NCAA Women’s Tournament Final Four

St. Louis, Missouri

Semifinal No. 1 @ 6 p.m., ESPN

No. 3 Louisville (33-4) vs No. 1 Oklahoma (32-4)

Louisville (No. 3 seed in Raleigh Region)

How they got here: Beat No. 14 Liberty, 62-42; No. 6 LSU, 62-52; No. 2 Baylor, 56-39; No. 1 Maryland, 77-60

About the Cardinals: The Cardinals have rolled through the tournament so far, beating No. 2 seed Baylor and No. 1 seed Maryland by 17 each. Louisville has been touched by an Angel as senior forward Angel McCoughtry went double-double in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight rounds, and made timely shots vs. Maryland to help the Cardinals pull away. Fellow senior forward Candyce Bingham also added 15 points in both games. Louisville is in the Final Four for the first time.

Player to watch: Angel McCoughtry, Forward, 23.2 ppg, 9.3 rpg

Oklahoma (No. 1 seed in Oklahoma City Region)

How they got here: Beat No. 16 Prairie View, 76-47; No. 9 Georgia Tech, 69-50; No. 4 Pittsburgh, 70-59; No. 6 Purdue, 74-68

About the Sooners: The Sooners are led by senior Courtney Paris, who vowed to give back her scholarship money for the year if Oklahoma does not win the national title. She has been held relatively in check so far, scoring 11, nine and 10 points in her first three games, but broke out with 19 points and 13 rebounds vs. Purdue in the Elite Eight. Oklahoma has a double-edged sword, however, with guard Danielle Robinson leading the team in scoring in the tourney, including 23 against Purdue.

Player to watch: Courtney Paris, Center, 15.9 ppg, 13.5 rpg

Semifinal No. 2 @ 8:30 p.m.

No. 2 Stanford (33-4) vs No. 1 Connecticut (37-0)

Stanford (No. 2 seed Berkeley Region)

How they got here: Beat No. 15 UCSB, 74-39; No. 10 San Diego State, 77-49; No. 3 Ohio State, 84-66; No. 4 Iowa State, 74-53

About the Cardinal: For Stanford’s sake, lighting may have to strike the same place twice. After upending the Huskies in the Final Four last year, the Cardinal find themselves again in the role of giant slayer. Powered by dominating inside game, headed up by center Jayne Appel and guards more than willing to share the ball (18.9 apg), the Pac-10 champion Cardinal have made up for the graduation of star guard Candice Wiggins.

Player to watch: Jayne Appel, Center, 15.9 ppg, 9.2 rpg

Connecticut (No. 1 seed Trenton Region)

How they got here: Beat No. 16 Vermont, 104-65; No. 8 Florida, 87-59; No. 4 California, 77-53; No. 6 Arizona State, 83-64

About the Huskies: A perfect 37-0 record. An average margin of victory of 31.1 points. The nation’s top scoring offense (83.8 ppg). Connecticut clearly has all the makings of a National Champion. And so far, all is well for the Huskies, who have won all four their tournament games by no less than 19 points. Before they can add a sixth trophy to their collection, the Huskies will have to avenge their 2008 Final Four loss against Stanford.

Player to watch: Maya Moore, Forward, 19.2 ppg, 8.9 rpg