TAMPA — Baylor will be leaving Tampa with some hardware.
The Bears earned the program's third national title after defeating the reigning champion Notre Dame, 82-81 on Sunday night.
Baylor's starting forward Lauren Cox sustained an injury in the third quarter, leading freshman Nalyssa Smith to come in and step up big for Baylor. She went 7-for-9, scoring 14 points and picking up six rebounds. Grad transfer Chloe Jackson had 26 points and five assists. Senior Kalani Brown had 20 points and 13 rebounds.
"My teammates and my coaches, they just believe in me so much. And for Lauren Cox, she got us here and we had to finish the job for her," Jackson said on the court after the game.
Notre Dame showed up in the fourth quarter to give the Bears a scare. With seconds left in the game, Moon Ursin fouled Arike Ogunbowale. Ogunbowale, a senior for Notre Dame and the hero of last season, missed the first and made the second.
Catch up on everything you may have missed below.
2019 NCAA women's basketball tournament: Bracket
Click or tap here for a printable bracket.
2019 NCAA women's basketball tournament: Schedule, scores, TV channels
First Round — Friday, March 22
- No. 1 Louisville 69, No. 16 Robert Morris 34
- No. 4 South Carolina 74, No. 13 Belmont 52
- No. 2 Iowa 66, No. 15 Mercer 61
- No. 5 Marquette 58, No. 12 Rice 54 (OT)
- No. 8 Michigan 84, No. 9 Kansas State 54
- No. 5 Florida State 70, No. 12 Bucknell 67
- No. 4 Texas A&M 84, No. 13 Wright State 61
- No. 7 Missouri 77, No. 10 Drake 76 (OT)
- No. 10 Buffalo 82, No. 7 Rutgers 71
- No. 2 UConn 110, No. 15 Towson 61
- No. 10 Indiana 69, No. 7 Texas 65
- No. 9 Clemson 79, No. 8 South Dakota 66
- No. 5 Arizona State 60, No. 12 UCF 45
- No. 1 Mississippi State 103, No. 16 Southern 46
- No. 2 Oregon 78, No. 15 Portland State 40
- No. 4 Miami (Fla.) 69, No. 13 Florida Gulf Coast 62
First Round — Saturday, March 23
- No. 1 Notre Dame 92, No. 16 Bethune-Cookman 50
- No. 3 Maryland 73, No. 14 Radford 51
- No. 6 Kentucky 82, No. 11 Princeton 77
- No. 6 South Dakota State 76, No. 11 Quinnipiac 65
- No. 3 NC State 63, No. 14 Maine 51
- No. 3 Syracuse 70, No. 14 Fordham 49
- No. 6 UCLA 89, No. 11 Tennessee 77
- No. 9 Michigan State 88, No. 8 Central Michigan 87
- No. 5 Gonzaga 68, No. 12 Little Rock 51
- No. 11 Missouri State 89, No. 6 DePaul 78
- No. 8 California 92, No. 9 North Carolina 72
- No. 7 BYU 73, No. 10 Auburn 64
- No. 1 Baylor 95, No. 16 Abilene Christian 38
- No. 2 Stanford 79, No. 15 UC Davis 54
- No. 4 Oregon State 80, No. 13 Boise State 75 (OT)
- No. 3 Iowa State 97, No. 14 New Mexico State 61
Second Round — Sunday, March 24
Second Round — Monday, March 25
- No. 3 NC State 72, No. 6 Kentucky 57
- No. 1 Notre Dame 91, No. 9 Michigan State 63
- No. 6 South Dakota State 75, No. 3 Syracuse 64
- No. 6 UCLA 85, No. 3 Maryland 80
- No. 1 Baylor 102, No. 8 California 63
- No. 4 Oregon State 76, No. 5 Gonzaga 70
- No. 11 Missouri State 69, No. 3 Iowa State 60
- No. 2 Stanford 72, No. 7 BYU 63
Third Round — Friday, March 29
