Stanford Women Named 2021 NCAA Champions
Surviving COVID-19 protocols and five NCAA tournament games, the Stanford Cardinal faced the Arizona Wildcats on April 4th for the national title. Coached by college basketball legend, Tara VanDerveer, the Cardinal started the tournament holding strong to the No.1 overall seed. The Wildcats are coached by Adia Barnes and had a storied run against teams like Texas Tech and the typically almighty UConn. Arizona, fellow Pac-12 Conference member, was ranked at No. 3 heading into the tournament in San Antonio, Texas.
Both teams can proudly market their strong defensive skills. However, this created offensive struggles for both programs. The Wildcats shot just 28.8% from the field but by forcing 21 Stanford turnovers, they were able to stay in the game until the last remaining moments. Named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, Haley Jones racked up 17 points and eight rebounds for the Cardinal. Jones has been a key player for Stanford this entire season and tournament, averaging 14 points, 6.3 rebounds, and shot 60% from the field. After the game, Jones appreciated her teammates in saying, “(My teammates) just kept instilling me with their confidence that they had…Down the stretch I just knew if the ball came to me, I knew I had to shoot it.”
Lexie Hull recorded a double-double for Stanford as well. Hull and her team were more than thrilled after the game concluded. Preparing through this season was a challenge in itself and VanDerveer said after the win, “This is a dream come true for our team. I think it’ll probably hit me tomorrow…Getting through all the things we got through, we’re excited to win the Covid championship.”
Scoring on the Arizona side was primarily led by Aari McDonald who reached 22 points and Shaina Pellington who scored 15 points off the bench. McDonald struggled offensively to reach her 22 points going 5-20 from the field. McDonald’s efforts throughout the tournament, however, did not go unnoticed, putting up 31 points in the Elite Eight, 33 points in the Sweet Sixteen, and 26 points in the Final Four. Finishing with 149 points, she became the sixth-highest scorer in Women’s NCAA Tournament history.
With a few seconds remaining on the clock, Arizona’s guard McDonald attempted to tie the game but couldn’t convert the shot. Coach Barnes, Arizona alum, recognized this last-minute attempt saying, “It doesn’t come down to the last possession; it comes down to all the little things. The margin of error is so slim in a championship game. This is uncharted territory for the Wildcats.” The final score of the game was 54-53, proving the strength both teams carried.
Stanford had not won a national championship in 29 years, making it the biggest gap between titles for any Division 1 coach in any sport. VanDerveer, who has coached the Cardinal since their first title in 1990, became women’s basketball winningest head coach with the national title. After the game, VanDerveer recognized how long her program had wanted to win a championship saying, “I know that these women are kind of on the shoulders of those women. Former players would be so proud to be part of this team because of the resilience they’ve shown, because of the sisterhood that they represent.”