I had a lot of confidence in this team to do what needed to be done to win twice in Phoenix, and in the staff to have everyone prepared for their opponents.
Lauren Betts may not be the most likely 6-7 player to dunk in a WBB game, but her ability to step out and cover guards at the 3-point arc is unmatched. She's much more "athletic" than she gets credit for.
Gabriela may not look like much of an athlete either and her "awe-shucks" demeanor may seem kinda goofy, but her physical output in the Texas game was equivalent to TWO players. And she was playing even harder in the final. No one in the FF could match her motor.
Listening to Close all season, she dropped little nuggets every once in a while that proved she and her staff know their Xs and Os. I might have more people willing to agree with me on this now.
Also, I kind of felt South Carolina might have emptied their tank against Connecticut. I haven't heard Staley's press conference yet, and I doubt she admit it, but this game looked a lot like that's what happened.
So happy for the team. All March, I felt like they had really earned this happy ending. Great to know the universe agreed with me.