The Weekly Roundup: Stanford Prevails on Championship Sunday
Stanford edges Aari McDonald and the Arizona Wildcats for the program's first title in 29 years
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The return of March Madness didn’t disappoint. After two years, the NCAA finally crowned a new champion. Despite turning the ball over 21 times and a 2:24 minute scoring drought to end the game, the overall No. 1 seed Stanford Cardinal held on to beat the 3-seed Arizona Wildcats 54-53. The win is Stanford’s third NCAA Championship and first since 1992.
After 29 years between championships for head coach Tara VanDerveer — the longest period between titles for any NCAA Division-I coach — she said that the win hadn’t hit her yet. And while the season may have an asterisk to it because of COVID, the championship is still as meaningful to her team in 2021 as it was nearly three decades ago.
“For me as a coach, again, you want to win a national championship. We have had shots at it. I've had heartbreak with teams that had great shots of winning it. But this team won and I'm so proud of them,” VanDerveer told media during her postgame press conference. “It was tougher being down here. … But we stayed in it, we found ways to really enjoy each other and be excited to play.
We're really happy to win this championship.”
Like any great championship game, the end of the game left me excited and devastated at the same time. There’s no doubt that Stanford had a special season — one that included an infamous 10 weeks away from home and head coach Tara VanDerveer passing Pat Summitt the all-time winningest coach — but Arizona’s tournament run was nothing short of spectacular.
Sophomore Haley Jones won Most Outstanding Player for Stanford, and while she certainly earned it for her team, Aari McDonald was the most impactful player for the Wildcats throughout their tournament run. She averaged 24.8 points per game and had 14 total steals in six tournament games. During the last play of the championship, three Stanford players hounded McDonald as she made a final heave over them, and even that almost dropped.
If there’s any question of which player did the most to raise their WNBA draft stock, it has to be McDonald. So while it’s disappointing to see her fall just short, basketball fans will hopefully get to see her continue to thrive in the WNBA in about a month and a half.
Arizona head coach Adia Barnes also played a special role in this year’s tournament run. She guided her alma mater to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2005 and then made history as she led the Wildcats past the Sweet Sixteen and all the way to the National Championship — all while balancing parenting duties.
Not only did Coach Barnes represent working moms throughout the tournament, she also represented Black women and former WNBA players coaching on the biggest stage. She spoke about what this meant to her during her postgame.
“I represent moms. You can be coach, be at an elite level. You just have to have a village like I do. I represent black females who don't get her too often or don't get opportunities.
But I had an opportunity to be on the biggest stage and represent a lot and coached against one of the best coaches in the world … who mentors me and who I can call for advice, who cares about me and women's basketball, that's Tara VanDerveer.
There were two women coaching on the biggest stage today, myself and Tara. I think that's also meaningful for women's basketball. There was a lot of hats to fill.
… It's just the beginning for Arizona. I'm young. I have a lot of coaching ahead of me. Tara has won, like, 1,100 more games than me, so I have a long way to go. She's been here many times. Her team is more experienced in these settings.
Just proud of what we did, what I was able to represent. I can tell you all those things, representing mom, former players, a woman of color, these things made me coach a little harder, want it a little bit more just because I received so much love from everybody. So many texts, I think all of my former WNBA friends, everybody texted me. They were rooting for me.”
It’s just the beginning for Arizona, and Barnes has no doubt that her team will be back. At this point, I don’t think anyone else doubts that either.
Here are some of my favorite moments from this year’s tournament. What were yours? Let us know on Twitter @herhoopstats!
What We’re Working On
Her Hoop Stats named Kierstan Bell from FGCU the 2021 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year! The sophomore averaged 24 points —1.23 points per scoring attempt —and 10.6 rebounds, 2.0 steals, and 2.6 blocks per game.
Aneela Khan recapped the 2021 WNIT Finals matchup between Rice and Ole Miss.
Heaven Hill wrote about four underrated stars for each Final Four team.
Megan Gauer previewed Final Four matchups between South Carolina-Stanford and Arizona-UConn.
Christy Winters-Scott and Gabe Ibrahim broke down the Elite Eight matchups, Aari McDonald and Paige Bueckers, and the effect of Dawn Staley and Adia Barnes, two Black women and former WNBA players, coaching in the Final Four on the latest episode of Courtside.
Thanks so much for following along during such as unusual college season. The NCAA season may be over, but women’s basketball never stops. We’ll be continuing to cover the game through the WNBA Draft (in 10 days!), the WNBA season, the Olympics, and beyond. If you know anyone else who would enjoy our work, please share our newsletter with them!
Thanks for reading the Her Hoop Stats Newsletter. If you like our work, be sure to check out our stats site, our podcast, and our social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.