Although often overshadowed by the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament known as March Madness, the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament yielded some of the most exciting basketball played all year. Coming down to two overtime games in the final four, there was every reason to expect an exciting final national championship game.

A battle set between two dominant teams, the Mississippi State Bulldogs — who were returning to their second national championship in two years-- and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish — an unlikely victory against the woman powerhouse UCONN. The two teams fought it out and delivered the highly expected intense game that resulted in a buzzer-beater for the win by Notre Dame’s MVP Arike Ogunbowale.

As soon as she hit that shot, headlines began pouring onto all forms of mainstream media, alerting the nation of the Fighting Irish’s first national championship in 17 years. However, a few headlines caught my eye, specifically the one shown below.

ARIKE OGUNBOWALE JUST WON NOTRE DAME THE 2018 NATIONAL TITLE! pic.twitter.com/ZCNhyF1uIf
— ESPN (@espn) April">https://twitter.com/espn/status/980599818052685824... 2, 2018

This was only the second tweet sent out by ESPN after the final shot of the National Championship game was made, and although it is eye-catching it is also very misleading. By sending out this tweet, ESPN is essentially crediting Arike Ogunbowale with the team's entire win, disregarding the coaches and other players who played a part in this win and the season as a whole.

It is uncertain, of course, whether or not the Fighting Irish would have won without that final shot, but it is unfair to attribute the whole game to one play.This tweet does not correlate to Arike's personality in any way, as seen in post-game interviews, she is a confident player, one that would do anything to allow her team the best opportunity to win. It is unfair for national platforms to portray her in this light, whether or not that was their intention. This has become a trend among sports media, summing up a team’s success into the name of one stand out player.

Big name players are present across all sports, some including Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, Derek Jeter, and many others. Yes, they may be physically gifted and have a niche for their sport, however, none of those players got to the top without a team or coaches to guide them along the way.

Sports are so vital to society and have achieved their impact on the aspect of team play. All players have their big moments, but it can not be forgotten how and with whom they have achieved their success.

One player does not win a game for a whole team, but rather individual plays put together effectively lead to the greatest success.