SAN ANTONIO – Stanford is back in the NCAA women’s tournament title game for the first time since 2010 after sneaking through South Carolina on Friday night, 66-65, in a round-trip battle that resulted in two shots missed by Gamecocks in final possession.
Haley Jones grabbed an offensive rebound and fired with 32 seconds left to give Stanford a 1 point advantage. Then, while the cardinal tried to run out of time, Aliyah Boston stole the ball with six seconds left, initiating a counterattack with a clear chance of victory. But Brea Beal lost a tray on the left while running at full speed, and Boston missed a short chance of follow-up at the back of the rim.
“It was in our hands, but we didn’t make it,” South Carolina playmaker Zia Cooke told reporters after the game. She led the Gamecocks with 25 points, including five out of 3 points that were clearly needed to contain Stanford’s aggressive 3 point attack.
Sometimes, especially in the third quarter, Cooke came and went with Jones, who scored 24 points for the cardinal.
The last time the Cardinal was in the national final, he fell to UConn, 53-47, in Alamodome. Stanford, trained by Tara VanDerveer since 1985, last won the title in 1992.
“Being able to bring us back to this stage of the national championship is just an honor,” said Jones. “For Tara, for the team, for the program.”
Stanford struggled early in the game, making four spins in the first five minutes, but took the lead in a series of free throws by junior guard Lexie Hull early in the second half. At the interval, the Cardinal was 6 more.
As the game progressed, the two teams began favoring perimeter pitches, with Jones and Cooke fighting as a combination of players – including Cameron Brink and Fran Belibi – worked to prevent Boston, the versatile South Carolina star. , dominate. Boston finished with 11 points, 5 out of 14 shots and 16 rebounds.
The teams continued to exchange baskets in the middle of the fourth quarter. Stanford maintained a 4 point lead until South Carolina’s Destanni Henderson made a second 3 point chance to bring Gamecocks within one point. Stanford’s senior owner, Kiana Williams, immediately followed up with a jump in the painting with just over 2 minutes left. Williams had 8 points for the Cardinal; Henderson had 18 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists for Gamecocks.
“We just didn’t really have an answer for Cooke or Henderson,” said VanDerveer.
With 39 seconds remaining, South Carolina was losing by 2. Henderson jumped back to 3 points, giving the Gamecocks their first advantage since the first quarter.
But Jones responded quickly with the kick that ended up being the winner.
“We will have to play better on Sunday to be successful,” said VanDerveer.
Brink, who was managing a hamstring injury, spent much of the game controlling Boston and South Carolina striker Laeticia Amihere, using his six-foot frame to drop the ball. Brink had six of the 12 Stanford blocks; she also had 6 points and 4 rebounds.
Stanford scored 56 points out of 3 points over the course of the tournament, breaking the record of 54 set by UConn in 2015.
The teams fought on a court that was new to the Final Four, replacing one of the two that had been used in the previous rounds in the large space that fits a football field in the Alamodome. The configuration meant that the court was surrounded by fans on three sides – some avatars cut out of cardboard, others humans – while the fourth side had a large black curtain to separate the space from the quieter half of the stadium.
Stanford took action against South Carolina much earlier than in the fight against Louisville in the round of 16. in 24 minutes against South Carolina.
Stanford will face UConn or Arizona, third place for the national title, on Sunday. The Huskies and Wildcats were scheduled to play in the second semifinal on Friday night.
“It will boil down to – Sunday – who goes after, who is more aggressive,” said VanDerveer. “We will have to be aggressive.”