Arike Ogunbowale lifted the Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball team to the National Championship game with a stunning win over the heavily-favorited UConn Huskies.

After the Fighting Irish had blown a late lead in regulation, Ogunbowale hit a cold-blooded step back jumper with a second left in overtime to seal the huge victory.

After the game, and speaking with ESPN's Holly Rowe, Ogunbowale named her inspiration for the clutch shot:

“I know I just had to shoot it at the last minute. I mean, I didn’t want to give them a chance to get the ball,” she said. “I went into Mamba Mentality. Kobe’s here, so that’s what I had to channel.”

Kobe Bryant was in the crowd, indeed. But being a big UConn fan, the Los Angeles Lakers great actually wasn't cheering for Notre Dame to win, but rather the Huskies.

After the game, though, he gave a shoutout on Twitter to the new Fighting Irish Star and Ogunbowale was star struck.

Bryant reminded her that she still has a game to win on Sunday to become a National Champion.

For the Fighting Irish, they need to be careful though. Last year, Mississippi State beat UConn in the semifinals but no longer had anything left in the tank, eventually losing to South Carolina in the final.

This year they will be playing that Mississippi State team in the final and the Fighting Irish need to try to not suffer a setback after such a huge win on Friday night.