Baylor Loses Star Player in Frightening Scene, Wins Title

Lady Bears are champs for first time since 2012
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Apr 7, 2019 9:07 PM CDT
Baylor Inches Ahead With 3.9 Seconds Left to Win
Baylor players celebrate after defeating Notre Dame in the Final Four championship game of the NCAA women's college basketball tournament Sunday, April 7, 2019, in Tampa, Fla. Baylor won 82-21.   (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Baylor recovered after blowing a 17-point lead and losing a star player, beating Notre Dame 82-81 for the NCAA women's basketball championship Sunday night when 2018 tournament hero Arike Ogunbowale missed a foul shot in the final seconds. Chloe Jackson made a layup to put Baylor ahead with 3.9 seconds left. Notre Dame called timeout and inbounded to Ogunbowale, whose buzzer-beating jumper in the championship game lifted Notre Dame to last year's title. Ogunbowale was fouled trying for a layup, then missed the first of two free throws with 1.9 seconds remaining. She made the second, but the AP reports the Irish never got the ball back.

The Lady Bears (37-1) won their first championship in seven years. Coach Kim Mulkey and Baylor have won titles in 2005, 2012 and 2019. The 2012 championship game also pitted the Lady Bears against Muffet McGraw's Irish in the last meeting of two female coaches for the title. Baylor was able to pull off the win without star forward Lauren Cox, who injured her knee in a frightening scene with 11 minutes left in the game. She got tangled up with Kalani Brown on the defensive end and went down clutching her left knee. The 6-foot-4 junior was crying in agony for a few minutes before they took her off the court in a wheelchair. "We had to do it for LC," said Jackson, who was named the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player. "She got us here. We had to finish the job for her." The AP has much more here.

(More NCAA women's basketball stories.)

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