Notre Dame's Arike Ogunbowale sheds tears after women's national title loss

April 8 (UPI) -- Notre Dame star and future WNBA lottery pick Arike Ogunbowale wiped tears off of her face as she left the floor, following a loss in the national championship.

The tears flowed following the Fighting Irish's 82-81 setback to Baylor Sunday at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla. Ogunbowale was fouled with 1.9 seconds remaining as Notre Dame trailed 82-80. She stepped up to the free throw line and missed the first of her two game-tying free throw opportunities.

She walked off the floor, crying into her jersey. Ogunbowale scored a game-high 31 points and had six rebounds and two steals in the loss. Chloe Jackson led Baylor with 26 points.

"It's tough," Ogunbowale told reporters when asked about her free throw miss. "You can't really do anything about that one."

"It didn't come down to a free throw. It was much more than that," Notre Dame's Brianna Turner said.

Ogunbowale led the Irish to a championship in 2018.

"That's exactly what I told her," Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said. "The game didn't come down to that free throw. The game was 40 minutes and there was plenty of mistakes we made throughout the game that caused us to lose, most notably the first quarter."

Agunbowale leaves Notre Dame as the school's all-time leading scorer.