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TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – This time, Our Lady needed Arike Ogunbowale much earlier.
A year after Ogunbowale hit an astonishing team of finalists in the Final Four, the Irish star rushed to the rescue early in the fourth quarter.
Ogunbowale scored 14 of 23 points in the final period, leading to a nine-minute rebound to help defending champion beat UConn 81-76 on Friday night for a return leg.
"I do not think it's a mystery that you know who was going to take the majority of their shots in the fourth quarter," said UConn coach Geno Auriemma. "It's the way they've always played since Arike is there – she still has to succeed those shots and she's done it – it's a two-game almost impossible."
The Irish will face Baylor for the title Sunday night, and will try to become the fourth school to win consecutive titles – UConn, Tennessee and Southern California have done so.
Baylor beat Oregon 72 to 67 in the first semifinal, preparing a rematch of the 2012 National Championship game won by the Lady Bears with a win of 80 to 61.
This match between the Huskies and the Irish was a rematch of last year's Final Four Classic that Notre Dame had won on a Ogunbowale last-second shot. This – the last chapter of the biggest women's basketball rivalry of the last decade – has provided a timely reminder.
Irish coach Muffet McGraw celebrated the event by dancing a small Turkish midway after this victory.
Notre Dame (35-3) led 64-55 with 7:52 to go before scoring 13 of the following 16 points to take a 68-66 lead over the Ogunbowale jumper court at 3:56. The teams then swapped their heads five times in the following minutes. Jessica Shepard hit a jumper from the foul line with 1m27 left to give the Irish 75-74 advantage.
After Crystal Dangerfield missed a player in the track, Ogunbowale made two free throws to give the Irish a three-point lead 58.3 seconds from time. In UConn's next possession, Brianna Turner came out of nowhere to block Napheesa Collier's layup attempt, then Ogunbowale hit two more free throws to make it a five-point game.
"My only state of mind was that the UConn season was going to end tonight, no matter how long it took," said Turner, who set the career record at the School with its 371st place. "If I wanted to get a rebound, score, box, play hard, we would win."
Katie Lou Samuelson scored 20 points – all in the second half – for the Huskies (35-3).
"Obviously, you know we're incredibly disappointed not to have won the game, but we played an excellent team and they played really well when they had to," said Auriemma. "We still had a chance, we just were not good enough tonight to do it, they were better than us tonight."
The friendly match between Ogunbowale and Samuelson never took place in the first period. Ogunbowale only scored two points before the break, Samuelson was ruled out.
Samuelson was the first to hit hard, scoring 15 points in the third quarter. UConn had a 54-52 lead on his three foul shots with a second left.
The Huskies' advance continued to grow before the Irish rallied in front of 20,062 spectators. Ogunbowale had 14 points in the fourth quarter.
Both teams have the habit of playing on the biggest stage of the game. UConn and Notre Dame have already played seven times in the national semifinal or in title since 2011 – the Irish have a 4-3 advantage .
The mood has been different around UConn this season. Unlike the previous two years, they do not have the burden of a record winning streak or an undefeated season. Before their confrontation with their Irish rival on Friday night,
The Huskies had already lost two games this season and had not, as Auriemma said, "the fear of losing."
UConn had never lost three consecutive years in the Final Four until now.
The Huskies took a 13-4 lead behind Collier's strong play and a remarkable defensive effort, while the Irish missed 14 of their first 16 shots. The Irish closed the opening period with a record of 8-3 to score only four points after a quarter.
The Irish continued on their way and took a 22-18 lead over an Ogunbowale putback. It was her only basket of the first half, as she had gone 1 for 7 on the court.
"She started slowly in so many ways, and she feels compelled to wear us because she's the best scorer," McGraw said. "I thought she was half-time in. Her teammates really helped her, they continue to cheer her on and she came back to life in the second half."
The teams then traded the lead of the rest of the half with Christyn Williams's jumper in the lane just before half-time, giving the Huskies a 30-29 advantage.
OFFICIAL REPLACEMENT
Official Michol Murray slipped to the UConn side's first quarterback with a 4:54 left and after the coaches came to check his knee, they brought him back to the wheelchair locker room. . A previous day's manager, Gina Cross, took over. According to the NCAA, this is the first time in the history of the Final Four that the official on standby must enter the game. Lisa Jones, who refereed the first game, was brought back to the post substitute.
TIP-INS
Samuelson and Collier finished their career with 4,743 points, which is the highest combination for two classmates in the history of the school. … It was the 50th meeting between the schools and UConn has a 37-13 year lead in the all-time series. … Turner has surpassed Ruth Riley's 370-block mark at Notre Dame. With five blocks in the game, she now has 21 in the NCAA, which ranks her seventh overall.
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