MINNEAPOLIS — If you were tasked with designing a Final Four to bring together the history, present and future of the women’s game, you’d be hard-pressed to pick anything better than this.
On one side of the bracket are two standard-bearers. A pair of legends, they are the winningest coaches ever in women’s college basketball: Tara VanDerveer of Stanford (1,161 wins in 43 seasons) and Geno Auriemma of UConn (1,152 in 37). On the other side are two coaches who are building similarly iconic careers. Both transformative leaders, they have redefined success at their respective schools: Dawn Staley of South Carolina and Jeff Walz of Louisville.
In other words, one game will showcase two of the most iconic programs in the history of the sport, while the other will showcase two of the most compelling for the future—and the four teams collectively show off the best of the game right now.
