Chloe Jackson was the game's Outstanding Player./JEFFREY S. KING
Monday, 3 a.m.
It was all gone. The lead, and possibly the title.
To say Baylor was reeling would be to state the obvious.
Despite it all, however, despite blowing a 17-point lead, Baylor came back to win the national championship, 82-81 at Amalie Arena.
Baylor, which lost star player Lauren Cox during the game, fell behind 77-76 before pulling it out.
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Baylor coach Kim Mulkey won her third title./JEFFREY S. KING
Chloe Jackson, a transfer from LSU, was named the Outstanding Player after scoring 26 points inlcuding hitting a driving layup for the winning points
Notre Dame senior Arike Ogunbowale had a chance to tie the score with 1.9 seconds left, but missed the first of two free throws and the Lady Bears were able to run out the clock. Ogunbowale's 31 points were second most in the national championship game, and the most in a losing effort.
"The game didn't come down to that free throw," Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said. "I mean, the game was 40 minutes. There were plenty of mistakes we made throughout the game that caused us to lose, most notably the first quarter. We just didn't come out ready."
The win was the third title for Baylor coach Kim Mulkey.
The confetti tells the story of the Baylor women./JEFFREY S. KING
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