OKLAHOMA CITY — Texas finally broke through in the seventh inning against Stanford star NiJaree Canady, pushing a run across in the top half to beat the Cardinal 1-0 in the Women’s College World Series on Monday.

The Longhorns advanced to the WCWS Championship Series, where they’ll take on either Oklahoma or Florida. The series begins Wednesday.

Texas is in the best-of-three championship series for the second time in three seasons. They lost to Oklahoma in the 2022 final.

Canady, the national player of the year, mostly befuddled Longhorns hitters until the seventh, when Alyssa Washington started the inning by reaching on an error, followed by Joley Mitchell’s double.

Washington then came across to score on Ashton Maloney’s squeeze bunt.

While Canady was excellent, allowing five hits and walking none with seven strikeouts, Texas’ Teagan Kavan was even better.

Kavan held the Cardinal to just one hit with one walk and seven strikeouts in a complete-game effort to send the Longhorns to the championship series.

Texas (55-8) has yet to allow a run in the WCWS.

Stanford’s lone hit came with one out in the second, and the inning was quickly ended with a double play.

Kavan then retired 15 of the next 16, including the final 10, to keep the Longhorns in the game.

Stanford’s season ends 50-17.

–Field Level Media