STANFORD NIPS ARIZONA FOR TITLE
SAN ANTONIO – Stanford is 3-for-3. The Cardinal won their third NCAA women’s national title, and first in 29 years, by beating Pac-12 rival Arizona 54-53 on Sunday night. It was Stanford’s third win over Arizona this season but far more competitive than the previous two, decided by a combined 41 points.
The championship capped a grueling year for top-seeded Stanford, which spent the entire season on the road because of local COVID-19 restrictions. The title also came the same year as coach Tara VanDerveer became the alltime winningest women’s coach, now with 1,125 victories.
Stanford made just one field goal in the last 6:02, but it was a big one. Haley Jones scored on a floater and was fouled by Bendu Yeaney. She made the free throw to convert the three-point play and give Stanford a 54-50 lead, which was enough for the Cardinal to hold off a last frenzy from Arizona.
Aari McDonald went 3-for-4 from the line, and the Wildcats harassed Stanford into a shot-clock violation with 6.1 seconds left. But the Cardinal wouldn’t give Arizona an inch, and McDonald’s last-second heave didn’t come close.
Jones led three Stanford players in double figures with 17.
The Cardinal overcame 21 turnovers by outrebounding Arizona 47-29 and keeping McDonald in check, with 22 points on 5 of 20 from the floor.
Women’s NCAA championship winningest coaches
Geno Auriemma, Connecticut, 11 Pat Summitt, Tennessee, 8 Tara VanDerveer, Stanford, 3 Muffet McGraw, Notre Dame, 2 Kim Mulkey, Baylor, 2
Linda Sharp, Southern Cal, 2
Most women’s championships
11 — Connecticut 8 — Tennessee
3 — Baylor
3 — Stanford
2 — Louisiana Tech 2 — Notre Dame 2 — Southern Cal