After making it to Minneapolis for the Final Four, South Carolina, UConn and Stanford are the only teams left hunting for a national championship.
South Carolina, the AP’s wire-to-wire No. 1 team, opened the Final Four at the Target Center against No. 1 seed Louisville. The matchup was a true clash of giants, as both teams came into the contest having won all but one of their tournament games by double-digits. The Gamecocks came out on top, 72-59, to reach their second national championship in the last five years.
The national championship matchup will be set after UConn and Stanford play at 9:30 p.m. Stanford, the reigning national champion, will face a UConn squad coming off a thrilling 91-87 double-overtime victory against No. 1 seed NC State.
Here’s some background for each Final Four matchup.
- Three days after winning Naismith Player of the Year, Aliyah Boston showed exactly why she deserved the honor by dominating in an 72-59 win over Louisville. Despite facing double and triple teams, Boston led South Carolina with 23 points to go along with 18 rebounds and four assists. South Carolina will now have a shot at winning its first national title since 2017. Louisville’s Emily Engstler had 18 points, nine rebounds and four steals in a masterful losing effort.
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After missing 19 games with a knee injury this season, UConn star Paige Bueckers returned to her Naismith Player of the Year form by scoring 27 points – on 10-of-15 shooting – in a thrilling double-overtime win over NC State in the Elite Eight. Up next for Bueckers and UConn is a Stanford team that controlled the paint against Texas in the Elite Eight, blocking 11 shots and outrebounding the Longhorns by 17 in a 59-50 victory. The Cardinal are two wins away from becoming just the fourth women’s program to win back-to-back Division I NCAA Tournaments.
2022 Women’s NCAA Tournament TV schedule, scores
All times Eastern | NCAA Tournament schedule
(1) South Carolina 72, (1) Louisville 59 | 7 p.m. | ESPN |
(2) UConn vs. (1) Stanford | 9:30 p.m. | ESPN |
All of the 2022 Women’s NCAA Tournament Final Four games will air on ESPN, and you can stream every game on fuboTV (try for free).
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Final: South Carolina 72, Louisville 59
South Carolina is headed to the national championship after a convincing win over No. 1 seed Louisville. The Gamecocks played excellent perimeter defense, holding the Cardinals to only one 3-pointer on six attempts and limiting star Hailey Van Lith to nine points. Naismith Player of the Year Aliyah Boston was utterly dominant, scoring 23 points to go along with 18 rebounds and four assists. Louisville’s Emily Engstler was excellent in a losing effort, recording 18 points, nine rebounds and four steals.
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south carolina up by 13 and we have officially entered garbage time
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can’t say enough about aliyah boston. just a dominant performance
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and emily engstler has just fouled out. she is in tears as she walks off the floor. really tough way for her to potentially end her collegiate career.
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emily engstler back in the game with four fouls. risky, of course, but keeping her on the bench at this point is accepting defeat. not going to come back from an 11 point deficit without her
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End of 3rd quarter: South Carolina 57, Louisville 48
South Carolina star Aliyah Boston has taken over the game, recording 16 points, 14 rebounds and four assists to give the Gamecocks a nine-point lead heading into the final frame. The Naismith Player of the Year capped off the third quarter with a put-back and-one layup that both gave her team a crucial three points and gave Louisville star Emily Engstler her fourth foul. Engstler has done everything she can to keep the Cardinals in the game, swiping four steals to go along with a team-leading 16 points and five rebounds.
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aliyah boston is just so clearly the best player on the floor. every time louisville has made a little run she’s come up with a big play. 16 points, 14 rebounds and 4 assists for her through three quarters
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kianna smith has hit a few really big mid-range jumpers here to keep louisville in the game
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louisville hasn’t been terrible but everything is just a little bit harder for them than it is for south carolina.
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destanni henderson drains her third 3 of the game from the corner. south carolina has ppushed the lead up to 15 and are on the verge of running away with this one
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three fouls now for emily engstler. definitely something to watch for louisville. she’s been their best player so far and there’s still 7 minutes left in the third quarter
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zia cooke with a 3 and then a steal for a layup to start the second half. south carolina all of a sudden up by 11
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Halftime: South Carolina 34, Louisville 28
After a shaky first quarter, Louisville stormed back in the second with a 12-0 run to trail by six after 20 minutes of play. Louisville’s Emily Engstler has been sensational, scoring 10 points to go along with seven rebounds and three steals. Her teammate, Olivia Cochran, has made life difficult for Aliyah Boston with tough interior defense, and she’s added eight points on 4-6 shooting. South Carolina is moving the ball well, though, with 11 assists on its 15 made shots.
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24-24 as we go to timeout in the middle of the second quarter. there was a brief period in the first quarter where it looked like this was going to get ugly, but louisville has done a great job getting back into the game. emily engstler leading the way with 10 points and 7 rebounds already. south carolina needs to keep plying through boston. she has 6 points and 6 rebounds, and they lost their way when they stopped getting her the ball
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