High Post Hoops
Fansided

WATCH: Notre Dame hero Arike Ogunbowale talks to High Post Hoops

By Arielle Chambers

COLUMBUS, OH - APRIL 01: Arike Ogunbowale
COLUMBUS, OH - APRIL 01: Arike Ogunbowale /
facebooktwitterreddit
COLUMBUS, OH – APRIL 01: Arike Ogunbowale
COLUMBUS, OH – APRIL 01: Arike Ogunbowale /

COLUMBUS, OH – The NCAA Women’s Final Four weekend concluded in dramatic fashion. After two overtime games in the national semi-finals, Notre Dame and Mississippi State battled to the very last moment in the finals. Notre Dame notched a 61-58 victory, making them the 2018 NCAA Women’s Division I National Champions.  

Just like the game before, where the Irish played the UConn Huskies, the game winning shot came from Notre Dame’s clutch junior, Arike Ogunbowale. Ogunbowale’s off-balance shot solidified the Irish’s victory, leaving the Bulldogs only one tenth of a second left on the clock trailing by three.

COLUMBUS, OH – APRIL 01: Arike Ogunbowale
COLUMBUS, OH – APRIL 01: Arike Ogunbowale /

Mississippi State’s man-to-man defense was both suffocating and effective in the first half.  The Bulldogs held the Irish to 17 points at the twenty-minute mark.  Notre Dame is typically known for its offensive efficiency, frequenting 90-point games upon the end of regulation.  

After a 16-1 run in the third, the finals began to look competitive.  The once-questionable Notre Dame zone held off Mississippi State in the third quarter, enough to put the teams neck and neck. Offense picked up as well for the Irish.  Notre Dame shot 46.7% in the third and Mississippi State shot 30.8%. Teaira McCowan (Miss. St.), the anticipated X-factor fouled out late in the fourth.

This is the first National Championship title for the program in 17 years.  Ruth Riley led Notre Dame to its last national title in 2001 with 46 points and 20 rebounds.  

COLUMBUS, OH – APRIL 01: Head coach Muffet McGraw of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish
COLUMBUS, OH – APRIL 01: Head coach Muffet McGraw of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish /

Coach Muffet McGraw, the Associated Press Coach of the Year, worked beyond adversity and won in a game of what seemed like coaching chess.  Notre Dame’s season was predicted to end against Oregon in the NCAA Tournament. The Irish have been plagued with four ACL injuries this year and only have seven scholarship players on their roster.  

With strategic McGraw coaching and a clutch Ogunbowale, the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the 2018 NCAA Division I Women’s National Champions. 

High Post Hoops had the chance to speak with the new champions. Click the links below.

Arike Ogunbowale:

Marina Mabrey:

Home/ACC