Stanford wins 1st NCAA women's title in 29 years

Stanford players react to their win. — (Image credit: Elsa/Getty Images)

Top-seeded Stanford narrowly defeated No. 3 Arizona, 54-53, in the NCAA women's basketball championship Sunday night, giving the team its third national championship — and first since 1992.

Haley Jones scored 17 points and had eight rebounds for Stanford, with Lexie Hull and Cameron Brink following behind with 10 points each. Arizona's Aari McDonald finished the game with 22 points, but missed a three-pointer right at the buzzer.

With 1,125 victories under her belt, Stanford Coach Tara VanDerveer — who also led the team to titles in 1990 and 1992 — has the most wins in women's college basketball history.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.