National Champs: Baylor wins in dramatic fashion over Notre Dame, 82-81

TAMPA BAY, Fla. — Thank goodness for Chloe Jackson. The Baylor senior scored 26 points and led the Baylor Lady Bears to a dramatic victory over Notre Dame in the 2019 National Championship on Sunday evening, 82-81. Baylor is now 3-0 in National Championship games.

When Baylor junior Lauren Cox was lost at the end of the third quarter with what appeared to be a significant knee injury, what was a dominant performance by the Lady Bears turned into anything but dominance in the final quarter of the contest. 

Baylor looked as though they would take a 14-point lead after a Chloe Jackson scored her 19^th and 20^th point of the contest, but Notre Dame drove the length of the court and connected on a three-point basket to close the gap to 66-55 at the end of the third quarter. 

The basket was the sign of things to come as Baylor would be outscored 26-16 by the Fighting Irish in the final quarter and took a one-point lead with 3:18 remaining in the game. The Lady Bears responded and eventually notched the game at 80 prior to the final possession.

Jackson was the answer for Baylor as the LSU grad-transfer scored a layup on a drive with six seconds remaining. Notre Dame was fouled on their final attempt of the game, but Arike Ogunbowale missed the first of two free throws that would have tied the game and likely send it to overtime.

The dramatics to close the contest was unexpected after the first 30 minutes.

Baylor jumped out to a quick 10-point lead with five minutes to go in the first quarter and remained on similar pace for the rest of the game. The Lady Bears extended the lead to 11 by the end of the quarter and eventually led by 12 to end the first half.

Notre Dame attempted a make a run prior to the break, closing Baylor’s lead down to eight on a made three-point basket by Arike Ogunbowale, but a tip-in shot by Kalani Brown with on the final possession of the first half extended the lead out to 43-31.

An injury scare to Brown early in the first half didn’t limit her production in the final game of her Baylor career. The senior scored 12 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in the first half and finished the game with 20 and 13. 

After Baylor extended their lead out to 14 to open the third quarter, the Fighting Irish used a 9-2 run to cut Baylor’s back down to seven points.

The Lady Bears didn’t take long to answer, however, answering with a 7-0 run of their own to grow the lead to 60-46 with 2:11 remaining in the third period. The spurt by the Lady Bears was capped off by Juicy Landrum’s second three-point field goal of the came. Landrum finished the game with 8 points and 6 assists. 

Cox, a junior, finished with 8 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 assists prior to leaving the contest.