Ogunbowale had a Final 4 for the ages. Her buzzer beater brought down a truly great UConn team and two days later, she hits an incredible shot to win the national championship.
Thanks guys, I have to be honest I thought we were dead after that 2nd quarter. I was just hoping we'd get something going in the 2nd half to make it a good game. But they came out like a different team in the 2nd half and kept chipping away at the MSU lead till they took it away from them and down by 5 in the closing minutes they went on an 8-0 run to put them away. Ogumbowale didn't have a pretty game stats wise, but she never quit she just kept going at them. And our Nebraska transfer, Jessica Shepard, did yeoman's duty with the MSU 6'7" center. Our Grad Student backup center, Kristina Nelson, only had 2 points and 4 rebounds, but she kept bodying up on McCowan and was a big help. When Arike took that last second shot I thought, we're going OT it looked a little bit like a Hail Mary in when she released it..but this is Easter Sunday!! Tough, gritty, never say die, win for the Irish Women!
Unbelievable shot. Like Terry, as soon as the ball left her hand, I figured OT. It seems like it took a minute to reach the rim. I was thinking OT for the last few seconds after the MSU foul, knowing we got a break when their post player fouled out. The commentator made the point that MSU had a foul to give and didn't use it. It would have made a difference. I felt sorry for the MSU players, having to come back to the court from the locker room for the last .1 second. Thanks, Bill. Bobda, you can be proud of your Milwaukee kid. She's a winner.
On the foul to give, they Arike got the ball from Jackie Young and just was too quick for the MSU player to catch her before she got her shot off. Little Things Count...game was very even stat's wise...except for 1 stat and it was the difference Irish were 15-17 from the line while MSU was 10-17. How many teams and fans of teams have lamented "if we'd just made our FT"s". ... a lot.
Watching McCowen dominate inside reminded me of those painful losses to Brittney Griner and her Baylor teams. But as the old adage goes, it ain't the size of the dog in the fight it's the size of the fight in the dog. What heart this team showed. Now it's time for our hockey team to go for the NC trifecta in the Frozen Four.
Great win for Notre Dame and made for a very successful Final Four for the City of Columbus and its Merchants. Everyone is happy!
Hindsight makes us pretend coaches. If I'm the MSU coach, I'm telling all my players to foul anyone they can get to immediately after the ball is in-bounded. The 5th foul on the big post player was a catch-22. It fouled her out of the game, but it prevented an easy game-winning layup and kept MSU's hopes alive. The same scenario was possible with a common foul on any of the ND players in the roughly 2.5 seconds before the winning shot went up. Like I said, hindsight. Glad I don't have to live with what happened......or didn't happen.
Don everybody said that this Final Four in Columbus was one of the best ever. I think the one in Indy in 2011 where the Irish lost to Texas A&M was also a great one. The one thing the women's game has going is that their Final Fours are in actual basketball arena's and not football stadiums.
OK Sid I have an answer... Apparently men's and women's game have different rules and the women's game uses the FIBA Rule. Which basically says if you intentionally foul with no intention to play the ball it's 2 FT's and Irish possession at midcourt...game over. They had to foul the shooter.
What a win! I have some indirect ties to two of the Irish players. The Mabrey girl played her high school ball right down the street from me in Manasquan, NJ. And Kathryn Westbeld is the niece of two guys I played football with in Dayton Ohio , Bill and Tom Westbeld. Bill went on to a brief tour in the NFL. . Two close friends were at both games, sitting in the exact same seats and witnessed both buzzer beaters. The center for Miss St was dominant but she air balled a lay-in at the end which would have sealed our fate. I don't how Arike can ever top the last 48 hours. That is the stuff of legends.
Aha! Thanks, Terry, for the explanation of a rule I didn't know about. I know the women's game is different. I just didn't know HOW different. That clarifies why MSU didn't foul away from the ball and substantiates your explanation that Arike just was too quick for the MSU player to catch and foul her.
We were in Florida for my Fantasy Baseball draft and Easter with our daughters. Drove back all day yesterday and are now settled back in Franklin. Off to bowling in a few minutes. That was a great game and the Notre Dame ladies showed true grit.
So Arike is on the (regional) Cover of SI, there is also a Villanova Cover coming as well...not sure what we'll get here in Houston. But I'll buy a ND one and get it framed. https://twitter.com/fightingirish/status/981181879855603712?s=21