Arizona stuns top-seeded UConn
Sparked by McDonald, Wildcats head to final
SAN ANTONIO —Aari McDonald scored 26 points and lead a smothering defensive effort for Arizona as the Wildcats beat Connecticut, 69-59,Friday night to advance to the NCAA tournament women’s championship 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 Connecticut won its 11th title.
Arizona held the Huskies 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 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 Connecticut’s star freshman Paige Bueckers in check in for long stretches.
Bueckers, The Associated Press player of the year, finished with 18 points and her 3-pointer with 1:23 left got Connecticut within 60-55 in the final two minutes before Arizona closed out the win with free throws. Christyn Williams led Connecticut (28-2) with 20 points before fouling out.
The two programs had met once before in the tournament, back in 1998 when Barnes was the Wildcats point guard. Connecticut won that matchup and now it’s Barnes and Arizona taking the next big step to a championship.