Stanford led by as many as 11 points and withstood rally after rally before turning back Arizona on the game’s final possession to claim a 54-53 victory in the NCAA women’s basketball national championship game at the Alamodome. Haley Jones paced the Cardinal with 17 points and eight rebounds as Stanford won its third national title overall and its first in 29 years.
A shot-clock violation was the result of Stanford’s final possession, but the Cardinal defense didn’t allow Aari McDonald a path to the basket as Arizona was denied in the final 6.1 seconds.
🏀 SURVIVE AND WIN THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP! 🏀@StanfordWBB withstood rally after rally to claim its third national crown with a 54-53 win over @ArizonaWBB.
Here's how it sounded on @westwood1sports with Ryan Radtke and @debbieantonelli. pic.twitter.com/WCljul6KDz
— Westwood One Sports (@westwood1sports) April 5, 2021
Stanford held a narrow lead after three quarters and extended it to nine with 7:30 to play, but the Wildcats roared back to twice cut their deficit to just 1.
The 'Cats are clawing back! @StanfordWBB leads 51-47 with 4 1/2 to play in the national title game in San Antonio!@ArizonaWBB ball … get to your radio dial for the finish. https://t.co/TsaHFRZyTW
— Westwood One Sports (@westwood1sports) April 4, 2021
