RALLY BUSTERS: Baylor holds on to beat Notre Dame in women's NCAA final
Apr 8, 2019 at 7:21 AM Apr 8, 2019 at 7:22 AM
By Joey Knight
TAMPA, Fla. (TNS) — Ebb and flow were getting shut out. That indelible waning moment hadn't materialized. Crunch time was on the verge of getting pre-empted by mop-up time.
Inside the residence of the NHL's premier team, the Baylor Bears were essentially skating.
But reigning national champs don't succumb so easily.
Cruising through the first three quarters of the Women's NCAA Tournament final, the Bears (37-1) withstood a valiant Notre Dame rally for an 82-81 triumph at Amalie Arena. The title is Baylor's third.
Bears graduate-transfer guard Chloe Jackson's layup with five seconds to play was the difference.
Irish senior Arike Ogunbowale, who hit two buzzer-beating game-winners in the 2018 Women's Final Four, was fouled on a drive on the final Irish possession, but missed the first of two free throws with 1.9 seconds remaining.
A converted shooting guard moved to the point last fall, Jackson had a career night (26 points, five assists, one turnover), and was named the Women's Final Four's Most Outstanding Player. She complemented a dominant Bears interior that outscored Notre Dame, 54-24 in the paint.
Nearly upstaging her was Ogunbowale, who led all scorers with 31 and helped the Irish rally from a 17-point second-half deficit.
Ogunbowale hit an off-balance 3-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer, then converted a traditional 3-point play with 9:06 remaining, cutting the Irish deficit to 66-61.
Enter senior guard Marina Mabrey, who hit a trio of 3-pointers in a dizzying 2:03 span, the last of which tied the score at 74-all with 5:18 to play.
The teams exchanged leads three times from there, with Jackson scoring the Bears' last two baskets. The Irish (35-4), meantime, went 5-for-8 from the free-throw line down the stretch.
Baylor, fourth nationally in field-goal percentage (50.4), shot 62.5 percent (20-for-32) in the opening half and outscored the Irish, 30-8, in the paint.
Jackson, who opened the game with a steal and transition layup, had 14 points by intermission, hitting seven of her 10 shots as Baylor took a 43-31 lead to the locker room.
Notre Dame, meantime, missed 15 of its first 16 shots, finishing 11-for-40 from the floor (27.5 percent) in the first 20 minutes.