Yukon will take on South Carolina in the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship game after defeating defending national champion Stanford on Friday night in the Final Four.
The 63–58 win gave the Husky head coach Zeno Aurimma a shot at their 12th title.
"Luckily for us, Stanford didn't have their best stuff, and we made some big plays, and by some unknown miracle, we're playing Sunday night," he said after the game.
Aurimma's first title was in 1995. His last title was in 2016.
Yukon entered the night anew in the Elite Eight with a thrilling 91-87 win over No. 1 seed North Carolina State in double overtime. It was the first time in women's NCAA Tournament history that double overtime was needed in a game of the Elite Eight or beyond.
The Huskies made their 14th consecutive Final Four appearance on Friday night—a competition involving two of the most successful NCAA college basketball coaches.
Again, UConn faced the No. 1 seed. This time it was Stanford.
"We didn't play very well tonight, and we just -- I think we were really struggling to run our offense," said Stanford head coach Tara VanDerweir. "I think there were some self-inflicted wounds, what were we doing there, and it was frustrating," she said.
The 68-year-old ODIrveer has coached at the collegiate level for more than 40 years. His first two titles with Stanford came in the early 1990s. His third came last year against No. 3 seed Arizona, ending a 29-year wait.
Stanford's top shooter with 20 points, Haley Jones, echoed her coach.
"I think we could have worked harder, screening better. ... But I think we've left a lot in there, and so it's hard to swallow that pill where you leave the game. As a team, you didn't leave your best out there," Jones said. "But you have to give credit to Connecticut. They are a great team, have great coaches, had a great game plan, and I think they executed very well."
The Huskies, 29-5 in Friday's game, have made 11 different starting lineups this season due to a mix of illness and injuries. Nevertheless, he entered the NCAA tournament as the No. 2 seed.
"I knew it was going to be a very competitive kind of dull game," said Page Buyers, who was Yukon's top scorer with 14 points. "Both teams are trying to win a national championship. It's a last four game so everybody's going to line it up."
Boston leads the Gamecocks with 23 points and 18 rebounds
In the first semifinal game on Friday at Target Center in Minneapolis, No. 1 overall seed South Carolina defeated Louisville, who was also No. 1 seed, 72-59.
South Carolina made its fourth Last Four appearance in the last seven NCAA tournaments. According to Gamecocksonline.com, prior to Friday night, the team allowed only 41.2 points per game in this NCAA tournament.
Junior forward Aliyah Boston - the national player of the year who has been Gamecock's top scorer and rebounder this season, averaging a double - ended Friday with 23 points and 18 rebounds.
Gamecock, who defeated both Stanford and Yukon this season, won the national title in 2017.
South Carolina head coach Don Staley has led the team to three NCAA Final Fours and a national championship in 2017 in the past six tournaments before Friday.
"When you're playing for a national championship, it's the team that can get their habits in quickly and stay there," Staley said Friday. "So whatever it is, you have to go through a quality team to win the national championship."
Louisville Cardinals head coach Jeff Walz made three visits to the Final Four and two national title games before Friday in his 15th season. He was 33-12 in NCAA Tournament games.