Baylor Holds Off Notre Dame Comeback to Win Third National Championship
In a thrilling final quarter, Baylor fought off a late comeback to beat Notre Dame 82-81 and win the 2019 women's NCAA tournament on Sunday, the program's third ever national championship.
came out strong, outscoring Notre Dame 18–4 in the paint and 10-0 in transition to build a 25–14 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Bears held on to the lead until the fourth quarter when Notre Dame battled back to tie it after trailing by as many as 17 points in the second quarter.
The Fighting Irish's late push began when Baylor's star junior Lauren Cox was wheeled off the court with an apparent knee injury.
After Cox left, the Irish erased a 12-point deficit to tie the game. In the final seconds, Notre Dame got one last opportunity to score, when the Bears fouled Arike Ogunbowale with a 82–80 lead. Ogunbowale was last year's tournament hero, winning the national championship for Notre Dame on a buzzer beater. But this season, Ogunbowale couldn't repeat the performance and she missed one of the two shots as the Bears held on to win as time expired.
Baylor's Chloe Jackson led the team with 26 points and five assists.
Notre Dame had beaten UConn to move on to the finale, while Baylor moved past Oregon in the Final Four.
