Baylor guard Chloe Jackson cheers against Notre Dame during the women's NCAA Tournament championship game, April 7, 2019. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Baylor is the 2019 women’s national champions after a thrilling 82-81 victory over Notre Dame on Sunday night. Leading the way for the Bears was Chloe Jackson, who hit the game-winning layup with 3.9 seconds left.
Out of an ensuing timeout, last year’s championship game hero, Arike Ogunbowale of Notre Dame, was fouled going to the basket. But she missed her first free throw, and after an inbounds play, the Lady Bears were celebrating a title.
Jackson, a graduate transfer, was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four after a season-high 26 points to go along with five assists in the title game.
“Hard work, patience, believing in God,” Jackson said postgame on ESPN. “I never knew what my plan was going to be but I just believed in Him all the way. I wouldn’t be here without Him.”
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) April 8, 2019
The Lady Bears (37-1) won their first championship since 2012 and were able to pull off the win without their star forward Lauren Cox, who injured her knee late in the third quarter. After Baylor led by 14 points, Notre Dame fought back to tie the game late at 78, but Baylor was able to pull out the win in thrilling fashion.
“God is good and He blessed these kids,” Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said on ESPN. “They fought through it … I just know when you lose a big-time player in the middle of a national championship game, you’re not supposed to win … We just beat the defending national champions. That team is so good.”
Arizona forward Tobe Awaka, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Every morning before sunrise, Tobe Awaka’s day began long before most high school students were awake. Growing up in Hyde Park, New York, Awaka chose a high school nearly two-and-a-half hours away by train — Cardinal Hayes in the Bronx — because he knew it would best prepare him for his future plans.
That meant waking up at 3:30 or 4 a.m. to catch the train, go to class, attend basketball practice, then make the long trip home — only to do it all again the next day.
“It was tough. It definitely had its ups and downs, but it helped mold [me] into the person and player I am today,” he said recently on Sports Spectrum’s “What’s Up?” podcast.
That early discipline, both in academics and athletics, set the tone for his future basketball journey. He didn’t start playing “high-level” basketball until ninth grade, and even then, his approach looked different from many future stars. Instead of structured drills in a gym, he was in his driveway, pretending an invisible defender was in front of him.
“I’d just do a bunch of different combo moves… kind of imagine myself going past them,” he said on the podcast. “I think that kind of helped build my creativity and my love for the game.”
Fast forward to the 2025-26 college basketball season, and that inner creativity and work ethic has helped Awaka become one of the most impactful pieces on the No. 1-ranked and 14-0 Arizona Wildcats. The senior forward is posting a double-double season, averaging 10.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game, and shooting 59.8% from the floor — numbers that place him among the team’s and Big 12’s most consistent performers this year. And it’s all coming from a reserve role; despite starting 36 of 37 games last season, Awaka has come off the bench for every game this season.
His 18 points against Utah on Jan. 3 matched a career high, and he chipped in 12 rebounds to go with it. But his growth hasn’t only come through box scores.
After transferring from Tennessee following the 2023-24 season — a choice he described as one of the toughest decisions of his life — Awaka leaned deeply on his faith to find clarity. What began as prayer and thoughtful reflection turned into a sense of spiritual peace that guided his decision.
“Honestly, once I got the green light spiritually from God that I was making the right choice and moving in the right direction, it was tough going through on that but I think ultimately it’s been to my benefit and for my good,” he said on the podcast. “Sometimes, as a believer, the unknown can be a little scary. The whole fact of having faith becomes real and true and something you have to put into practice, and that was definitely a moment where I had to.”
Now at Arizona, faith has become something Awaka lives out in community. What started as a personal pursuit of spiritual growth has grown into a space for teammates — and others across campus — to do the same. In one of his early days in Tucson, he visited a local barbershop for a haircut. He noticed his barber had a sermon from pastor Philip Anthony Mitchell playing on a nearby TV, which sparked an organic conversation about faith.
Their friendship grew from there, and the two decided to meet regularly for a Bible study. Other players soon caught wind of what they were doing and asked if they could join. The group quickly grew to six members and has continued expanding as others from across campus have been invited. Some meetings now include 15 to 20 people, Awaka said.
“It’s been really cool just to see how God has moved,” he said on the podcast. “Honestly, it just kind of started with two guys trying to dive deeper into their faith and learn more about it. It’s kind of grown into something cool and special. We’re still trying to grow it, still trying to get more guys on the team interested and bring them along, but it’s been a great experience.”
That boldness in faith wasn’t always instinctive for Awaka. It came through searching, wrestling and earnest exploration of truth. Around his freshman year of college, he found himself digging into every major religion — Christianity, Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism and more — before landing where he felt alive with conviction.
“I went pretty deep and I landed on Christianity,” he said on the podcast. “I kind of read the Bible like a mad man. I read it front to back, then read through the New Testament again. I felt it deep in my soul that that was the truth and that’s where God wanted me to move. Even before that, it was just a lot of research, a lot of looking things up.”
Away from the court and classroom, Awaka is a big reader, using books to quiet his mind amidst the chaos of basketball and business school coursework. One book that left an impression was “Inner Excellence” by Jim Murphy, which he said reshaped his mental approach as an athlete. Ecclesiastes is also one of his favorite books in the Bible.
His faith went from something he followed because his parents did it to something he now claims as his. So when the decision to transfer schools came, he said it felt like “peace amongst chaos” when he got that “green light” from the Lord.
“There’s a lot of things swirling, a lot of people in your ear, but internally you have this gravity telling you that it’s going to be OK,” he said. He heard the Lord telling him to follow in His steps and He would lead him in the right direction.
“Adversity is inevitable. We see that all throughout the Scriptures,” he said on the podcast. “But at the same time, Christ isn’t going to take that away, necessarily, but He’s going to help us walk through that. I definitely believe and feel that’s what He was doing with me through that time.”
Awaka and Arizona next face Big 12-foe Kansas State at 9 p.m. ET Wednesday.
Auburn's Johni Broome (4), Ja'Heim Hudson (8) and other team personnel celebrate with a prayer after a win, Feb. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
With 2025 coming to a close, Sports Spectrum is highlighting our most-viewed stories of the year.
The Auburn Tigers were riding high as the nation’s No. 1 team in February, and had just beaten arch-rival Alabama — No. 2 in the nation — on the road, moving Auburn to 23-2 on the season. They had a national player of the year candidate in Johni Broome and a fiery, charismatic head coach in Bruce Pearl.
But the Tigers also exhibited a culture of faith that intrigued many.
“Everybody on this team is revolved around God and having a relationship with God,” guard Miles Kelly told 247 Sports at the time. “So that’s a big part of why everybody is doing [Auburn’s signature ‘Call God’ celebration].”
Center Dylan Cardwell expanded on Kelly’s sentiment: “It’s unique to see guys use their platform to glorify God, especially just a small gesture like that,” he said. “… I’m just grateful for the opportunity to put that message forward rather than harp on our own successes.”
Sports Spectrum wrote about this team culture on Feb. 18 and the story received heavy web traffic right away. Readers were eager to learn about the No. 1 team in the country and its many players, coaches and others who publicly professed their faith in Christ.
Bonded by a shared devotion to God, Auburn earned a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournment and advanced all the way to the Final Four, joining the three other No. 1 seeds in San Antonio. The Tigers fell just short, however, as they lost to the eventual national champions, the Florida Gators, in the semifinals.
Still, Auburn’s run to the biggest stage in college basketball — as the players continued to praise God publicly — generated steady attention throughout March Madness and into the first weekend of April. Readers steadily found our story on the team, helping it to become our No. 3 most-viewed story in 2025:
