Notre Dame basketball star Arike Ogunbowale broke down in tears after losing the women’s national title game Sunday to Baylor.
Ogunbowale, who was the hero in 2018 to beat Mississippi State, missed a free throw to send the game to overtime with seconds remaining. (RELATED: The March Madness Bracket Has Been Released)
As she walked off the through the tunnel, she did her best to fight back the tears, but they were clearly flowing. Watch the emotional video below.
Arike Ogunbowale wipes away tears as she walks off the floor.
After being the hero in this game one year ago, Ogunbowale missed a free throw with under 2 seconds to play that could have sent the title game into OT. pic.twitter.com/UrKB6MgNbN
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 8, 2019
That’s not how anybody wants to end their college career, but there’s no question that Ogunbowale will go down as one of the most entertaining and decorated players in the history of the sport.
I regularly trash women’s basketball, but the Wisconsin native is unreal. That shot to win the title last year was straight up one of the ballsiest moments of college basketball that I’ve ever seen.
ARIKE OGUNBOWALE JUST WON NOTRE DAME THE 2018 NATIONAL TITLE! pic.twitter.com/ZCNhyF1uIf
— ESPN (@espn) April 2, 2018
She didn’t go out with another ring, and the video above is about as raw as it gets in sports. You can’t fake emotions like that. She had her dream of another championship ripped away from her in front of the whole country. It’s truly heartbreaking.
The WNBA is her likely career move, and she’ll always be a legend for the Fighting Irish.
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Best of luck to her at the next level. Something tells me that she’s going to be just fine.