Notre Dame buzzer-beater stuns Mississippi State in NCAA women's title game

Notre Dame's Arike Ogunbowale (24) clinched the NCAA women's basketball tournament for the Fighting Irish.  (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

Arike Ogunbowale did it again.

Two nights after hitting a step-back jumper with a second to play that knocked out powerhouse UConn in the NCAA national semifinals, the junior from Milwaukee knocked down a running three-pointer with 0.1 seconds remaining to give Notre Dame a 61-58 victory over Mississippi State and win the program's second national title, 17 years to the day after the Fighting Irish won their first.

"It just felt right," said Ogunbowale, who scored 14 of her 18 points in the second half. "I practice late-game all the time. I just ran to Jackie [Young] and said, 'Throw it to me, throw it to me."'

Ogunbowale, who scored 27 points in Friday's epic semifinal win over the Huskies, earned most outstanding player honors for the tournament.

Ogunbowale said of her winning shot, "It just felt right."  (AP Photo/Ron Schwane)

Notre Dame had been to the championship game four other times in the previous seven years, falling short each time. But this version of Muffet McGraw's squad refused to lose, and the run was even more improbable because the Irish lost four players over the season to ACL injuries.

They pulled off the biggest comeback in title game history, rallying from a 15-point deficit in the third quarter and a five-point deficit in the final 1:58.

Marina Mabrey hit a 3-pointer from the wing and then Young had a shot in the lane to tie it.

After Teaira McCowan missed a layup with 27.8 seconds left, both teams turned the ball over. McCowan then fouled out of the game stopping an Irish fastbreak and set up the final 3 seconds.

For the fourth straight NCAA game, the Irish found themselves trailing at the half. They were down 40-25 early in the third quarter before finally getting on track offensively. The Irish closed the period with a 16-1 run to tie the game at 41 heading to the final quarter.

The Irish were buoyed by severe foul trouble by Mississippi State that saw all five of its starters with three fouls in the third quarter.

This is a developing story; check back for updates. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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