UConn to play South Carolina in NCAA women's basketball championship game

By Ray Sanchez, CNN

Updated 0620 GMT (1420 HKT) April 2, 2022

Stanford's Lacie Hull and UConn's Aaliyah Edwards go after a loose ball during the second half of the Women's Final Four NCAA tournament semifinal Friday in Minneapolis.

(CNN)UConn will play South Carolina in the NCAA women's basketball championship game after defeating the defending national champion Stanford on Friday night in the Final Four.

The 63-58 victory gives Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma a shot at his 12th title.«Fortunately for us, Stanford didn't have their best stuff, and we made a couple big plays, and by some unknown miracle, we're playing Sunday night,» he said after the game.Auriemma's first title was in 1995. His last was in 2016.UConn came into the night fresh off its thrilling 91-87 victory over No. 1 seed North Carolina State in double overtime in the Elite Eight. It was the first time in women's NCAA tournament history a game in the Elite Eight or beyond needed double overtime.Read MoreThe Huskies made their 14th consecutive Final Four appearance Friday night — a contest featuring two of the most successful NCAA college basketball coaches. Again, UConn faced a No. 1 seed. This time it was Stanford. Stanford's Hannah Jump goes after a loose ball between UConn's Evina Westbrook and Caroline Ducharme Friday night in Minneapolis. «We did not play very well tonight, and we just — I think we really struggled running our offense,» said Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer. «I think there were some self-inflicted wounds, what we were doing out there, and it was disappointing,» she said. VanDerveer, 68, has coached on the collegiate level for more than 40 years. Her first two titles with Stanford came in the early 1990s. Her third came last year