But the Wildcats, fresh off beating No. 2 Oregon in the semifinals, pulled off the improbable, besting the Cardinal 3-2 in match play. Diana Lee was the closer for Northwestern in Southern California, sinking a par putt on the 18th hole to secure the victory.

It has been a hectic week in Carlsbad as the NCAA Women’s Championship has been unfolding on a day by day basis. Wednesday brought the National Championship showdown between the Northwestern Wildcats and Stanford Cardinal and at long last we have a winner.

Stanford was trying to become the first team in the match-play era (beginning in 2015) to win back-to-back titles. They also prevailed in 2022 and earned the top seed this year by winning the 72-hole stroke-play portion by 21 shots.