No. 1 South Carolina outlasts No. 2 Stanford in time beyond regulation

STANFORD, Calif. — The No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks survived in an time beyond regulation battle of the top-two ranked groups in girls’s basketball on Sunday, defeating the No. 2 Stanford Cardinal 76-71 at a sold-out Maples Pavilion.

It was the third No. 1 vs. No. 2 recreation in NCAA girls’s basketball historical past to enter time beyond regulation; the others have been South Carolina vs. the UConn Huskies in 2021 (gained by UConn) Stanford vs. the Tennessee Woman Volunteers in 1992 (gained by Tennessee).

In a matchup of the final two nationwide champions, the Cardinal almost beat a No. 1 group on their house court docket for the fourth time in a row. This system beforehand defeated top-ranked Tennessee (2007) and UConn (2010, 2014) at Maples. Stanford led 54-44 going into the fourth quarter, however was outscored 17-7 in that interval.

Stanford additionally made two important errors within the final 10 seconds of time beyond regulation, with a five-second violation making an attempt to throw an inbounds cross and a technical when Kiki Iriafen known as a timeout the Cardinal did not have.

“It was very disappointing to have the lead that we had and never end the job,” Cardinal coach Tara VanDerveer mentioned.

As an alternative, South Carolina gained its sixteenth consecutive recreation towards a ranked foe. It’s the second-longest streak in SEC historical past.

Sunday’s recreation matched two seniors at present projected as the highest two picks within the 2023 WNBA draft: South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston and Stanford’s Haley Jones.

Boston, final season’s nationwide participant of the yr, had 14 factors and 13 rebounds, together with the game-tying basket with 2.1 seconds left in regulation. With 28.8 seconds left in time beyond regulation, Boston fouled out for simply the second time in her profession, and first time since her freshman season. However by that time, South Carolina had regained the lead.

“Within the huddle, coach (Daybreak Staley) saved saying, ‘We have got to battle,'” Boston mentioned. “I feel it can enhance our confidence, however it exhibits we have to hit first. We’re very resilient.”

Jones had 11 factors, 9 rebounds and 6 assists. However Cardinal junior ahead Cameron Brink was the star of the sport, ending with 25 factors, 5 rebounds and 4 blocked photographs. She fouled out with 3:01 left in time beyond regulation.