 17 second-chance points herself (21 total) while the rest of the team totaled six.

Her 92 rebounds in five 2018 NCAA games are already a tournament record, and her 28 double-doubles are tied for second nationally.

4 Four Notre Dame starters played 43 (or more) minutes of a possible 45 versus Connecticut — with junior Marina Mabrey having played every minute of each of the last three contests. She is four-three-pointers away from matching the tourney record of 22 set by UConn's Kia Nurse last year. Fifth-year senior Kristina Nelson’s 11 minutes were all the Irish had off the bench versus UConn — and her two taken charges in the fourth quarter were huge in Notre Dame’s victory. Her 6-4 frame might be needed to help 6-4 Jessica Shepard or even 6-2 Kathryn Westbeld against McCowan.

Meanwhile, Shepard has posted four double-doubles in five tourney games (just missing a fifth with nine rebounds) and averaged 19 points and 10 rebounds.

3 Consecutive games Notre Dame appeared to be on the precipice of falling too far behind in the first half before rallying to victory, thanks especially to outstanding play after halftime. The Irish trailed Texas A&M (37-24), Oregon (46-37) and UConn (41-30) before gathering their bearings together to win by six, 10 and two points, respectively.

2 McGraw and her Irish are vying for the program’s second national title and the first since 2001. That 68-66 win versus Purdue came exactly 17 years to the day (April 1, 2001) of this year’s meeting with Mississippi State — and on the heels of defeating No. 1 UConn in the semifinal on March 30, just as it did this season on the same date.

Notre Dame is also seeking its second national in as many weekends after the fencing team won it last Sunday. If the Irish succeed, then the Notre Dame hockey team will go for the “hat trick” this Thursday and Saturday in the Frozen Four.

1 Win away from McGraw reaching the milestone of 800 in her career at Notre Dame, where she is 779-229 (.777) entering tonight’s game versus Mississippi State.</s>(AP Photo/Ron Schwane). Mississippi State's Victoria Vivians greets fans as the team arrives for the championship game against Notre Dame in the Final Four of the NCAA women's college basketball tournament Sunday, April 1, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio.

(AP Photo/Ron Schwane). Notre Dame's Arike Ogunbowale arrives for the team's championship game against Mississippi State in the Final Four of the NCAA women's college basketball tournament Sunday, April 1, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio.

(AP Photo/Ron Schwane). Mississippi State coach Vic Schaefer arrives for the championship game against Notre Dame in the Final Four of the NCAA women's college basketball tournament Sunday, April 1, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio.

(AP Photo/Ron Schwane). Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw and her husband, Matt McGraw, arrive for the team's championship game against Mississippi State in the Final Four of the NCAA women's college basketball tournament, Sunday, April 1, 2018, in Columb...

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Arike Ogunbowale hit the shot of her life - again.

Ogunbowale floated in a 3-pointer from the corner with 0.1 seconds left, lifting Notre Dame to its second women's basketball title with a thrilling 61-58 comeback 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 remaining in overtime knocked off previously unbeaten UConn in the semifinals Friday.

With this game tied, Ogunbowale took the inbounds pass from Jackie Young, dribbled twice toward the corner and, closely guarded, lofted home an off-balance 3 from in front of the Notre Dame bench, nearly the same angle as her shot that beat the Huskies.

"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 earned most outstanding player honors for the tournament and also received a congratulatory tweet from Kobe Bryant, who took in the semifinal win over UConn.

All the Irish players could celebrate after pulling off the biggest comeback in title game history. They rallied from a 15-point deficit in the third quarter and were down five in the final 1:58. Marina Mabrey hit a 3-pointer from the wing and Young had a shot in the lane to tie it.

The title came 17 years to the day after Notre Dame (35-3) won its only other championship in 2001 on Easter.

"It's Easter Sunday, and all the Catholics were praying for us," said coach Muffet McGraw, who was wearing floral shoes in honor of the holiday.

When the final buzzer sounded, a wild celebration started with the Irish faithful who were part of the sellout crowd. McGraw's team had fallen short four times in seven years in the title game, losing in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015. Many of the Notre Dame alums who were on teams that had fallen just short of winning a title were there to enjoy it, including Natalie Achonwa, Natalie Novosel and Becca Bruszewki

This version of McGraw's squad refused to lose, and the run was even more improbable because the Irish lost four players over the season to ACL injuries.

Tied as the clock ran down, Mississippi State star Teaira McCowan missed a layup with 27.8 seconds left, and both teams turned the ball over in a wild sequence. McCowan fouled out of the game stopping an Irish fast break after consecutive turnovers and that set up the final 3 seconds.

After Ogunbowale's clutch shot, the officials huddled and put one-tenth of a second on the clock. A couple of Mississippi State players had already headed for the locker room, while Notre Dame players celebrated.

