Women's NCAA Championship brings foul line flashbacks

What a great weekend for women's athletics, as the NCAA Final Four saw defending champion Notre Dame take down UCONN in a repeat of last year's Final Four. It doesn't get much sweeter than that -- unless you're Baylor, who then took down defending champion Notre Dame in the championship.

What memories this game brought back.

The winning coach of the Finals matchup would get her name etched in the history books -- next to the late Coach Pat Summitt of the Tennessee Lady Vols and Connecticut's Coach Geno Auriemma, the only coaches to win three or more titles. Baylor's Coach Kim Mulkey took home the honor, but not before Notre Dame's Coach Muffet McGraw and her Fighting Irish fought their way back late, after being down as many as 17.

Baylor proved too much for Notre Dame, even without their star player, Lauren Cox, to help wrap things up, going down with a knee injury in the third quarter. Notre Dame did have a chance to tie with 3.9 seconds remaining in the game.

You couldn't script it better, as star player Arike Ogunbowale stepped to the free throw line. She missed the front end of a pair of free throws, reminding us that "games are won and lost at the free throw line."

You hate to see a game come down to that. Your senior, the one who got you here, the star of last year's March Madness, the player who gives you everything every night becomes the one who missed the big one. Of course, she's also the one who made the big shots, which is why she's been in situations that make or break a team.

Baylor and Notre Dame's end-of-the-game drama took me back to the drama of the last game I ever coached. My Hudson Lady Bluehawks high school varsity team was on the verge of making more history: a trip to Sectionals Finals and our undefeated season on the line.

With several seconds left and our team down two, my star player got fouled. Again, you couldn't write it up any better. She was an amazing free throw shooter. Nothing rattled her. She stepped to the line and missed. In a split second, I had a decision to make as the coach. Have her miss the second free throw -- bang it off the rim, hope for the rebound, and go up strong?" I opted not to. Why? Because purposely missing a free throw is as difficult under pressure as making a free throw under a pressure -- and you have to strike iron. Practicing this was on my coaching agenda the day before -- but I never got to it. So in that moment, I made the decision to have her shoot to make it, and then we would 'D' up, full court press and get a steal. I went with what had worked all year. If it failed, we would foul, hope the other team missed their free throws, and regain position -- old school basketball tactic. My player made the shot, but we did not get the steal -- and we lost.

At the end of the Baylor-Notre Dame game, before Ogunbowale attempted the second free throw, I yelled, "Miss it!" It appeared Coach McGraw did call for her to miss, and it appeared she tried, but, again, easier said than done. The shot went in, and the team ultimately lost 81-82.

In my final game as a coach, I chose not to have my player miss, and she did, in fact, make it. In this Final, McGraw chose to have her player miss, but she made it, instead. In both cases, the stars were on the line, the weight of the team on their shoulders -- and they showed themselves to be human. I have nothing but love for my player; we would have never made it that far without her. While games are won and lost at the free throw line, much more goes into putting a team in that position to be at that line.

Sunday's game was a flash to the past. I questioned all those years ago the decision I made at the finale of my final game. The first question the media asked me as I stood on that gymnasium floor was, "Did you consider having her miss the free throw?" Ugh! Of course, I did. But I chose to take a chance with what had worked all season for us rather than a shot in the dark. Whenever asked if I would do the same thing if I had another shot at it, my answer was, "No. It didn't work. I'd obviously try something different next time."

It's fascinating the lessons athletics teach us, the reflection they pull out of us, the joy they bring us, and, yes, even the way they haunt us. Yes, "haunt." As I hurt for Notre Dame's No. 24 after she missed a chance to tie the game, who was I really hurting for -- her or my own high school self? With everything on the line, donning No. 24 myself, I once missed a free throw after hitting a three to tie the game with seconds remaining, getting fouled in the process. And when I yelled, "Miss it!" at the television during the NCAA championship, who was I really yelling at -- Notre Dame's star player who attempted to miss or my star player whom perhaps I should have had miss?

Sports affect us in a way that defies the mindset that "it's just a game." It's much more. The memories, the decisions, the lessons -- they remain a lifetime. They inspire us, and they haunt us.

Congratulations to Baylor for its phenomenal play and championship and Notre Dame for its valiant effort to come back. You'll remember this for years to come.

Adrienne Ross is owner of Adrienne Ross Communications and a former Southeast Missourian editorial board member. Contact her at aross@semissourian.com.