TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — This time, Notre Dame needed Arike Ogunbowale a lot earlier.
A year after Ogunbowale hit an amazing pair of buzzer beaters in the Final Four, the Irish star rushed to the rescue early in the fourth quarter.
Ogunbowale scored 14 of her 23 points in the final period, leading a rally from a nine-point deficit with eight minutes left to help the defending champion Irish beat UConn 81-76 Friday night for a return trip to the title game.
“I don’t think it was any mystery you know who was going to be taking the majority of their shots in the fourth quarter,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said.