WATCH: Notre Dame’s Kylee Watson shares her and teammates’ hyped reaction to Fighting Irish punching their ticket to CFB natty

Kylee Watson and some of her teammates at Notre Dame's women's basketball team celebrated the university's football team’s victory. The Fighting Irish's football team scored a memorable 27-24 victory over the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Orange Bowl on January 9, securing a spot in the national championship game.

Soon after the game, Watson shared a story on Instagram where she was enjoying the game alongside fellow seniors Liatu King and Maddy Westbeld, while junior guard Olivia Miles was also among those watching the Orange Bowl along with Watson.

"pov: @ndwbb watching @ndfootball go to the natty," Watson captioned the Instagram story.

They looked nervous in the final few seconds, where the game was tied at 24-24 before erupting in joy as soon as fifth-year kicker Mitch Jeter scored an incredible 41-yard field goal with 12 seconds to go in the fourth quarter to give the Fighting Irish one of its most famous victories in program history.

Sophomore cornerback Christian Grey had a major part in that play, intercepting a pass from Penn State quarterback Drew Allar at the Nittany Lions' 42-yard line with the score tied and 33 seconds on the clock in the final quarter.

Notre Dame's football team will face the winner of the Cotton Bowl game between No. 5 Texas or No. 8 Ohio State in the national championship game. The game between the Longhorns and the Buckeyes will take place on January 10 at 7:30PM ET.

The national championship game will take place at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on January 20 at 7:30PM ET.

What happened to Kylee Watson?

Kylee Watson started every game since transferring from Oregon to Notre Dame ahead of the 2022-23 season. However, she tore her ACL in Notre Dame's game against Virginia Tech in the semifinals of the 2024 ACC Tournament. Since then, Watson has not featured for Niele Ivey's side, and there is no set timeline for her return to the court.

Despite Watson's absence, Notre Dame has established itself as a legitimate contender for the national championship. With a solid backcourt comprising Miles, Hannah Hidalgo, Sonia Citron, and freshman Kate Koval and Liatu King up front, the Fighting Irish have tallied a 13-2 record overall and are unbeaten in conference play.

During that run, Notre Dame scored impressive wins over three top-five opponents, including UConn, USC and Texas.