SAN ANTONIO (AP) – Haley Jones had a great chance and Stanford was a bit lucky 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 title game.
“It was a battle. It was a very difficult game that we had to work hard on, ”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. Now they will face Pac-12 rival Arizona on Sunday night. The fourth seeded Wildcats brought down the UConn 69-59.
Leading by one, the cardinal turned with 6.2 seconds remaining in the middle of the court and Brea Beal missed a disputed tray as Lexie Hull hurried to get in his way. Aliyah Boston grabbed the rebound, but his rebound attempt also ricocheted off the edge, starting a wild Cardinal celebration.
“It’s good to have a little karma on your way,” said VanDerveer.
VanDerveer, who topped Pat Summitt’s winning streak of 1,098 wins earlier this season, 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 so it was, ”said Jones, who was 11 out of 14 in the field. “And then we had to move on to the next move, there was 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. Then, with 15 seconds remaining, 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.
“We got a good result, two analyzes, layup and follow up,” said South Carolina coach Dawn Staley. “We just fell short of what was expected. 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, ”said Jones. “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 finished with 25 points and led South Carolina.
Despite the frantic ending, VanDerveer felt that the first quarter was huge for the Cardinal.
Losing 15-6 in the middle of the first quarter, Stanford scored the last nine points of the period to tie the game for the second. The Gamecocks missed their last six shots from the fourth and went 0-0 in the final 4:48.
“We know that basketball teams have races, so we can’t let the first quarter or the first five minutes dictate the entire game,” said Hull, who had 18 points and 13 rebounds.
The drought continued in the second quarter, with the Gamecocks missing their first five kicks and failing to hit a field goal until Zia Cooke’s 3-point goal in the quarter hit 22-20. She had hit the previous basket almost nine and a half minutes earlier.
The cardinal had beaten Gamecocks 16-2 since the initial deficit.
Stanford led 31-25 at the break while Prechtel continued where he left off in victory over Louisville at Elite Eight. She scored 16 points, all in the second half, to help the cardinal rally to win Louisville. She had seven in the first 20 minutes against South Carolina.
Boston had a solid first half with seven points, nine rebounds and four blocks for the Gamecocks. She finished with 11 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks.
BANGED UP
Brink entered the beaten game after adjusting his leg in the Elite Eight’s victory over Louisville. She had six points and six blocks.
RECORDING RECORDINGS
Jones scored the first 3 points of the second half for Stanford, breaking the record of 3 more points in the NCAA Tournament. That was the 55th cardinal in five games, giving them one more than UConn in 2015.
CLOSE GAMES
This was the seventh game of the Final Four decided by one point, and the first since 2015, when Notre Dame defeated South Carolina with the same score, 66-65.
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