The court was cleared, and Mississippi State tossed a futile inbounds pass into the lane as the buzzer sounded.

"It hurts right now," Bulldogs coach Vic Schaefer said. "They played their hearts out."

It was the second year in a row that Mississippi State (37-2) fell short in the title game. It lost to South Carolina last year after ending UConn's record 111-game winning streak.

For the fourth straight NCAA game, the Irish found themselves trailing at the half. They were down 40-25 early in the third quarter before finally getting on track offensively. The Irish closed the period with a 16-1 run to tie the game at 41 heading to the final quarter.

The Irish were buoyed by severe foul trouble by Mississippi State that saw all five of its starters with three fouls in the third quarter.

It didn't look good for the Irish in the first half. After getting out to a 12-6 lead with 3:41 left in the opening quarter, Mississippi State outscored Notre Dame 24-5 the remainder of the half. The Irish went just over 8 minutes without a point, missing seven shots and committing five turnovers during the game-changing run.

At the same time, the 6-foot-7 McCowan and Victoria Vivians were powering the Bulldogs. McCowan got the burst going with five straight points and Vivians capped it with the final six points to give the Bulldogs a 30-17 lead at the half.

Vivians finished with 21 points and McCowan 18 to go along with 17 rebounds to lead the Bulldogs.

The Irish had just three points in the second quarter, setting an NCAA Tournament record for the fewest points in a period. That was five less than the previous mark for futility set by Syracuse in 2016 against UConn.

It didn't matter in the end as Notre Dame found a way to rally, just as they had done all season.

"This team is relentlessly driven," said Jessica Shepard, who scored 19 points to lead the Irish. "We've been down multiple times this year, but nobody stops us."

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>The Fighting Irish defeated the Bulldogs 61-58 to win their first championship in 17 years with a buzzer-beating three-pointer from junior guard Arike Ogunbowale.

Ogunbowale also scored a buzzer-beater at the end of Notre Dame’s game against UConn on Friday. Former NBA star Kobe Bryant attended that game and tweeted to Ogunbowale that she wouldn’t finish the job until she won a championship.

“I work for this in practice,” Ogunbowale told ESPN after the game. “The job is over, mamba mentality.”

But the game wasn’t easy for Notre Dame, who only scored 17 points in the first half and three points in the second quarter. The Fighting Irish came out after the half and scored 24 points in the third quarter.

The game came down to the wire as Mississippi stole the ball and Notre Dame stole it back in transition. Mississippi All-American Teaira McCowan fouled out with three seconds left in regulation.

Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw told ESPN after the game that she didn’t think Ogunbowale could sink another last-second shot two games in a row.

Ogunbowale was also the leading scorer for the Fighting Irish, with 18 points.

Mississippi senior guard Victoria Vivians was the leading scorer for the Bulldogs, with 21 points. Mississippi lost in last year’s national championship to South Carolina.</s>It was a shot of a lifetime and junior guard Arike Ogunbowale nailed it for Notre Dame.

She sank a 3-pointer from the corner with 0.1 seconds left on the clock, beating Mississippi State 61-58, and giving Notre Dame its second women's basketball title Sunday night in Columbus, Ohio.

Notre Dame scored its first title 17 years ago — also on April 1.

"We just kept fighting, and thank you, Jesus, on Easter Sunday," Notre Dame Coach Muffet McGraw told The New York Times.

Ogunbowale was named the most outstanding player in the come-from-behind victory. She scored 16 of her 18 points in the second half.

Mississippi State dominated much of the game. In the second quarter, the Irish only had three points — setting an NCAA Tournament record for the fewest points in a period.

In the third quarter, Notre Dame was down 15 points, and with less than 2 minutes in the game, they were down by five.

Tied as the clock ran down, The Associated Press reports:

"Mississippi State star Teaira McCowan missed a layup with 27.8 seconds left, and both teams turned the ball over in a wild sequence. McCowan fouled out of the game stopping an Irish fast break after consecutive turnovers and that set up the final 3 seconds. After Ogunbowale's clutch shot, the officials huddled and put one-tenth of a second on the clock. A couple of Mississippi State players had already headed for the locker room, while Notre Dame players celebrated. The court was cleared, and Mississippi State tossed a futile inbounds pass into the lane as the buzzer sounded."

It was the second straight game that Ogunbowale hit a shot in the final second to carry the Irish. On Friday, her jumper with one second remaining in overtime knocked off previously unbeaten UConn in the semifinals.

Notre Dame had lost the title game four times over the last seven years. It nearly ended the same way for the Irish, had they not had the biggest comeback in the final since the women's tournament began in 1982.
Notre Dame wins the 2018 NCAA Tournament over Mississippi State 61–58, with the deciding points coming on a dramatic 3-point shot by Arike Ogunbowale just before the final buzzer.