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TAMPA, Fla. – Throughout the season, Baylor benefited from the dominance of their post-game players and the victory over Notre Dame in the national championship game. Time and time again, 6-foot-7-inch Kalani Brown was turning in the left block for layups or Lauren Cox of 6-foot-4 followed with a bounce.
However, with 1 minute 22 seconds left in the third quarter, Cox fell awkwardly after a rebound attempt and collapsed to the floor, gripping his knee. His screams filled the silent arena. The team coach rushed to help and coach Kim Mulkey wrapped his body against his crying player. Cox left the field in a wheelchair and, with that, Baylor lost his second leading scorer, the best rebounder and the best shot blocker. At this point, the Lady Bears led 62-50. However, at the start of the fourth inning, without Cox slowing them down, the Irish reduced the gap to less than three, then tied the match at 4:55.
Baylor however held the match that he had led until then beating the Irish 82 to 81 Sunday to be crowned national champion.
This is the third national championship of the Lady Bears and the first since the defeat of the Irish in the 2012 final. Only Connecticut (11) and Tennessee (eight) have more championships in N.C.A.A. era.
Baylor, the best of all seeded, has entered the tournament with one loss, against Stanford in December. Behind the excellent players, the Lady Bears exercised their dominance throughout the tournament by surpassing their opponents with an average margin of 38.2 points in the Final Four race. In the semifinal, Baylor survived a potential surprise against Oregon by frustrating the Ducks snipers and dominating the inside.
Baylor thwarted Notre Dame's chances of winning two consecutive titles. "It's tough, it's so hard to win championships, you can be the favorite and not win them," said Baylor coach Kim Mulkey. "I'm the favorite and I I have not won because there are no guarantees in this area, so you cherish the times you can. "
The year after Baylor won his last title, the Lady Bears returned most of the team and they were upset in the round of 16.
Notre Dame returned all the players from last year's team and introduced four seniors to the starting lineup and Junior goaltender Jackie Young, who is eligible to participate in the W.N.B.A. Rough draft. Coach Muffet McGraw said her team felt the weight of high expectations from the start. She wanted the team to enjoy the trip.
"It was the plan, but it failed miserably," McGraw said Saturday. "We entered the season with all we had to present ourselves: No. 1, defending champions. Sometimes, the reigning champions are not really because they can not find their team. But we did it. We really were the defending champions. It was a burden. "
And Sunday, it was visible.
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