- No. 2 UConn 69, No. 6 UCLA 61
- No. 1 Louisville 61, No. 4 Oregon State 44
- No. 1 Mississippi State 76, No. 5 Arizona State 53
- No. 2 Oregon 63, No. 6 South Dakota State 53
Third Round — Saturday, March 30
- No. 2 Iowa 79, No. 3 North Carolina State 61
- No. 1 Baylor 93, No. 4 South Carolina 68
- No. 1 Notre Dame 87, No. 4 Texas A&M 80
- No. 2 Stanford 55, No. 11 Missouri State 46
NCAA tournament: Interactive bracket
Regional Finals — Sunday, March 31
Regional Finals — Monday, April 1
National Semifinals - Friday, April 5
National Championship - Sunday, April 7
NCAA women's basketball tournament: Champions, history
| YEAR | CHAMPION (RECORD) | COACH | SCORE | RUNNER-UP | SITE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Notre Dame (34-3) | Muffet McGraw | 61-58 | Mississippi State | Columbus, Ohio |
| 2017 | South Carolina (33-4) | Dawn Staley | 67-55 | Mississippi State | Dallas, Texas |
| 2016 | Connecticut (38-0) | Geno Auriemma | 82-51 | Syracuse | Indianapolis, Ind. |
| 2015 | Connecticut (38-1) | Geno Auriemma | 63-53 | Notre Dame | Tampa, Fla. |
| 2014 | Connecticut (40-0) | Geno Auriemma | 79-58 | Notre Dame | Nashville, Tenn. |
| 2013 | Connecticut (35-4) | Geno Auriemma | 93-60 | Louisville | New Orleans, La. |
| 2012 | Baylor (40-0) | Kim Mulkey | 80-61 | Notre Dame | Denver, Colo. |
| 2011 | Texas A&M (33-5) | Gary Blair | 76-70 | Notre Dame | Indianapolis, Ind. |
| 2010 | Connecticut (39-0) | Geno Auriemma | 53-47 | Stanford | San Antonio, Texas |
| 2009 | Connecticut (39-0) | Geno Auriemma | 76-54 | Louisville | St. Louis, Mo. |
| 2008 | Tennessee (36-2) | Pat Summitt | 64-48 | Stanford | Tampa, Fla. |
| 2007 | Tennessee (34-3) | Pat Summitt | 59-46 | Rutgers | Cleveland, Ohio |
| 2006 | Maryland (34-4) | Brenda Frese | 78-75 (OT) | Duke | Boston, Mass. |
| 2005 | Baylor (33-3) | Kim Mulkey | 84-62 | Michigan State | Indianapolis, Ind. |
| 2004 | Connecticut (31-4) | Geno Auriemma | 70-61 | Tennessee | New Orleans, La. |
| 2003 | Connecticut (37-1) | Geno Auriemma | 73-68 | Tennessee | Atlanta, Ga. |
| 2002 | Connecticut (39-0) | Geno Auriemma | 82-70 | Oklahoma | San Antonio, Texas |
| 2001 | Notre Dame (34-2) | Muffet McGraw | 68-66 | Purdue | St. Louis, Mo. |
| 2000 | Connecticut (36-1) | Geno Auriemma | 71-52 | Tennessee | Philadelphia, Pa. |
| 1999 | Purdue (34-1) | Carolyn Peck | 62-45 | Duke | San Jose, Calif. |
| 1998 | Tennessee (39-0) | Pat Summitt | 93-75 | Louisiana Tech | Kansas City, Mo. |
| 1997 | Tennessee (29-10) | Pat Summitt | 68-59 | Old Dominion | Cincinnati, Ohio |
| 1996 | Tennessee (32-4) | Pat Summitt | 83-65 | Georgia | Charlotte, N.C. |
| 1995 | Connecticut (35-0) | Geno Auriemma | 70-64 | Tennessee | Minneapolis, Minn. |
| 1994 | North Carolina (33-2) | Sylvia Hatchell | 60-59 | Louisiana Tech | Richmond, Va. |
| 1993 | Texas Tech (31-3) | Marsha Sharp | 84-82 | Ohio State | Atlanta, Ga. |
| 1992 | Stanford (30-3) | Tara VanDerveer | 78-62 | Western Kentucky | Los Angeles, Calif. |
