Cats inches shy of first ever National Championship
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - While 2021 will forever be known as the Covid championship for NCAA basketball, it will also be remembered in Arizona for having it's best ever run in the Women's tournament.
The Covid National Championship will also be known for the Wildcats coming up inches shy of winning their first ever title in program history.
It was a heartbreaker for the Cats who stormed their way back after finding themselves down double-digits on two separate occasions throughout the 40 minute battle.
The Cats were once again led by Pac-12 Player of the Year, Aari McDonald, who dropped 22 points. A couple of threes beyond the arc from McDonald shrunk the Stanford lead down to one with two minutes left.
With only five seconds to play, McDonald tried to be the hero one last time but got tripled teamed and threw up a prayer for the win--but it was off the back rim.
With the Stanford 54-53 win, the Cardinal reeled in their third National Championship in program history and the first since 1992. The 29 year gap between titles is the longest range between titles coached by the same coach--Tara VanDerveer--who will be a soon-to-be Hall of Famer.
Meanwhile, Arizona stills awaits its first ever title after coming inches short on Sunday night.
While the loss was painful, Head Coach Adia Barnes, is proud of her team's fight to come so close.
"We made it to the championship game. We came within a basket of winning a national championship. So I'm proud. It's hard. It does hurt. Like my heart's broken. But I can't ask for anything more of this team," said Barnes after the game. "No one thought we would be playing a championship game. They did everything I asked. It's just the shots didn't fall and the little things we weren't able to execute on."
Aari McDonald also had some things to say in the postgame presser after Arizona's magical run to the final.
"We're walking out of here, we're leaving San Antonio with a lot of pride. We're going to walk out of here and leave with our heads up just knowing how far we came, how far we've come as a program and as individuals," said McDonald. "We have nothing to hang our heads for. We competed. We battled. We just lost to a very great team, an experienced team with talented players in all positions."
Stanford was led by Haley Jones with 17 points and eight rebounds, while Cameron Brink and Lexie Hull each added 10 points in the win.
