Notre Dame and Villanova win 2018 NCAA Women's and Men's Championship

notre dame beat mississippi state 61-58 on sunday night to win the ncaa women's championship in columbus, ohio. junior guard arike ogunbowale hit a three-pointer with 0.1 seconds left to give the fighting irish their second women's basketball title.

ogunbowale scored 16 of her 18 points in the second half and was named most outstanding player. notre dame (35-3) overcame a 15-point lead to emerge victorious in a thrilling comeback. the win came exactly 17 years ago from their first title.

notre dame coach muffet mcgraw said, "it's easter sunday and all the catholics were praying for us." ogunbowale said of her courageous shot, "it just felt right. i practice late-game all the time. i just ran to jackie and said, throw it me, throw it to me." jessica shepard, who led the irish with 19 points, said, "this team is relentlessly driven. we've been down multiple times this year, but nobody stops us."

villanova beat michigan 79-62 on monday night to win the ncaa men's championship in san antonio, texas. this is their second title in three years. the wildcats (36-4) won all six games by double digits, becoming the fourth team in ncaa history to achieve such a feat. 

sophomore guard donte divincenzo had 31 points, five rebounds, three assists and two blocks and was named most outstanding player. the redhead kid with the nickname big ragu came off the bench and had folks chanting his name from the cheap seats: "di-vin-cen-zo, di-vin-cen-zo."

villanova coach jay wright said, "i thought we played our best game in the championship game." divincenzo, when asked if he enjoys threes or rejections more, said, "blocked shots, definitely. i pride myself on defense and just bringing energy to the team."     

Mississippi Mayor stops release of mug shots for people shot by cops

mayor chokwe antar lumumba of jackson, mississippi in late february signed an executive order to stop the jackson police department (jpd) from releasing mug shots of people shot by police, and of youth charged as adults.

the order was signed the exact same day - six years later - when trayvon martin, an unarmed black teenager, was shot and killed by george zimmerman, a self-appointed neighborhood watchman. zimmerman was later acquitted in a polarizing trial because jurors believed he acted in self-defense under florida's controversial stand your ground law.  

"the last image of any person should not be on the worst day of their life or the worst image that we could possibly provide of them," said lumumba. attorney c.j. lawrence, the mayor's friend and creator of the 2014 "if they gunned me down" social media campaign, also spoke at the press conference.

mayor lumumba acknowledged the complex and fractured history among communities of black and brown people and law enforcement. lumumba said jackson's majority-black police force created a "unique relationship" between residents and the police.

but the mayor's order does not affect the jpd's reluctance to release the names of officers who shot residents. in 2016, the international association of chiefs of police noted the prudent release of officers' names in these cases "serves to enhance public trust in the investigative process, and adds to the transparency and perceived integrity of the investigation." 

     

2018 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class

thirteen men and women were inducted into the basketball hall of fame in september. the 2018 class include steve nash, jason kidd, ray allen, grant hill, maurice cheeks. tina thompson, katie smith, rod thorn, lefty driesell, charlie scott, rick welts, dino rada and ora mae washington.

nash played 18 years with three teams. nash is a two-time mvp, eight-time all-star and is third all-time in assists. 

kidd played 18 seasons with six teams. kidd is an nba champion, ten-time all-star, two-time olympic gold medalist, co-rookie of the year and is second all-time in assists.

allen played 18 seasons with four teams. allen is a two-time nba champion, ten-time all-star, olympic gold medalist and the all-time leader in three-point field goals made in the regular and postseason. 

hill played 19 seasons with four teams. hill is a seven-time all-star, co-rookie of the year and olympic gold medalist. 

cheeks played 15 seasons with five teams. cheeks is an nba champion, four-time all-star, fifth all-time in career steals and 11th all-time in assists.

tina thompson played 17 seasons with three wnba teams. thompson was the first draft pick in wnba history. she is a four-time wnba champion, nine-time all-star, two-time olympic gold medalist and one of the top 15 players in wnba history.

katie smith played 14 seasons with five wnba teams. smith is a two-time wnba champion, wnba finals mvp, seven-time all-star, three-time olympic gold medalist, one of the top 15 players in wnba history and is the top scorer in professional basketball history.

rod thorn was an assistant head coach, head coach, general manager, executive vice president of basketball operations, team president and president of basketball operations throughout four decades. thorn was named the nba executive of the year in 2002.

lefty driesell was a college head coach for 41 seasons with four teams. driesell is the only basketball coach to win at least 100 games with four different colleges. his final record was 786-394.

rick welts has over 40 years of nba experience. welts created the nba all-star weekend in 1984, developed the marketing program for usa basketball with the 1992 olympic dream team and helped launch the wnba. he is the current president of the golden state warriors.

dino rada played 14 seasons with seven teams in europe, and four seasons with the boston celtics. rada was a three-time yugoslav league champion, two-time croatian league champion, two-time euroleague champion, two-time greek league champion, croatian cup winner, yugoslav cup winner, greek league finals mvp and one of fiba's 50 greatest players.

ora mae washington played 12 seasons for two teams. washington led the germantown hornets to 33 consecutive victories in 1931. from 1932-1942, as their center, leading scorer and coach, she helped the philadelphia tribunes win 11 consecutive women's colored basketball world's championships, and was known as the "best colored player in the world."