“I just knew we were going to take it home,” senior Danielle Adams said. “I predicted it.”
She can score, rebound and apparently foresee the future. Just days after envisioning a National Championship, Adams fulfilled her prophecy by willing her team to victory with a 30 point, nine rebound performance on the nation’s biggest stage.
A week after becoming Texas A&M’s first All-American, Adams led the Aggies to their first National Championship with a dominating performance in the paint and on the boards.
“I knew they couldn’t stop me inside, so that’s what I did, I took it inside,” Adams said.
If they hadn’t known yet, everyone in attendance soon learned of Adams’s dominance, including Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw.
“We did not find an answer for her,” McGraw said. “We had a plan. We just weren’t able to stop her … she’s just a great player. She’s got a big body and we couldn’t get around her.”
After failing to live up to her star status in the Regional Finals against Baylor, Adams clearly made up for it by scoring the second-most points ever in a championship game.
When they needed her most, Adams came through for her team. She scored 22 of her 30 points in the second half on 9-of-11 shooting. She also provided back-to-back layups after the Fighting Irish tied the game at 66 with just under four minutes to play. Adams delivered in the clutch and carried the Aggies.
“Every time we’d get down, we were telling each other ‘we’re not going to lose this game,'” Adams said. “We worked hard all season to prepare for this point. I had to do this for my teammates. They’ve been doing everything for me. I decided to take them on my back and just let them ride on my back.”
Adams’ performance was enough to garner the Final Four Most Outstanding Player award. With this honor, along with being named an All-American and winning a National Title, Adams leaves College Station at the pinnacle of the game.