Notre Dame is a second-half team. Everyone knew that, and the Irish’s late comebacks had already become things of legend in this year’s NCAA Tournament.
Still, the thousand or so fans who came to Humphrey Coliseum to watch Mississippi State’s national championship game clash with Notre Dame on the Jumbotron Sunday evening all hoped the Bulldogs’ 13-point halftime lead was safe — even though we worried it may not be.
As the lead grew to 15 midway through the third quarter, the hopeful crowd started to become raucous and sure. Then it all changed.
Notre Dame stormed back to tie it at 41, setting the stage for a back-and-forth final frame that saw the Bulldogs furiously fight back to a five-point lead with less than two minutes to play. Roshunda Johnson’s 3-pointer, though, would be not only her final points, but her team’s last gasp of offense.
The last two minutes brought missed opportunities, an egregious no-call from the officials when a Notre Dame player body-checked Morgan William at midcourt with less than 10 seconds left, and an admittedly clutch buzzer-beater 3-pointer from Arike Ogunbowale to win the game that I’m sure will be shown on ESPN ad nauseam for the next 12 months.
The agony and disbelief in The Hump on Sunday undoubtedly paled in comparison to what those Bulldog players were feeling in the locker room. My heart goes out to them, and I’m not alone. Their community and their state applaud them for their effort. Those sentiments might be understated here, but it’s nearly impossible to overstate them in any context.
Four seniors — Johnson, Blair Schaefer, Victoria Vivians and Morgan William — are leaving a program they took from middling to elite, leading MSU to two straight national title game appearances.
What’s more is they did it with such class, grit and honor. We watched them mature as players and people over the last four years, and they encouraged us all to come along for the ride.
They met our kids at morning carpools and read to them in elementary school classrooms. They must have signed a million autographs and posed for thousands of selfies, without complaint, for people of all ages who wanted to be a part of the “family.”
These seniors helped put a product on the basketball court worthy of sellout crowds. And they all set examples on and off the court worthy of our daughters to follow.
One of the usual truths of sports fandom — whether we like it or not — is the fans, on some level, want to see the team win for personal reasons … so they can say “my team” is the best. Sometimes, fans even take it personally when “their team” loses.
But what I’ve experienced as a fan of this team for the last four years, and what I can safely gather from so many others who have watched this program blossom at these players’ hands, is that “we” have gotten everything from them we could possibly have imagined and so much more.
We wanted a win Sunday for the players, especially the seniors who got so close twice. Our heart hurts for them because they didn’t get it.
Regardless, these seniors should know from us, the fans: We’re proud of you. We appreciate what you’ve done. We’re going to miss you. There is no reason to hang your head.
Also, thanks for the memories.
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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