MINNEAPOLIS >> Kirsten Simms scored on a penalty shot to tie it after a successful Wisconsin challenge with 18 seconds left and then delivered the winner 2:49 into sudden-death overtime to rally top-seed Wisconsin to a 4-3 victory over No. 2 seed Ohio State in the championship match of the women’s Frozen Four on Sunday.

It was the third straight season the two schools squared off for the NCAA title. Coach Mark Johnson’s Badgers beat Ohio State 1-0 in 2023 before losing 1-0 to Nadine Muzerall’s Buckeyes last season.

Simms forced OT when she scored after Wisconsin (38-1-2) was successful on a challenge that an Ohio State player put her hand on the puck while in the crease. The Buckeyes were playing shorthanded at the time after being caught with too many players on the ice with 1:50 remaining.

Wisconsin’s Ava McNaughton and Ohio State’s Amanda Thiele both had saves in the first 90 seconds of OT. But Simms used Lacey Eden’s second assist of the match to score the winner and earn the Badgers their record eighth championship.

Ohio State was the only team to beat Wisconsin in regulation this season. The Buckeyes have played in four straight Frozen Four title matches, also winning in 2022.