Ice, Twice: Arike Ogunbowale Leads Irish To Title
With two shots in a span of 48 hours, Notre Dame junior guard Arike Ogunbowale cemented her name amongst college basketball's greatest performers ever.
Ogunbowale's buzzer-beating shot in the national semifinal sent favorite and undefeated UConn home after a 91–89 overtime victory.
The shot from the corner for the last of her 27 points on the night, reminded some of another sharpshooter who wears No. 24.
"I didn't want to give them a chance to get the ball," Ogunbowale said after the game. "I went into Mamba mentality. Kobe's here, so that's what I tried to channel."
Beating UConn would usually get its fair share of national attention, but the Lady Mamba wasn't done.
Ogunbowale, who is on the cover of this week's Sports Illustrated, saved her best for last on the biggest stage.
Arike Ogunbowale Gives Notre Dame a Star, a Shot and a Season to Cherish
Notre Dame trailed by 15 points in the third quarter of the national championship game to Mississippi State, but the Irish rallied to the game at 58, with only a few seconds left.
Ogunbowale then took an inbounds pass, headed toward the corner after dribbling twice and swished the off-balance triple with 0.1 second to give Notre Dame its second national championship.
For Ogunbowale and the Irish, the ending capped off a season that saw the team ravaged by injury, but still managed to win 35 games.
Ice, twice indeed.