| 1991 | Tennessee (30-5) | Pat Summitt | 70-67 (OT) | Virginia | New Orleans, La. |
| 1990 | Stanford (32-1) | Tara VanDerveer | 88-81 | Auburn | Knoxville, Tenn. |
| 1989 | Tennessee (35-2) | Pat Summitt | 76-60 | Auburn | Tacoma, Wash. |
| 1988 | Louisiana Tech (32-2) | Leon Barmore | 56-54 | Auburn | Tacoma, Wash. |
| 1987 | Tennessee (28-6) | Pat Summitt | 67-44 | Louisiana Tech | Austin, Texas |
| 1986 | Texas (34-0) | Jody Conradt | 97-81 | Southern California | Lexington, Ky. |
| 1985 | Old Dominion (31-3) | Marianne Stanley | 70-65 | Georgia | Austin, Texas |
| 1984 | Southern California (29-4) | Linda Sharp | 72-61 | Tennessee | Los Angeles, Calif. |
| 1983 | Southern California (31-2) | Linda Sharp | 69-67 | Louisiana Tech | Norfolk, Va. |
| 1982 | Louisiana Tech (35-1) | Sonja Hogg | 76-62 | Cheyney | Norfolk, Va. |
How are NCAA women's basketball tournament teams selected?
There are 64 teams in the single-elimination tournament. Of those, 32 qualify automatically as conference champions by winning conference tournaments. The rest will be selected as at-large teams by the Division I Women's Basketball Championship Sport Committee.
NCAA tournament: 5 takeaways from the bracket reveal
Earlier this season, the committee twice announced its top-16 teams: Feb. 11 and March 4. However, these reveals have no bearing on the final 64-team field. In the March 4 reveal, Baylor, Louisville, Notre Dame and UConn were No. 1 seeds.
When the bracket was revealed, Baylor, Louisville, Notre Dame and Mississippi State received No. 1 seeds. UConn dropped to a No. 2 seed.
NCAA women's basketball tournament: Automatic qualifiers
America East: Maine (25-7); No. 14 seed
American Athletic Conference: UConn (31-2); No. 2 seed
Atlantic 10: Fordham (25-8); No. 14 seed
ACC: Notre Dame (30-3); No. 1 seed
Atlantic Sun: Florida Gulf Coast (28-4); No. 13 seed
Big 12: Baylor (31-1); No. 1 seed
Big East: DePaul (26-7); No. 6 seed
Big Sky: Portland State (25-7); No. 15 seed
Big South: Radford (26-6); No. 14 seed
Big Ten: Iowa (26-6); No. 2 seed
Big West: UC Davis (24-6); No. 15 seed
CAA: Towson (20-12); No. 15 seed
Conference USA: Rice (28-3); No. 12 seed
Horizon League: Wright State (27-6); No. 13 seed
Ivy League: Princeton (22-9); No. 11 seed
MAAAC: Quinnipiac (26-6); No. 11 seed
MAC: Buffalo (23-9); No. 10 seed
MEAC: Bethune-Cookman (21-10); No. 16 seed
Missouri Valley Conference: Missouri State (22-9); No. 11 seed
Mountain West Conference: Boise State (28-4); No. 13 seed
Northeast Conference: Robert Morris (22-10); No. 16 seed
Ohio Valley Conference: Belmont (26-6); No. 13 seed
Pac-12: Stanford (28-4); No. 2 seed
Patriot League: Bucknell (28-5); No. 12 seed
SEC: Mississippi State (30-2); No. 1 seed
Southern Conference: Mercer (25-7); No. 15 seed
Southland Conference: Abilene Christian (23-9); No. 16 seed
SWAC: Southern (20-12); No. 16 seed
Summit League: South Dakota State (26-6); No. 6 seed
Sun Belt Conference: Little Rock (21-10); No. 12 seed
WCC: BYU (25-6); No. 7 seed
WAC: New Mexico State (25-6); No. 14 seed
