Stanford is heading to the NCAA women’s national championship game after defeating South Carolina 66-65 in a game that features a wild, forward and backward ending. They will face the winner of the UConn-Arizona game.
South Carolina dominated at the start of the game, but Stanford managed to equalize in the first quarter, leaving in a solid offensive streak towards the end of the game. Stanford had a six-point lead at half-time, but the game remained close and well within reach of both teams until the end.
Stanford led by two with just a minute left in the game with possession, but the South Carolina defense came in huge and recovered the ball. Destanni Henderson hit a three with less than 40 seconds to place South Carolina 65-64. That was the first advantage since 15-13 in the first quarter.
Haley Jones gave Stanford the lead back with 32 seconds to go. Stanford’s Ashten Prechtel collected a clutch and drew a free-kick that prompted Stanford to inbound the ball. After the Gamecocks managed to steal after the entry pass, with less than five seconds on the clock, Brea Beal and Aliya Boston had a chance to win in the end, but with no kicks coming in as time expired, Stanford punched the ticket for the championship game.
Stanford’s Jones ended the game with 24 points, two assists and four rebounds. Lexie Hull had 18 points, four assists and 13 rebounds.
Relive the exciting first Final Four match of 2021 and Stanford’s wild in in San Antonio on the CBS Sports live blog below.