Stanford falls short to South Carolina in Final Four

Stanford’s impressive national tournament run has come to the end, losing 62-53 to South Carolina. Stanford’s offense immensely struggled as they missed shot after shot.

Stanford’s offense never got going. Coming off a 27 point game against Notre Dame, Brittany McPhee could not buy a basket, shooting 3-13 from the field and only scoring eight points.

In the second quarter, Stanford’s best three point shooter Karlie Samuelson violently rolled her ankle and had to be carried off the court. Although Samuelson would return to the game in the second half, she was a non-factor. Samuelson did not shoot a single shot after her injury, finishing the game with zero points.

With two of Stanford’s top three leading scorers struggling or dealing with an injury, Stanford’s offense had to mainly rely on top leading scorer Erica McCall. McCall played well, scoring 14 points and also racking up 14 rebounds. However, her efforts were not enough to give Stanford that much needed offensive spark.

In the first half, Stanford’s defense was spectacular. Stanford used double, triple, and sometimes even quadruple teams to hold South Carolina’s star, A’ja Wilson, to just four points. Stanford also forced seven turnovers and held South Carolina to 25% field goal percentage and a 20% 3-point percentage. Stanford found themselves up 29-20 at the half.

In the second half, Stanford’s basket had a lid on it. Stanford shot a dismal 19% in the third quarter. Stanford’s ice cold shooting allowed South Carolina to come back and take the lead along with the momentum.

In the fourth quarter, Stanford was unable to regain the lead. Whenever it seemed like Stanford was coming back, South Carolina had an answer. Stanford’s season has officially ended as they fall one game short of heading to the national championship.