A 63-58 win gives Husks coach Gino Orima a chance to win his twelfth title.
“Fortunately for us, Stanford didn’t have the best of them, we played two big tournaments and, by an unknown miracle, we play Sunday night,” he said after the game.
Orima’s first title was in 1995. His last title was 2016.
Once again, UConn faced the top seed. This time it was Stanford.
“We didn’t play well tonight, and we just — I think we really struggled managing our attack,” Stanford coach Tara Vanderveer said. “I think there were some wounds we made ourselves, what we were doing there, and it was disappointing,” she said.
Haley Jones, the top kicker at Stanford with 20 points, echoed her coach’s opinion.
“I think we could have cut a little bit more, and offered better. … But I think we left a lot without saying, and so it’s hard to swallow that pill where you leave the game like you as a team never left you,” Jones said. Connecticut. They are a great team, a great coach, they have a great game plan, and I think they did very well.”
Husky, 29-5 next season in Friday’s game, have 11 different starting lineups this season due to a combination of illness and injuries. However, they entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 2 seed.
“I knew it was going to be a very slow game,” said the Paige Bakers, who was Ocon’s top scorer with 14 points. Both teams are trying to win a national championship. It’s a Final Four match so everyone will put it to the test. ”
Boston leads the Gamecocks with 23 points and 18 rebounds
In Friday’s first semifinal game at Target Center in Minneapolis, top seed South Carolina defeated top seed Louisville, also top seed, 72-59.
South Carolina has made her fourth Final Four appearance in the last seven NCAA tournaments. Prior to Friday night, the team had only allowed 41.2 points per game in this NCAA tournament, according to Gamecocksonline.com.
Young striker Alia Boston — National Player of the Year who was the Gamecocks top scorer and back for players this season, with a double-double average — finished Friday’s game with 23 points and 18 rebounds.
The Gamecocks, who beat both Stanford and Ocon this season, won the national title in 2017.
South Carolina State head coach Don Staley led the team to three NCAA Finals in the last six before Friday — and a national championship in 2017.
“When you play for a national championship, it’s the team that can get used to their habits quickly and stay there,” Staley said on Friday. “Whatever, you have to go through a good team to win a national championship.”
Jeff Wales, head coach of the Louisville Cardinals, in his 15th season, made three trips to the Final Four ahead of Friday and two to games for the national title. He was 33-12 years old in the NCAA Championship games.
CNN’s Jill Martin contributed to this report.