Haley Jones came up with a big chance, and Stanford had a bit of luck to return to the national championship game for the first time in 11 years.
Jones scored 24 points, including the jumper with 32 seconds remaining, to help Stanford beat South Carolina 66-65 on Friday night and advance to the NCAA women’s tournament.
“It was a battle. It was a very difficult game, where we had to work hard, ” said Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer.
It is Stanford’s first trip to the title game since 2010, which was also in San Antonio. The cardinal lost to UConn in that competition, 53-47. It could be a rematch, depending on the outcome of the second game in the Final Four, between Connecticut and Arizona.
“Let’s see who we are going to play with, I think Connecticut is the favorite,” said VanDerveer. ” We have to play really well, no matter who we play. I have no skeletons or ghosts in the closet. This is a team that has confidence in itself. ”
Leading by one, the cardinal turned with 6.2 seconds remaining in the middle of the court and Brea Beal lost a disputed tray when Lexie Hull hurried back to get in her way. Aliyah Boston grabbed the rebound, but his attempt to rebound also ricocheted off the edge, starting a wild celebration for the cardinal.
“It’s good to have a little karma on your way,” said VanDerveer.
VanDerveer, who earlier this season surpassed Pat Summitt’s winning streak of 1,098 wins, will be looking for his third national championship at school and the first since 1992.
Losing 65-64 with 32 seconds remaining, Jones hit a corner jumper on a rebound that gave the cardinal his one point advantage.
” I just saw the ball bouncing and most of my teammates were hitting some bodies to open it. I just let it fly and said, ‘Please, Jesus, come in,’ and that was it, ” said Jones, who was 11 out of 14 in the field. ” And then we just had to go to the next move, there is no time for fanfare, we had to go back to defense. ”
The Gamecocks had a few chances after the Jones shot. In the next possession, Boston had his shot blocked, but managed to get his own rebound. So, with 15 seconds left, Destanni Henderson launched a pass that was stolen by Ashten Prechtel.
After an inbounds, Cameron Brink lost the ball in the middle of the court to Boston, giving South Carolina the last two chances.
South Carolina women’s basketball will return to campus on Saturday, April 3. Fans who wish to host the team at home can do so in the parking lot of Colonial Life Arena at around 2:30 pm.
Due to excessive caution in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, the celebration of welcome to the home will be socially distanced in Lots A, B and C in front of the arena. Fans are expected to stand in front of or behind their cars, and the team will parade through parking lots in open-air vehicles to share a final moment of celebration for the 2020-21 season.
South Carolina’s 6/5 number ended the season with a 26-5 record and won his second consecutive SEC tournament title. Even with the public restricted to the game across the country due to the pandemic, Gamecock fans led the country in average audience for the seventh consecutive season.
” We got a good result, two analyzes, layup and follow-up ”, technician from South Carolina Dawn Staley said. ” We just stopped. We lose the way we lose and it’s heartbreaking. ”
Jones and Fran Belibi ran to Boston, which was still standing under the basket and they both hugged her with a long hug after the doorbell rang,
“Me, Fran and Aliyah, are best friends. We send text messages every day. We talked all the time. We love to compete against each other. I think being so close really increased our competitiveness against each other, ” Jones said. “So, I mean, it was an uphill battle. She played very well. We both played very well. So, we just wanted to pay her the respect she deserves. ”
With 64-59 losing at 1:42, Henderson scored six consecutive points to give Gamecocks (26-5) an advantage of 65-64 with 38.8 seconds remaining. She had a three-point play and a three-point play.
Zia Cooke he finished with 25 points to lead South Carolina. Boston had a solid first half with 7 points, 9 rebounds and four blocks for the Gamecocks. She finished with 11 points, 16 rebounds and 4 blocks.
The South Carolina women’s basketball team will return to campus on Saturday. Fans who wish to welcome the team to their home can do so in the Colonial Life Arena parking lot at around 2:30 pm.
Due to excessive caution in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, the celebration of welcome to the home will be socially distanced in Lots A, B and C in front of the arena. Fans are expected to stand in front of or behind their cars, and the team will parade through parking lots in open-air vehicles to share a final moment of celebration for the 2020-21 season.