The Stanford Cardinals triumphed over the Arizona Wildcats after cutthroat finals of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament.

The Sunday game, which happened at the Alamodome in San Antonio, ended with a close call of 54-53 as the Stanford team raised their trophy as high as their spirits. The team won its first national championship in 1992.

Stanford, a leading member of the Pac-12 and first seeded team in the tournament, has had a dominant stand in the competition.The team has managed to break a decade-long participation slump. 

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The game, which grew intense with every passing score, had the potential to take a last-minute pivot towards the Arizona side, however, star player Aari McDonald could not manage to turn a final opportunity into a tally on the scoreboard. 

While multiple teams backed out from the NCAA tournament, Arizona beat the odds to participate in the competition for the first time in 16 years and managed to reach the final stage. However, the Wildcats failed to beat the Cardinals in the three times they pitched against each other. 

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The Stanford Cardinals were playing under the guidance and mentorship of Tara VanDerveer, who is known to be the most experienced and successful coach in the sphere of women’s basketball. VanDerveer played her 35th season appearance in the NCAA. 

The historical game also broke multiple NCAA records as this was the first instance when two Pac-12 teams were playing against each other for the title and the seventh time when two teams from the same conference have been in the position.