After a thrilling finish to the Sweet 16 round, the women's NCAA Tournament moves into the Elite Eight on Sunday, with two No. 1 seeds in their region playing a pair of afternoon games. Competed against 3 teams. (In fact, Monday's two other Elite Eight games will feature the No. 1 seed and the No. 3 seed.)
Undefeated South Carolina (35-0) and coach Don Staley held off a late challenge from Oregon State 70-58 in Albany, New York, to earn a fourth straight trip to the Final Four. In Portland, Oregon, Texas (33-4) faces NC State (30-6).
Today's Women's March Madness Games are televised on ABC and streaming on ESPN+. USA TODAY Sports will provide the latest news, scores, analysis and more throughout the day. Then proceed.
Today is the Women's March Madness Games
Here is the full schedule for Sunday NCAA Women's Tournament Games.
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How to Watch Women's NCAA Tournament Games
Both of today's Elite Eight games will be televised on ABC.
Women can stream NCAA Tournament games Fubo And on ESPN+.
NC State of Fast Start Vs. Texas
A way to take a six-point lead in 44 seconds.
NC State finished 4-of-4 field goals in the first quarter — while holding Texas to 2-of-10 from the floor — and took a 19-14 lead into the second quarter. A beautiful pull-up by Shania Rivers at the end of the first period capped an 8-2 run by the third-seeded Wolfpack.
But the real star of the first quarter was NC State guard Asiaha James, who had already scored 10 – yes, 10 – points, hitting 4-of-6 looks including two attempts from the (perhaps mismarked) 3-point line.
One troubling trend for the Wolfpack: Texas already has seven offensive boards and has scored four points on those second chances. NC State needs to get on the glass — and the Wolfpack already need to cut down on five turnovers — if it wants to win this game.
South Carolina reached the Final Four for the fourth time
The search for the perfect season of South Carolina GameCox continues.
South Carolina used its depth and aggression on the boards to beat Oregon State 70-58 in the Albany 1 regional final.
South Carolina led by 12 early in the final game, but Oregon State clawed its way back to cut the margin to four with four minutes to play. However, the Beavers didn't score the rest of the way as USC pulled away.
South Carolina (36-0) had nine different players score, led by freshman Tessa Johnson's 15 points.
It's the fourth straight Final Four berth for Gamecox and coach Don Staley as they look to become the first women's team since UConn in 2016 to go undefeated and win a national championship.
South Carolina pulls away in the third quarter
A 12-0 run late in the third quarter gave South Carolina the women's top spot in the Final Four.
The Gamecocks lead Oregon State 58-46 at one quarter.
After the Beavers cut the lead to two points, Raven Johnson and Tessa Johnson connected on 3-point shots to spark a USC run. South Carolina, the nation's best 3-point shooting team, hit just two of its first 15 attempts from beyond the arc as Oregon State kept the game close.
USC enjoyed a significant advantage on the boards, outscoring the Beavers 37-26, with 18 of those coming on the offensive end.
Two key Oregon State players committed three fouls
Foul trouble could be a major factor in Oregon State's efforts to upset South Carolina and advance to this year's Women's Final Four.
Two key members of the Beavers' front line were forced to spend extended periods on the bench during the first half as the Gamecocks trailed 37-33 at halftime.
Tyma Gardiner picked up his third foul midway through the second quarter, and center Raegan Pearce was called for a third time on what appeared to be a questionable call with less than a minute to play in the half.
However, Oregon State was able to keep the game close, hitting 6-of-14 shots from 3-point range.
Eight different South Carolina players scored in the first 20 minutes, led by guard Bree Hall with 7.
South Carolina, Oregon State get off to a slow start
Neither team looked particularly sharp at the start of today's first regional final.
South Carolina made just two of its first nine field-goal attempts and Oregon State committed four turnovers to close the game after one quarter.
The top-seeded Gamecocks led 18-14.
USC built an eight-point advantage behind five points from guard Bree Hall, but Oregon State sophomore Lily Hansford came off the bench to hit a pair of 3-pointers.
Both teams finished the first 10 minutes shooting under 37% from the floor.
Women's March Madness players can watch today
- South Carolina G Raven Johnson (8.2 ppg, 4.9 apg, 35.3% 3pt), hit all three of his 3-point attempts in the regional semifinal win over Indiana, including a crucial one in the final minute of the game.
- Oregon State F Tima Gardiner (11.6 ppg, 6.8 rpg), the Beavers' leading scorer with 21 points in a win over Notre Dame, who pulled down 11 rebounds and dished out four assists. He has raised his scoring average to 16.7 points per game in the tournament.
- Texas G Madison Booker (16.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 5.0 apg), the talented freshman was held to just 6 points against Gonzaga.
- NC State G Aziaha James (16.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg), the junior stepped up big in Stanford's upset by scoring 29 points, including 10-of-11 from the free throw line.
– Steve Gardner
LA Times Removes 'Dirty Debutants' Reference in Controversial LSU Column
Mulki Went on an extended rampage Regarding what she called “sexist” language in the column, first Game Vs. UCLA called it a battle between “good and evil.” In particular, Mulkey objected to his description of the defending NCAA champion Lady Tigers as “dirty rookies.”
That phrase, along with references to LSU as “villains” and UCLA as “milk and cookies” and “America's darlings” were removed from the column (despite the headline “America's darlings vs. its basketball villains”). and online connectivity) – Steve Gardner and Nancy Armour
Iowa's Molly Davis is doubtful for LSU rematch
Iowa Elite Eight likely to be without Molly Davis.
Hawkeyes coach Lisa Bluder said Sunday she doesn't expect Davis to play against LSU.
“I'm very disappointed,” Bluder said. “I really thought she would come back to the competition, and I really did.”
Davis injured his right knee in Iowa's regular-season finale against Ohio State. The injury initially looked serious — he had to be carried off the floor and was in a wheelchair for Senior Day celebrations — but Bluder said the next day that Davis still has a chance to play in the postseason. He has been undergoing intensive physical therapy since then, but was in warm-ups for Saturday's Sweet 16 game.
Davis played in 30 regular season games this year, starting all but three. The fifth-year senior is averaging 6.1 points and is second only to Kaitlyn Clark with 93 assists. – Nancy Armour
Elite 8 predictions
Who made USA TODAY sports experts Picking Nancy Armor and Lindsey Schnell? Read here.
Who won last night's Sweet 16 games?
LSU's Angel Reese and Embarrassede Johnson It did enough to lift Third tier Tigers no. 2 ranked past UCLA And send Kim Mulkey's team back to the Elite Eight. Caitlin Clark and Iowa It ensured that this match would be the rematch that everyone wanted while being ranked No. 1 The Hawkeyes rolled past Colorado The next game to set up round two is Iowa vs. LSU on Monday night.
The third match of the day nearly took down the top seed, but Juju Watkins and No. 1 Southern California avoided a convincing loss. Baylor, the fifth seed in the region, is a nail-biter. In the nightcap, Paige Bukers and the No. 3 seed Yukon Knocked off the No. 7 seed Duke.
NCAA Women's March Madness Bracket
You can see the complete The Women's March Madness bracket is here.
Women's March Madness Scores
Here it is Scoreboard For today's Elite Eight games NCAA Women's Tournament.
