Stanford wins NCAA title game in nail-biter against Arizona

Stanford women's basketball hung onto a historic win on Sunday, defeating Arizona in the NCAA Tournament championship game 54-53. The Cardinals captured their first national title since 1982.

Haley Jones earned Most Outstanding Player honors and culminated her tournament run with 17 points, including the game-clinching three-pointer with 2:24 left in the game.

"I just owe it all to my teammates, they have confidence in me when I don't have confidence in myself," said Jones, who was honored as the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. "I saw they needed me to come up big and I did."

The Cardinals (31-2) held the Wildcats (21-6) to 28 percent shooting from the field Sunday night. But Arizona fought back on the defensive end, forcing 21 Stanford turnovers. Aari McDonald led the Wildcats with 22 points.

With the victory, head coach Tara VanDerveer earned her third national championship -- tied for third all time with Kim Mulkey and behind only Geno Auriemma and Pat Summitt.