Photo: Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
The Arizona Wildcats are up for a national championship title for the very first time at the NCAA women’s basketball tournament.
The No. 3 seed team upset the University of Connecticut, a No. 1 seed, Friday night, beating them 69-59. The Wildcats will now advance to Sunday’s national championship game against Stanford University, another No. 1 seed.
“No one thought we’d win. No one thought we’d be here. We don’t care,” Arizona head coach Adia Barnes, who played for Arizona as a student more than 20 years ago, said after the game, according toCNN.
“We just believed,” added senior guard Aari McDonald, who led her team with 26 points. “We worked hard to get here.”
Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
Previously, the furthest the team had gotten at the NCAA tournament was the Sweet Sixteen in 1998. The year prior, then-senior Barnes led the team to their first-ever tournament appearance.
“I’ve been an underdog all my life,” Barnestold reportersfollowing Friday’s win. “Too small to do this, too this to do that, too inexperienced to do this. We prove it wrong every time. I don’t care. It just motivates me and my team.”
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Fans and celebrities also reacted to the win on social media, includingTodayanchorSavannah Guthrie, who attended the University of Arizona.
“So proud!! Go CATS!@arizonawbasketballmaking history,” shewroteon Instagram alongside a photo of the team celebrating.
WNBA player Skylar Diggins-Smithwrote, “Congrats to Arizona and Adia Barnes. What a total team effort. That’s why we don’t play on paper!”
source: people.com
