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Notre Dame Women’s Basketball: Irish Take on Baylor in Search of Third Title

By Jordan Small

TAMPA, FLORIDA - APRIL 05: Jessica Shepard #32 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish drives to the basket against the UConn Huskies during the first quarter in the semifinals of the 2019 NCAA Women's Final Four at Amalie Arena on April 05, 2019 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FLORIDA - APRIL 05: Jessica Shepard #32 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish drives to the basket against the UConn Huskies during the first quarter in the semifinals of the 2019 NCAA Women's Final Four at Amalie Arena on April 05, 2019 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /
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After beating UConn in the Final Four on Friday night, the Notre Dame women’s basketball team will take on Baylor in the National Championship game.

On Friday night, the Notre Dame women’s basketball team took on UConn in the Final Four. The Irish defeated the Huskies 81-76. Arike Ogunbowale led all scorers with 23 points and Jessica Shepard added 20 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists in the victory. The Irish will now take on Baylor in the National Championship game.

The Irish

When the Irish first played UConn in December, things unraveled for the Irish in the second half. They could not hit free throws or rebound the ball which eventually led to UConn pulling away. But on Friday night, thanks to some clutch defensive plays by Brianna Turner, the Irish were able to take down UConn in the Final Four for the second straight year.

Sunday evening will be a completely different task for the Irish as they look to win back-to-back titles for the first time in program history. Baylor has two bigs in Lauren Cox and Kalani Brown who are 6’7” and 6’4” respectively. This will provide a tough challenge for Jessica Shepard and Brianna Turner who are 6’4” and 6’3” respectively. This game will come down to who can win the battle of the bigs. If the Irish can continue to work their high low game as they do so well, they should be able to pull Brown and Cox out and cause fouls.

Baylor

Baylor comes into Sunday’s matchup at 36-1. They are coming off a 72-67 win over Oregon in the Final Four. One player to keep an eye out for is the aforementioned Lauren Cox. She is averaging 13.2 points per game this season and 8.4 rebounds per game. Against Oregon on Friday, she had 21 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists.

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How to watch

Tip-off for the matchup is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.