South Carolina meets Louisville for a spot in the championship game (7 p.m. Eastern, ESPN). They will be followed by Stanford, the reigning champion, playing Connecticut (9:30 p.m. Eastern, ESPN).
South Carolina meets Louisville for a spot in the championship game (7 p.m. Eastern, ESPN). They will be followed by Stanford, the reigning champion, playing Connecticut (9:30 p.m. Eastern, ESPN). Natalie Weiner This is a matchup of No.1 seeds and, as such, should be a meeting of equals. But the Gamecocks have been ranked No.1 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll all season and have lost only twice. Louisville, a perennial tournament contender for the past decade under coach Jeff Walz, is fighting for its first title — and for the respect the players feel they still haven’t received. South Carolina enters the game with its coach, Dawn Staley, and its best player, the 6-foot-5 junior forward Aliyah Boston, having just picked up the Naismith coach and player of the year awards. Boston earned her trophy the hard way, muscling past opponents around the basket and fighting for rebounds as well as blocking shots. The Cardinals can match her size with the senior forward Liz Dixon and the sophomore starter Olivia Cochran, but their ability to compete with Boston’s finesse and strength — her refined footwork and ability to continue playing through contact — will be tested. Louisville’s best player is the 5-foot-7 sophomore guard Hailey Van Lith, who has spent the tournament stuffing her highlight reel and scoring prolifically. Van Lith has made 47 percent of her shots from the field in tournament play, even though she rarely has an open look and is smaller than most of her opponents. She’ll go head-to-head with the South Carolina senior Destanni Henderson, who is not only dangerous from behind the 3-point line, but an excellent defender. Van Lith has made it clear that she and the Cardinals will be playing like the underdogs that Vegas believes them to be (South Carolina is favored by 8 points), but this is likely Henderson’s last shot at a title before she enters the W.
