It’s that time of year again, so that means pretty much anything goes when it comes to the NCAA Tournament. This season has already seen its fair share of upsets through the first few rounds, along with wild finishes. On Friday night, we got our latest thrilling conclusion as the Stanford Cardinal took on the South Carolina Gamecocks in the Final Four of the Women’s NCAA Tournament.
With under a minute remaining in the fourth period, Destanni Henderson knocked down a three to give South Carolina the lead, but Haley Jones followed that up with a two to put the Cardinal back up. Leading 66-65 with under 10 seconds to go, Stanford was attempting to inbound the ball when the Gamecocks came up with a steal and bolted down the other way.
What happened next was heartbreaking, as Aliyah Boston and Brea Beal both missed two back-to-back attempts right at the rim as the buzzer sounded and let Stanford escaped with a narrow victory to earn their ticket to the Championship game.
Absolute insanity in the final seconds of the women’s Final Four pic.twitter.com/oOncMdAcbV
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) April 3, 2021
The last play. pic.twitter.com/cfDvxlrV9v
— Arielle (Ari) Chambers (@ariivory) April 3, 2021
That’s a tough ending to the season, and those missed shots are ones that they won’t soon forget. For Stanford, it’s their first appearance in the title game since 2010, and they’ll play the winner of UCONN vs. Arizona.