It’s all-Pac-12 matchup for women’s final
Connecticut falls to Arizona after Stanford edges South Carolina in another semifinal.
SAN ANTONIO — Aari McDonald scored 26 points and led a smothering defensive effort for Arizona as the Wildcats beat Connecticut 69-59 Friday night to advance to the women’s NCAA tournament championship game for the first time in school history.
The Wildcats never trailed against the favored and fabled Huskies, who have made the Final Four 13 consecutive times, but haven’t made the championship game since 2016 when UConn won its 11th title.
Arizona held UConn to a season low in points, but still had to hold on late after leading by 14 late in the third quarter as the Huskies made a late push.
At the final buzzer, McDonald threw the ball high in the air and was mobbed by her teammates near center court. She shared a long hug with coach Adia Barnes, who starred as a player at the school in the late 1990s.
Arizona (21-5) will play Stanford for the title on Sunday night in an all-Pac-12 final.
As she has done throughout the tournament, McDonald did it all for the Wildcats with slashing drives, pinpoint shooting from long range, and a defensive intensity that held UConn’s star freshman Paige Bueckers in check for long stretches.
Bueckers, the Associated Press player of the year, finished with 18 points and her three-pointer with 1:23 left got UConn within 60-55 in the final two minutes before Arizona closed out the win with free throws. Christyn Williams led UConn (28-2) with 20 points before fouling out.
Stanford 66, South Carolina 65: Haley Jones scored 24 points, including the goahead jumper with 32 seconds left, to help the Cardinal (30-2) beat the Gamecocks (26-5).
It’s Stanford’s first trip to the title game since 2010, which was also in San Antonio. The Cardinal lost to UConn in that contest, 53-47.
Coach Tara VanDerveer will be looking for her third national championship at the school and first since 1992.
Trailing 65-64 with 32 seconds left, Jones hit a jumper from the corner off a rebound that gave the Cardinal a one-point lead.
“I just saw the ball bouncing around and most of my teammates were hitting some bodies to open it up. I just let it fly and I said, ‘Please, Jesus, go in,’ and it did,” Jones said.