UConn outlasts Stanford in Final Four to advance to championship game

Paige Bueckers drops 14 points, 5 assists to send UConn to title game

No. 2 UConn knocked off reigning champion No. 1 Stanford 63-58 in the Final Four. Both teams took to the podium after Friday's battle to go into their paths leading up to this point. 

UConn head coach Geno Auriemma talked about his team playing their best in the win.

"We didn't exactly play our A-game on the offensive end, but the things we needed to do when we had to do them, we came up big. I don't know what more I can say about this group than we've been saying, but it was pretty remarkable, to be honest with you."

Paige Bueckers discussed the Final Four being in her home state of Minnesota.

"It's awesome that it's at my hometown, but that's not really our focus, our team's focus, my focus. We're all just trying to win, and whatever we have to do it, I think we're going to keep doing that."

Stanford's Haley Jones, on the other hand, reflected on her team's last time playing together.

"I think your goal is always to kind of end the season on a W, and unfortunately that didn't happen for us tonight. We were just in there, it's some tears but it's a lot of hugs. I think at the end of the day, we're all very disappointed in the outcome of today's game, but we have to kind of take into account everything that we've accomplished and everything we've done."

Head coach Tara VanDerveer talked about her team's troubles on the offensive end.

"We really struggled on offense. When we looked good, we got the ball inside to Cam, and I think she maybe rushed a couple of times, but she finished for us. And unfortunately, we lost, but we didn't really get on the offensive boards the way we needed to."

It's anyone's game as we enter the fourth quarter of this great Final Four matchup. No. 2 UConn is still atop No. 1 Stanford with a 39-37 lead.

The Huskies were in control for the majority of the third, but when Stanford's Cameron Brink came back on she broke the Cardinal's streak of seven missed field goals to make it a one-point game. She ended up picking up another bucket before the quarter closed, but that came after Christyn Williams nailed a huge 3.

No. 2 UConn holds a 12-9 lead over No. 1 Stanford at the end of the first quarter.

Both teams showed why they're elite defending teams with a total of 10 shots being made between the two.

The Huskies and Cardinal did a great job of both controlling the paint on defense. UConn has outrebounded Stanford 12-8 on defense and 15-11 in the game so far.

The battle between No. 1 Stanford and No. 2 UConn will begin soon. The winner of this Final Four matchup will go on to play No. 1 South Carolina in Sunday’s title game. 

Here are the starting lineups for tonight’s game:

Stanford Cardinal:

• Cameron Brink
• Haley Jones
• Lexi Hull
• Anna Wilson
• Lacie Hull

UConn Huskies:

• Paige Bueckers 
• Christyn Williams
• Azzi Fudd
• Aaliyah Edwards
• Olivia Nelson-Ododa

The first matchup of the 2022 Final Four is underway. No. 1 South Carolina is facing off against No. 1 Louisville right now in Minneapolis.

The winner of the battle between the Gamecocks and Cardinals will take on No. 1 Stanford or No. 2 UConn in the title game on Sunday. Both games can be watched on ESPN and streamed online . Stay tuned here for more updates throughout the night. 

Countdown is over ...

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB)

Today is the day. The 2022 Final Four be underway this evening from Minneapolis. No. 1 Stanford and No. 2 UConn will be the second game of the night at 9:30 p.m. ET. Here are some of the key matchups to watch during the duel between the Cardinal and Huskies. ;

1. Geno Auriemma vs. Tara VanDerveer

Tonight’s game will feature a legendary coaching matchup. Tara VanDerveer and Geno Auriemma are two of the premier coaches in the NCAA. Both have over 1,000 wins each and combined for 37 Final Four appearances. 

The last time these two met in a Final Four was in 2014 when UConn won 75-56. Since 2012, the two have only played one another five times with Geno’s squad getting the best of Tara’s in all but one. 

This will be Auriemma’s 14th consecutive trip to a Final Four and 22nd overall. In his career at UConn, he is 11-10 in those matchups. The Huskies have not been able to reach the championship game in the last four trips to the national semifinals. 

Coming off a national championship last season, this will be VanDerveer’s second straight Final Four. She reached this round of the tournament now 14 times with a record of 5-8. 

2. Paige Bueckers vs. Anna Wilson

Stanford’s Anna Wilson has been tasked with some of the more difficult guard matchups on defense this tournament. In her most recent challenge against Texas, she was consistently guarding Joanne Allen-Taylor and Rori Harmon. 

Tonight, she’ll be tasked with defending UConn’s Paige Bueckers. After returning from injury before the tournament, she’s had to slowly work herself back. Now reaching over 24 minutes in each round so far, and double-digit points in three of four rounds. She is starting to look like her old self once again. 

3. Stanford’s length vs. UConn’s forwards

With the loss of Dorka Juhasz due to dislocating and fracturing her wrist in the Elite Eight, UConn will be down to two key forwards the rest of the way this season. Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Aaliyah Edwards will continue to handle the Huskies’ frontcourt duties. 

They’ll be going up against a lengthy Stanford roster that features Cameron Brink (6’4”) and Francesca Belibi (6’1”) part of its frontcourt. Stanfords guards will also have some height on UConn. Lexi and Lacie Hull along with Haley Jones all stand at 6’1”. 

Part of this matchup will be controlling the boards. Stanford has two players averaging over seven rebounds per game: Brink (8.1) and Haley Jones (7.8). UConn has just Olivia Nelson-Ododa (7.5). On average, Stanford outrebounds their opponents 9.6 per game, while UConn sits at 7.3 on rebounding margin.

Games don't tip off until Friday night, so get ready by hearing from some of the stars of this year’s Final Four. 

UConn's Paige Bueckers talks heading home for Final Four

Walk & Talk with Cameron Brink 🏀👟 x

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB)

You can see more videos from the Final Four by clicking here. 

The Final Four begins Friday night at 7 p.m. ET with No. 1 South Carolina taking on No. 1 Louisville. The games will continue at 9:30 p.m. ET with No. 1 Stanford facing No. 2 UConn. Both games will be streamed on .

The Final Four is less than 24 hours away. No. 1 Stanford and No. 2 UConn will tip off at approximately 9:30 p.m. ET after the completion of No. 1 South Carolina’s matchup against No. 1 Louisville. 

In 24 hours ... the show begins 🏀

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB)

The Cardinal and the Huskies took different paths to reach this point. Stanford entered this season as the reigning champions, while UConn came off a tough loss to No. 3 Arizona in the 2021 Final Four. 

In this year’s tournament, Stanford took care of business at each stop. Defeating No. 16 Montana State, No. 8 Kansas, No. 4 Maryland and No. 2 Texas en route to its second consecutive Final Four. Its closest margin of victory in the last four rounds was six points in the win over Maryland. 

UConn, on the other hand, had a few more nerve-racking moments. The Huskies beat No. 15 Mercer, No. 7 UCF and No. 3 Indiana before their matchup with No. 1 NC State. About an hour away from home, UConn prevailed in the first double-overtime game in the Elite Eight to reach its 14th straight Final Four. 

Here's more on UConn's unprecedented Final Four run that stands the test of time.

The two will go at it on Friday night at approximately 9:30 p.m. ET from the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The game will .