This year, the Women’s NCAA college basketball was no different than the men’s tournament when it comes to COVID-19. Everyone in the sports community is taking precautions against the virus and are doing everything they can to stay healthy and limit the spread. All teams were required to be housed in designated hotels for the time they are in the tournament, and the capacity for the games was limited. 

“If a team experiences a COVID-19 issue and can no longer compete after the tournament has begun, the game will be considered no-contest, and the team’s opponent will advance to the next round,” said Ben Chasen, a reporter at Northwestern University. This was a smart action to take, considering all of the current cases of COVID-19.

The tournament ended well and many of the games were very close. In the championship, the final four teams were South Carolina, Stanford, Arizona, and Connecticut. The winning team turned out to be Stanford, who won by just one point against Arizona. “No. 1 overall seed Stanford hoists the championship after a season filled with adversity due playing through the COVID-19 pandemic, including not having the luxury of playing on its home court” (Autumn Johnson, a sideline reporter at the NCAA). To some, it is safe to say that this game was very nerve-wracking towards the end. Stanford has been one of the favored teams in the tournament  and worked hard for their win this year.

Stanford is the first team in tournament history to win their semifinal games by one point, on both the men’s and women’s teams. 

“While Stanford is making its eighth Final Four appearance since 2008, it hasn’t reached the national championship game since 2010 and hasn’t won a national title since 1992” (Jake Rill, a sports news reporter). 

Little did they know, they would be the champions this year. Haley Jones ended up winning the Most Outstanding Player after her great game in the tournament, which was well deserved. All of the players played a part in this game and showed that hard work pays off. It is exciting to see how the NCAA tournaments will play out in the later years!