The 2022 Women’s NCAA Tournament is down to two teams: South Carolina and UConn. The Gamecocks and Huskies each collected Final Four victories in Minneapolis on Friday, setting up a star-studded national championship on Sunday.
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 locked in after UConn beat Stanford, the reigning national champion. UConn’s Paige Bueckers scored 14 points in the game to help top the Cardinal 63-58.
Here’s what went down in each Final Four contest.
- 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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UConn star Paige Bueckers powered the Huskies to a 63-58 victory over Stanford, the reigning national champion, by scoring 14 points to go along with four rebounds and five assists. The Huskies’ defense was equally critical to the win, as Stanford – which rallied to within two points in the final minute but fell just short – shot 35.4% from the field and made only 4 of its 23 3-point attempts. UConn will now be searching for its first national title since 2016 against overall No. 1 seed South Carolina.
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 63, (1) Stanford 58 | 9:30 p.m. | ESPN |
The 2022 national championship will air Sunday at 8 p.m. on ESPN, and you can stream the game on fuboTV (try for free).
