NCAA recognizes differences in amenities for women at NCAA tournament
USA TODAY Sports’ Dan Wolken analyzes the controversy surrounding unfair accommodations for women at the NCAA tournament.
USA TODAY
Are you still a fan? Have you already convinced yourself that women’s basketball is not only good, but great, not to mention that it is fun and frantic and is getting better every post-season?
If you’re not a fan of women’s basketball yet, you’re probably looking for a reason to stay away. And that’s fine. If the young women who play in the NCAA Tournament have not sold their products to you at this time, the loss is yours. But you can’t say that you love basketball, or sports, while continually dismissing the future of it.
We love sports because they imitate life: they teach us how to overcome adversity, play through pain, enter a great moment and shine even if no one gives it a chance. There is unprecedented joy and distressing anguish.
Friday’s national semifinal between Stanford and South Carolina gave us all of that in a direct submission that Stanford won, 66-65, after the Gamecocks lost two chances to win it in the final seconds.
Stanford and South Carolina exchanged races in the first half and big shots in the second half before offering us an incredible last 78 seconds. With 64 to 62, South Carolina did what it knows best – grabbing an offensive rebound for another chance. And Destanni Henderson capitalized, draining a 3 with 39 seconds remaining, giving the USC its first advantage since 1:45 to play in the first quarter. Stanford asked for a timeout and sketched a chance for Lexie Hull – which Hull missed.
But then Haley Jones, who had been great all night (24 points out of 11 out of 14 shots, four rebounds and two assists) and who remains the toughest fight in the tournament, did what she did in the previous 39 minutes, and drained one critical shot to put Stanford back in the lead, 66-65.
So chaos, hope and heartbreak: South Carolina asked for a timeout, Stanford blocked a shot, South Carolina won an offensive board, Stanford stole it, South Carolina stole it back and Henderson ran across the floor. His shot was worth it, but Aliyah Boston, the sensational sophomore student at USC who is one of the best two-way players in the country, managed another offensive rebound, her seventh of the night.
But his attempt to tip was very strong, and when the clock expired, Boston (11 points, 16 rebounds) immediately started to cry as the Stanford players cheered. It will be the cardinal’s first trip to the title game since 2010.
Before everyone left the court, there was also a touching hug between Jones, the hero of the game, and her best friend, Boston, whom she met through USA Basketball.
It was a great showcase not only for women’s basketball, but also for women’s sports. In the last two weeks of the NCAA tournaments, the players – boys and girls – spoke not only about the importance of supporting women’s basketball, but why it should be done: because the product is very good.
“We put on the market a product that, if you give us a chance, you can be proud of,” said South Carolina coach Dawn Staley. “For the casual fan, the father who likes to sit on the couch and watch sports all day, for the young, for the old.
“Women who can throw the ball, make room for rebounds, dribble the basketball. Some of the plays that Zia (Cooke) made, most men can’t make that move. Men can’t do that.”
Still not convinced? Looking for a man to validate women’s football? There are many who are willing to do this. Take the word from Jalen Suggs, a likely NBA lottery pick and highlight for Gonzaga’s No. 1 men who love to watch women’s basketball – probably because his best friend, UConn’s freshman phenomenon, Paige Bueckers, taught him a long time ago that it is better to respect that.
The game had only four advantage changes and three draws, but many long-range shots and larger blocks (the teams combined for a total of 17). In the final minutes and after the final horn, Twitter buzzed with exclamations about what a great game it was. There was no talk of missed shots or bad looks, but an acknowledgment that this game, and this tournament, was worth watching.
There has been a lot of online talk about women’s basketball lately, but most of it involves outrage: first about the obvious inequality and sexism in the women’s tournament compared to the men’s and earlier this week about the non-call at the end of Baylor-UConn.
Friday was about talent and endurance. Maybe it will be like that on Sunday too.
“Seeing a game like this, it comes and goes… no one is giving up, so competitive. It was a great game, ”said Jones, pointing to the teams’ obvious passion and how that energy bounces off the TV screen. “I think it shows that we can be brave, we can be tough. We are athletic, we push the ball. We do everything. Our game is so special and needs more recognition. “
Staley was a little more to the point.
“Sometimes we feel like just looking at women and thinking that we can’t play,” she said. “Well, you are losing. You are losing a great basketball.”
Fortunately, you still have Sunday to have fun.
Follow reporter Lindsay Schnell on Twitter @Lindsay_Schnell