The Arizona Wildcats are headed to the national championship after a stunning upset win over UConn Huskies in the NCAA Women’s Final Four. The Wildcats came into the national semifinal as 14-point underdogs and advanced to their first ever national championship game. They will face Pac-12 rival Stanford, who defeated South Carolina in the first Final Four matchup.
Arizona led wire-to-wire after racing out to a 16-10 lead after the first quarter, and held a 32-22 halftime lead. The Wildcats defense kept one of the highest scoring offenses in the nation under wraps. UConn was averaging more than 82 points per game coming into the matchup, and was averaging 86.5 points per game in the NCAA Tournament.
UConn faced their largest deficit of the season on Friday night, down 14 points in the second half and never held a lead in the game. This is also UConn’s first double-digit loss in the NCAA Tournament since 2007.
Arizona’s Aari McDonald helped lead her team to victory, with 26 points and seven rebounds. UConn’s leading scorer was Christyn Williams, who fouled out on a controversial call late in the game. She had 20 points and five rebounds.
The Wildcats look to continue this momentum when they face No. 1 overall seed — and Pac-12 rival — Stanford in the national championship game on Sunday. Stanford beat Arizona both times they played during the regular season, 81-54 on January 1 in Tuscon and 62-48 on February 22 in Palo Alto. The two did not meet in the Pac-12 tournament after Arizona lost to UCLA in the semifinals.
This will be the first NCAA Division I basketball national championship game featuring two Pac-12 teams. The last time there was a conference matchup for the women’s national title was 2017 when South Carolina beat Mississippi State in an all-SEC final.