DALLAS -- In a slugfest between two of the top defensive teams in the country, A’ja Wilson did just enough scoring and more than enough of everything else to land South Carolina in the national championship game for the first time, thanks to a 62-53 win over Stanford on Friday night in the first Women’s Final Four matchup.
Early on, both teams took away a strength of the opponent. For Stanford, that meant automatic double teams against Wilson, with a third helper routinely coming over to harass from the perimeter. For the Gamecocks, defenders ran Karlie Samuelson and the other Cardinal shooters off the three-point line. The resulting first quarter -- with Wilson scoring a lone basket she had to power through two defenders -- ended with the Gamecocks up 14-12.
Stanford started the second on a 9-0 run to build a seven-point lead, turning South Carolina over to create some easy transition baskets. But then Samuelson landed on the foot of South Carolina point guard Bianca Cuevas-Moore, and crumpled to the floor. She had to be carried by her teammates to the locker room.
The loss of Stanford’s most efficient scorer did not slow down the extremely effective game plan against Wilson, and the Gamecocks were unable to capitalize from the perimeter, shooting 2-for-10 from three in the first half and just under 26 percent from the field overall to trail Stanford, 29-20.
“I thought defensively, I mean, they shot 14 percent in the second quarter,” Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said following the game. “The problem was, we gave up second shots. [Allisha] Gray got in on the O boards. They got too many O boards and they put them back or they called fouls on the O boards.”
South Carolina found more of their offensive rhythm in the third quarter, though Stanford remained steadfast on Wilson. Stanford struggled to find shots of their own, and a pair of statement blocks -- one by Wilson at one end, the other from Stanford’s Erica McCall -- served as an emblem for the entire night. Samuelson returned shortly thereafter with the Gamecocks trailing 33-30 and 4:49 left in the third.
But the Gamecock run continued, and Cuevas-Moore gave South Carolina a 35-33 lead on what was the team’s first made three of the night with 3:32 left in the third. A moment later, another transition basket from Doniyah Cliney extended the lead to 37-33 and led VanDerveer to call timeout. By the time Mikiah Herbert Harrigan scored on a putback to end the third and give South Carolina a 41-37 lead after three, both teams saw their shooting percentages dip below 35 percent.
More of the same in the fourth quarter -- bodies on the floor, every look contested. It took a rare 50-50 ball won in the air by Wilson to pull Stanford out of the way for a signature burst to the basket and layup to put South Carolina up 45-40, the moment notable for its rarity.
“I try to get every loose ball without fouling,” Wilson said afterward. “I find a way to get the possession. If it was that 50-50 ball, so be it. I think that really kind of gave me the momentum to say ‘OK, we’re going to be okay, just kind of push through.’”
But neither team could pull away, nor did the looks get any easier, though Allisha Gray managed to finish through a hard foul that knocked her out of bounds. Her free throw gave South Carolina a 53-45 lead with 4:13 to go.
Alanna Smith promptly answered with five straight, including a three over Wilson’s outstretched hand to cut the deficit to 53-50. Stanford simply couldn’t string together any more baskets against the Gamecock defense, though, and when Cuevas-Moore released early following a Stanford miss and Gray found her with an outlet pass, South Carolina extended its lead to 58-50 with 41 seconds left and largely ended the suspense.
As the two legendary coaches shook hands -- Dawn Staley of South Carolina, once coached by Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer on the U.S. national team at the Olympics -- Staley began their brief conversation with a simple phrase: “That was hard.”
The difference? Only the Gamecocks had Wilson, who finished with 13 points, 19 rebounds (including eight offensive), four assists, three blocks and two steals.
“I mean, she’s an All-American,” VanDerveer said of Wilson. “She’s a terrific player. She blocks shots or she changes them. What did she end up with, 19 rebounds? She’s on that glass. She really came out in the second half. I think Dawn probably challenged her, and she responded.”
Wilson and the Gamecocks will now do something no South Carolina women’s basketball team ever has on Sunday night: play for a championship.
