< Haley Jones scores 24 points to help lead Stanford to a 66-64 win over South Carolina in the first semifinal in the women’s Final Four.
San Antonio — Haley Jones came up with a big shot, and Stanford got a little bit of luck to get back to the national championship game for the first time in 11 years.
Jones scored 24 points, including the go-ahead jumper with 32 seconds left, to help Stanford beat South Carolina 66-65 on Friday night and advance to the women's NCAA Tournament championship game.
"It was a battle. It was a really tough game where we had to work really hard," Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said.
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. It could be a rematch, depending on the outcome of the second game of the Final Four, between Connecticut and Arizona.
"We'll see who we're playing, I think Connecticut is the favorite," VanDerveer said. "We got to play really well no matter who we play. I don't have any skeletons in the closet or ghosts. This is a team that has confidence in themselves."
Two chances for the win
Leading by one, the Cardinal turned it over with 6.2 seconds left at midcourt and Brea Beal missed a contested layup as Lexie Hull hustled back to get in her way. Aliyah Boston grabbed the rebound, but her putback attempt also bounced off the rim setting off a wild celebration by the Cardinal.
"It is nice to have a little karma go your way," VanDerveer said.
VanDerveer, who earlier this season topped Pat Summitt's all-time win mark of 1,098 victories, 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 their 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," said Jones, who was 11 for 14 from the field. "And then we just had to go on to the next play, there's no time to get hyped about, we had to get back on defense."
The Gamecocks had a couple chances after Jones' shot. On the next possession, Boston had her shot blocked, but got her own rebound. Then, with 15 seconds left, Destanni Henderson threw a pass that was stolen by Ashten Prechtel.
After an inbounds, Cameron Brink lost the ball at midcourt to Boston, giving South Carolina those final two chances.
"We got a pretty decent, two looks at it, layup, follow up," South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. "We just came up short. We lost the way we did and it's heartbreaking."