We weren’t sure how the Baylor Lady Bears would react if they had to play in a close game since most of their victories have been by double-digits this season. Well, we found out on Friday, and the outcome was the same as the previous 27 games. The Lady Bears overcame a late deficit to put Oregon down and will now try and prevent the Notre Dame Fighting Irish from going back-to-back. The Irish staged their own rally to beat UConn in the semis and can become the fourth team to win consecutive women’s championships.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Baylor Lady Bears
Date and Time: Sunday, April 7, 2019, 6 p.m. ET
Location: Amalie Arena, Tampa, FL
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Notre Dame vs. Baylor TV Coverage: ESPN
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Baylor doesn’t know how to lose. The Lady Bears won their 28th straight game by defeating Oregon, 72-67, in the semifinals, improving their overall record to 36-1. The No. 1 overall seed in the tournament blew through its first four opponents by an average of more than 38 points with no margin lower than 25 points. The Lady Bears’ only loss came back in mid-December to Stanford and since then only three of their games were decided by a single-digit. Having to actually compete for a full 40 minutes, the Lady Bears proved they could handle themselves in a stressful situation.
Not many teams have UConn’s number. In fact only one team does over the past decade or so. And Notre Dame did it again, handing the Huskies a second straight loss in the national semifinals. The defending champion Irish trailed by nine points early in the fourth quarter, but clamped down defensively and used the heroics of Arike Ogunbowale again, this time much earlier than last year’s meeting when her buzzer-beater sent Notre Dame to the championship game.
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Sinking a game-winning buzzer-beater is pretty cool. Doing it in the Final Four makes the feat even more special. Now, double that feeling and you have what Notre Dame’s Ogunbowale experienced last season. She drilled a shot at the horn to beat UConn in the semis last year, sending the Irish to the title game, and she was just getting started.
Her bucket at the horn of the national championship game beat Mississippi State to give Notre Dame the title. Many great players never get the feeling of a game-winning shot. Ogunbowale got it twice in three days last year.
That’s in the past, but it tells us that Ogunbowale is a gamer. She wants the ball in close-game situations and she isn’t afraid to take the shot with the outcome on the line. Ogunbowale was at it again on Friday, though she didn’t wait until the final seconds. Scoring 14 of her game-high 23 points in the fourth quarter, she helped bring the Irish back from a nine-point deficit to get the win.
Key Stat
0 – The game has advanced over the years and the three-point shot has been glorified by the likes of NBA greats James Harden and Stephen Curry. Advanced analytics say the extra point is advantageous in most scenarios and teams have taken notice. All except Baylor, that is. Call the Lady Bears a throwback or whatever you want, but when you have players like 6-foot-7 Kalani Brown and 6-4 Lauren Cox working inside, the three-pointer isn’t needed as much.
Using their size advantage in the paint, the Lady Bears did not make a three-point basket against Oregon. Even more alarming is that they attempted only three shots from distance. Brown and Cox more than made up for it by combining for 43 of Baylor’s 72 points on 18 of 26 shooting. The Lady Bears shoot better than 50 percent from the field as a team and they are 218-1 all-time when topping that mark.
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The three-point shot is a great equalizer and it certainly helps to expedite a comeback. Baylor could be in trouble if it falls behind and needs to make up points. But I don’t think that’s going to happen. The duo of Brown and Cox are devastating inside, and the backcourt is good too. You don’t go 36-1 and win a national championship without it. Yep, I said it. Baylor dominates inside and proves too much for Ogunbowale this time.
Women’s Final Championship Score Prediction: Baylor 73, Notre Dame 67
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