A battle against two No. 1 seeders in Final Four of an NCAA women’s basketball tournament is supposed to be a remarkable fight, and it certainly was on Friday, as the Stanford cardinal just beat South Carolina to win by 66-65 and advance to the national title game.
Haley Jones had a career night, with 24 points, including the victory basket, to lead the cardinal, while it was another balanced effort by the team overall to take Stanford beyond the line and just beat South Carolina in an epic game.
South Carolina came out with a 5-0 lead, but the good movement of the ball led to Jones’ trademark kick to enter the table 5-2. But South Carolina was keen to open the game and the Cardinal was a bit heavy on his offensive sets.
Jones was the only player to hit his strokes early for Stanford, scoring his team’s first three baskets, before Lexie Hull hit a 3-point basket to leave Stanford within six points. Jones then buried a 3-point after a Gamecocks stop, and South Carolina’s unbalanced leadership was gone before the first quarter ended. Williams made a pitch to tie at 15-15 just before the bell, so Stanford recovered from a slow start much faster this time.
The defense reigned at both ends of the court in the 2nd quarter. Brink, battling a tendon injury, came in after leaving early in the game and gave a boost to the paint on the defensive end.
Meanwhile, Elite Eight star Ashten Prechtel found it difficult to find offensive contributions, but he also did his part in defense. But Prechtel made the difference in the final minutes of the second half, hitting two free throws and a 3-point basket, increasing Stanford’s lead to six points. And they went to the break with that advantage, the Cardinal with 31-25, with only half the job.
Both teams were missing shots to open the third quarter, and South Carolina started to warm up in depth, with Zia Cooke in particular giving three points to open the second half. So Cooke and Destanni Henderson exchanged 3 points for South Carolina, while Stanford continued to drive for the basket and earn points that way.
This time, South Carolina returned in the third quarter, and Stanford’s advantage was three points out of three quarters, Cardinal won 52-49 after Lexie Hull hit a few free throws in the final seconds.
South Carolina’s sixth woman, Laeticia Amihere, made a three-point move to open the fourth and tie the game, but Lexie Hull continued to make fouls on the other side, and her free throws took Stanford ahead once again.
With Williams effectively playing the bait role in the attack, Lexie Hull and Jones continually took baskets to keep the Cardinal a little ahead of the Gamecocks in the final stretch, but it was a battle. Both Brink and South Carolina’s big star, Aliyah Boston, were in trouble until late, and coaches Tara VanDerveer and Dawn Staley were active in switching teams to keep the dominant centers in the games while trying to prevent them from failing.
With just over 2 hours to play, Williams finally hit a shot in the 2nd half, hitting a floater before a quick break to steal moments later, prompting Brink to hit a tray to make a five point game.
This move will be a big point of discussion, because in the robbery Lexie Hull appeared to kick the ball and was not called, leading to Brink’s layup, which ended up being vital in the end.
March Madness women’s games have been incredible, but there have been so many prohibited calls at the end of the games
Baylor-UConn:
no call with 3 seconds remaining. UConn won by 2Stanford-South Carolina:
kick ball was not called late. Stanford won by 1 pic.twitter.com/OPbpHrF90C– SB Nation (@SBNation) April 3, 2021
In the next possession, South Carolina had a few chances before Henderson hit the basket and made Stanford a 64-62 lead, 1:09 to go.
Henderson hit the 3-point basket in the time limit, and South Carolina took the first advantage in the second half, with 39.1 seconds to go.
Lexie Hull had the initial chance to go out of time, but she missed. Fortunately, Jones was ready and his shot was pure, giving Stanford a 66-65 lead with 32 seconds to finish.
Prechtel got the better of the other end, without South Carolina getting a chance on the next possession, and Stanford had a time limit of 13.1 seconds remaining for possession. Williams killed time in in-bounds and suffered a foul.
But there was no kick, and South Carolina stole the ball in the middle of the court to end the game. Brea Beal missed the initial lay-up attempt, and then the Boston bell on the edge came in halfway and then left, and Stanford survived to play another game.
Emotions were at a fever pitch, Stanford elated and South Carolina in tears instantly. But, although this game has been reduced to the best margins, it was the type of game that both teams can be proud of in terms of performance. And for Stanford, the destination season for the nomads continues for one last game.
This will be the first game of the Stanford national championship in women’s basketball since 2010, and they will play the winner of the semifinal UConn-Arizona. The title game will take place on Sunday at 3pm Pacific Time on ESPN, so be sure to watch the big game.