Baylor wins against Notre Dame at the NCAA Women's Championship: NPR

Lauren Cox (# 15) of Baylor Bears shoots Brianna Turner (# 11) of Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Amalie Arena on Sunday night in Tampa, Florida.

Ben Solomon / NCAA Photos via Getty Images

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Ben Solomon / NCAA Photos via Getty Images

Lauren Cox (# 15) of Baylor Bears shoots Brianna Turner (# 11) of Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Amalie Arena on Sunday night in Tampa, Florida.

Ben Solomon / NCAA Photos via Getty Images

Baylor left a double-digit lead but hung in the final minutes to win the NCAA women's title game against defending champion Notre Dame by a single point Sunday night in Tampa, Fla.

With the 82-81 win, the Lady Bears won their third NCAA women's basketball championship – joining UConn and Tennessee as Division I programs with three or more titles. The last time Baylor won the title, it was in 2012 against the Irish Fighting.

Baylor kept a comfortable lead for the first half, before Notre Dame reduced the gap to tie the game in the last five minutes of the fourth quarter.

With 3.9 seconds to go, lead guard Chloe Jackson overtook Notre Dame's defense to give Baylor the lead at 82-80. Then Notre Dame called a timeout and joined Arike Ogunbowale, the star of the tournament. The Irish had a chance to reverse the situation when Ogunbowale was the victim of a foul for a check. But, lucky for the Lady Bears, Ogunbowale missed her first free throw in the remaining 1.9 seconds, leaving Baylor to stay ahead by 1 point.

Baylor completed the final stretch without star striker Lauren Cox, who suffered a knee injury in the third quarter. Cox, who stalled on crutches to celebrate with her teammates after the final ring, told ESPN that she was not sure of the severity of her injury.

Cox, who contributed 8 points and 8 rebounds to Baylor's 62-50 lead before leaving the wheelchair field, remained a crucial player throughout Baylor's 37-1 season. Her early start in the final raised the stakes for her teammates.

"We had to do it for LC," Chloe Jackson told reporters, referring to Cox after the match. "She brought us here, we had to finish the work for her."

The victory made Baylor's coach Kim Mulkey cry. "I'm emotional for a lot of reasons, but especially for Lauren Cox, and I'm so happy," Mulkey said. "These are tears of joy, but they are also tears of thinking about injuries."

The NCAA records its strongest participation in the 15-year-old women's playoffs and regional playoffs. This record fanfare was demonstrated by more than 20,000 fans who filled Tampa's Amalie Arena for the final match, as reporter Bradley George of the WUSF member station reports.