Scenes from the NCAA women's basketball national championship game, where Baylor defeated Notre Dame, 82-81, at Amalie Arena on April 7, 2019, in Tampa, Florida. The Baylor team raises the championship trophy after defeating Notre Dame, 82-81, at the NCAA women's college basketball championship on Sunday, April 7, 2019, in Tampa, Fla. Kalani Brown #21 of the Baylor Lady Bears and Chloe Jackson #24 of the Baylor Lady Bears celebrate their teams 82-81 win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to win the NCAA women's basketball championship at Amalie Arena on April 7, 2019 in Tampa, Florida. The Baylor Lady Bears celebrate with the NCAA trophy after their teams 82-81 win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to win the NCAA women's basketball championship at Amalie Arena on April 7, 2019 in Tampa, Florida. The Baylor Lady Bears celebrate with the NCAA trophy after their teams 82-81 win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to win the NCAA women's basketball championship game at Amalie Arena on April 7, 2019 in Tampa, Florida. The Baylor Lady Bears celebrate their 82-81 win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to win the championship game of the NCAA women's college basketball championship on Sunday, April 7, 2019, in Tampa, Fla. Marina Mabrey #3 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish reacts as her team is defeated 82-81 by the Baylor Lady Bears in the championship game of the NCAA women's college basketball championship on Sunday, April 7, 2019, in Tampa, Fla. The Baylor Lady Bears celebrate their 82-81 win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to win the championship game of the NCAA women's college basketball championship on Sunday, April 7, 2019, in Tampa, Fla. Chloe Jackson #24, DiDi Richards #2 and Moon Ursin #12 of the Baylor Lady Bears celebrate their teams lead in the final seconds of their teams win as Jessica Shepard #32 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish reacts during the fourth quarter in the NCAA women's college basketball championship on Sunday, April 7, 2019, in Tampa, Fla. Baylor's Kalani Brown (21) blocks a shot attempt by Notre Dame's Jessica Shepard (32) during the first half of the NCAA women's college basketball championship on Sunday, April 7, 2019, in Tampa, Fla. Chloe Jackson #24 of the Baylor Lady Bears is congratulated by her teammates after scoring a last second basket at the end of the first quarter against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the NCAA women's college basketball championship on Sunday, April 7, 2019, in Tampa, Fla. Jackie Young #5 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish attempts a shot against Juicy Landrum #20 of the Baylor Lady Bears during the first quarter inthe NCAA women's college basketball championship on Sunday, April 7, 2019, in Tampa, Fla. DiDi Richards #2 of the Baylor Lady Bears reacts against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the third quarter inthe NCAA women's college basketball championship on Sunday, April 7, 2019, in Tampa, Fla. Juicy Landrum #20 of the Baylor Lady Bears attempts a three point basket against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the third quarter inthe NCAA women's college basketball championship on Sunday, April 7, 2019, in Tampa, Fla. Head coach Kim Mulkey and Kalani Brown #21 of the Baylor Lady Bears react against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the second quarter in the NCAA women's college basketball championship on Sunday, April 7, 2019, in Tampa, Fla. Baylor forward Lauren Cox (15) passes the ball as she is surrounded by Notre Dame guard Marina Mabrey (3), forward Brianna Turner and forward Jessica Shepard (32) during the first half of the NCAA women's college basketball championship on Sunday, April 7, 2019, in Tampa, Fla. Kalani Brown #21 of the Baylor Lady Bears is defended by Brianna Turner #11 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the third quarter in the NCAA women's college basketball championship on Sunday, April 7, 2019, in Tampa, Fla. Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw signals to the team, during the first half against Baylor in the NCAA women's college basketball championship on Sunday, April 7, 2019, in Tampa, Fla. Notre Dame guard Marina Mabrey (3) shouts after a 3-pointer during the second half against Baylor in the NCAA women's college basketball championship on Sunday, April 7, 2019, in Tampa, Fla. Notre Dame guard Arike Ogunbowale (24) shoots as Baylor forward Lauren Cox (15) and guard DiDi Richards (2) defend during the first half of the NCAA women's college basketball championship on Sunday, April 7, 2019, in Tampa, Fla.