The Notre Dame bench came to life as it watched the shot of Purdue standout Katie Douglas bounce harmlessly off the front of the rim.

The Irish players began jumping and screaming on the court, as Notre Dame had secured its first women’s basketball National Championship. But Irish assistant Carol Owens sat still on the bench as Notre Dame celebrated the 68-66 triumph.

“I didn’t jump up. I was just numb,” said Owens, a former NIU player. “I just couldn’t believe this was happening. So many things go through my mind. “

The pain and frustration of losing in the second round of the NCAA tournament during her senior year at NIU seemed a million miles away. The milestone she never reached as a player suddenly became reality, as pandemonium broke loose in St. Louis.

“It is far beyond your dreams,” Owens said of winning the national trophy, “because it’s such a huge accomplishment and huge experience. You just can’t erase that feeling. I go back to that feeling a hundred times a day.”

As the Irish faithful cheered and coaches and players embraced, Owens reflected on the hard journey it took to reach this pinnacle. During her playing days at NIU, Owens had to work through painful injuries, including a torn ACL before her sophomore year.

In 1990, the former Huskie All-American center helped lead NIU to the Big Dance and a 26-5 record, the best in NIU history. The Huskies fell to Purdue — the team the Irish defeated for the national trophy this year — in a heartbreaking 66-61 second round loss.

“The demands of Division I athletics were very hard on her,” said former NIU coach Jane Albright, who now coaches at Wisconsin. “She really put in a lot.”

Upon graduation from NIU, Owens played two years of professional ball overseas, before landing an assistant coaching position at Michigan. Finally, in 1995, Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw provided her with a unique opportunity. McGraw hired Owens as an assistant, giving her recruiting duties, and had her work on developing the Irish post game.

Building a champion

Then, during Owens’ second year with the Irish in 1997, along came recruits Ruth Riley, Kelley Siemon and Meaghan Leahy, with Alicia Ratay coming in two years later. Each player boasted size, athleticism and promising talent, but they also had very raw skills.

Working closely alongside Notre Dame’s post players, Owens developed one of the nation’s most devastating inside tandems in 6-foot-5 Riley and 6-foot-2 Siemon.

Owens had something most coaches don’t: experience on the court. As an NIU freshman 16 years ago, the Chicago native had the tools to be a great player but lacked strength. She realized the importance of conditioning, and her hours in the gym made her one of the best players in the country during her days in DeKalb. Ownes, who made the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame last December, averaged 21.7 points and 9.2 rebounds during her senior year in 1990.

“She was the kind of player that you could put the team on her back and tell her to carry them,” Albright said.

Owens passed that knowledge along to Riley, Siemon and Leahy. The trio became Owens’ personal projects, and she saw many things in them that she herself went through as a player. Owens also emphasized the importance of being able to move without the ball and receiving passes. After struggling with shooting from the field, Siemon developed into a slashing offensive player that could hurt defenses in many ways. Owens would be there to encourage her young recruits when they struggled but would also point out their weaknesses.

“She is a very intense and vocal coach,” Riley said of Owens. “She wants the best from her players, and she will get on you pretty hard but only because she expects the best.”

Riley went from being a talented but foul-prone center to the nation’s most dominant inside player. This year, Riley earned National Player of the Year honors averaging 18.7 points and 7.8 rebounds and led the country in field goal percentage. The center also will enter the upcoming WNBA draft. Owens got to see Riley’s development first-hand, going up against the players in practice pickup games.

“[Riley’s] very strong,” Owens said. “I couldn’t say that about her in her freshman year. But as the years went on, she’s blocked my shot quite a few times.”

Rolling to the Final Four

With Riley’s dominance in the paint, combined with the country’s best perimeter shooters in Ratay and Niele Ivey, Notre Dame had a dangerous team. The Irish propelled to the top of the national polls, after defeating defending national champ UConn 92-76 on Jan. 15 and 90-75 in the Final Four.

Finally, on April 1, the Irish did the unthinkable — they beat Purdue for the national championship.

“I think she made a major impact on the program,” McGraw said of Owens. “Everyone keeps asking how good we’ve gotten lately. People might say it’s because we joined the Big East. I think it coincided with Carol’s arrival. The types of kids we’ve been getting — I think it’s all been better since Carol’s been here.”

Looking back

In just six years of work, Owens has produced two All-Americans in Riley and point guard Ivey. But she remained especially close with Riley, Siemon, and Leahy, her first recruits. Notre Dame recently honored the Irish seniors in a banquet Sunday, and the usually tough-skinned Owens had an emotional breakdown as she said goodbye to her players.

“In my office I never took down their pictures from their freshman year — Kelley, Megan and Ruth,” Owens said. “They always kid me about how I can never replace them. It always makes me look back. I think that’s something I’m going to take with me.”