<doc-sep>For the second year in a row, we had plenty of drama in the NCAA Women’s Tournament national championship game. This year, Notre Dame was on the losing end. Baylor capped off a 36-1 season with an 82-81 win over the defending national champion Fighting Irish, thanks to a Chloe Jackson scoop shot with 3.9 seconds remaining and a missed free throw from ND’s Arike Ogunbowale. With the score tied at 80 following a pair of free throws by Notre Dame’s Jessica Shepard, Baylor had the ball for a final possession. Jackson turned the corner on a pick-and-roll and got to the rim for the winning points. Even after Jackson’s heroics, Notre Dame had a chance to tie it when its star Arike Ogunbowale went to the line for two shots with 1.9 seconds remaining. Ogunbowale, the hero of last year’s Final Four and national title game, rimmed out on the first free throw. She tried to miss the second, but it went in, and Baylor was able to bleed out the final ticks. Afterwards, a heartbroken Ogunbowale was seen heading to the ND locker room. FINAL: The Defending National Champs come up one point short of going back-to-back. Senior Arike Ogunbowale leaves the court emotional after she misses one of her free throws in the final seconds of the game. Baylor 82-81 pic.twitter.com/0YLkTrqtYO — Olivia Ray (@OliviaRayWSBT) April 8, 2019 Jackson was named the Most Outstanding Player for her 26-point performance. Ogunbowale was outstanding in defeat with a game-high 31 points. The win for the Bears was even more meaningful considering the team lost one of its top players, Lauren Cox, to what appeared to be a serious leg injury in the second half. Cox was able to return to the bench to watch the end of the game and celebrate with her team.<doc-sep>This is it. The Baylor Lady Bears take on another 1 seed, Notre Dame, for the national championship. This is a rematch of the same schools and same coaches as the 2012 title game. Baylor came away with that national championship. Can they do it again? This game will be totally different from the Final Four game Baylor played against Oregon on Friday. Whereas Oregon was the best 3 point shooting team in the country, Notre Dame plays a relatively similar style to Baylor. Expect plenty of points in the paint and tough battles for rebounds. Tipoff is set for 5:00 PM CT on ESPN. ONE. MORE. WIN. Sic ‘em Lady Bears!<doc-sep>
The NCAA women’s basketball season comes to a close on Sunday as Baylor and Notre Dame square off in the 2019 National Championship game. The game tips off at 6:00 p.m. ET with both squads looking to take home their third national championship. The two schools were the top two No. 1 seeds in the tournament, and had the best odds to cut down the nets when all was said and done. They both faced significant challenges in the national semifinals, but held off two of the better programs in the country. Baylor trailed Oregon midway through the fourth quarter, but pulled away late in a 72-67 victory. Notre Dame trailed the 11-time national champion UConn by as much as seven in the fourth quarter before storming back to win 81-76. Baylor was the No. 1 overall seed in this tournament, and they enter the national title game as a 2.5-point favorite, and a -145 favorite on the moneyline. Here’s a look at why each team will cover the spread on Sunday evening. 1) Baylor vs. 1) Notre Dame, 6 p.m., Sunday, ESPN Spread: Baylor -3.5 Why Baylor will cover: Defense wins championships, or so both Baylor coach Kim Mulkey and Bear Bryant will tell you. The best defensive team in NCAA women’s basketball prevailed in their first match-up with the league’s best offense, the Oregon Ducks, by absolutely smothering their star player Sabrina Ionescu while consistently scoring. “Good team basketball” is often a locker-room cliche, but in the Lady Bears’ case it’s a valid truism: even their best players, like Kalani Brown and Lauren Cox, rarely jump off the stats sheet. But they’re filled with underrated weapons like DiDi Richards, Juicy Landrum and Chloe Jackson who have already powered the team to the league’s best record. They more or less coasted until the Final Four, and there’s no question they have what it takes to win the title. Why Notre Dame will cover: The Fighting Irish are impossible to count out, if last year’s back-to-back buzzer beaters in the Final Four and national championship are any indication. Arike Ogunbowale, the gutsy shooter behind both those buckets, is looking to cap off her senior campaign with another title — and overall, this team is actually better and deeper than the team that won the title last year. They’re much more offensively minded than the Lady Bears, but as long as at least half of their five viable scoring threats are making buckets, there’s no reason that they shouldn’t be able to more than hold their own. The flash and attitude that keeps them in games where they’ve fallen far behind is exactly what makes them so dangerous in championship situations — everybody can score, and they’ve been here before.