March Madness: Top seeds South
Carolina, UCLA reach Final Four of women's NCAA Tournament
[March 31, 2025]
By The Associated Press
At least two No. 1 seeds will be in the Final Four of women's NCAA
Tournament.
Two more could book trips to Tampa, Florida, on Monday.
South Carolina kept its repeat championship hopes alive and reached
its fifth straight Final Four with a grinding 54-50 win over Duke on
Sunday. The Gamecocks will face the winner between top-seeded Texas
and TCU on Monday in their bid to become the first repeat NCAA
champion since UConn's run of four straight from 2013-16.
UCLA followed that up with an impressive performance, knocking off
third-seeded LSU 72-65 behind another big game by Lauren Betts. The
6-foot-7 All-American had 17 points, seven rebounds and six blocked
shots despite sitting out the second quarter.
UCLA will face the winner of Monday's Elite Eight game between No. 1
seed Southern California and No. 2 seed UConn.
Games to watch
Texas (34-3) vs. TCU (34-3), Birmingham, Alabama. Former Big 12
rivals will play for a spot in the Final Four. The Frogs are in the
Elite Eight for the first time. Coach Mark Campbell’s “Under Frogs”
went from having to hold open tryouts to find enough healthy players
to the cusp of a Final Four behind the trio of Sedona Prince, Haley
Van Lith and Madison Conner. Prince has been nearly unstoppable
inside, the well-traveled Van Lith scored 26 points in a Sweet 16
win over Notre Dame, and Conner is shooting 45% from 3. The Frogs
will need to click on all cylinders if they're going to beat the
top-seeded Longhorns. Texas has one of the nation's best defenses
and is holding NCAA Tournament opponents to 56 points per game. The
Longhorns also have All-American Madison Booker. The 6-foot-1
forward was the Southeastern Conference player of the year and is
averaging 16.4 points and 6.8 rebounds. She's part of a dominating
front line that includes 6-4 Taylor Jones and 6-6 center Kyla
Oldacre, so the Frogs will have their hands full inside.
USC (31-3) vs. UConn (34-3), Spokane, Washington. UConn All-American
Paige Bueckers has been one of college basketball's best players
during her time in Storrs, with the only missing part of her resume
a national championship. The 6-foot guard has done her best to get
that title, dominating throughout her final March Madness. She
scored 34 points against South Dakota State in the second round and
topped that with a career-high 40 in a Sweet 16 win over Oklahoma.
USC will be without its best player, All-American JuJu Watkins. She
suffered a season-ending knee injury against Mississippi State in
the second round, but it didn't slow the Trojans in a Sweet 16 win
over Kansas State. Freshman Kennedy Smith stepped into the void left
by Watkins, scoring 19 points in the 67-61 victory.
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UCLA players react after a game against LSU in the Elite Eight of
the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in
Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

How can I watch the tournament?
Every game of the women’s tournament will be aired — here is a
schedule — on ESPN's networks and streaming services with select
games on ABC.
Who are the favorites?
The top four betting favorites at the start Sweet 16 week were (in
order): UConn, South Carolina, UCLA and Texas, according to BetMGM
Sportsbook.
Who is playing?
There were 31 automatic bids that went to conference champions and
they were combined with 37 at-large picks by the NCAA selection
committee. Selection Sunday unveiled the bracket matchups.

When are the games?
First- and second-round games concluded Monday on campuses across
the country. Sweet 16 weekend (March 28-31) put games at two sites
once again: Birmingham, Alabama, and Spokane, Washington.
The Final Four is in Tampa on Friday, with the championship game
next Sunday. A year ago, the championship game drew a bigger
television audience than the men’s title game for the first time,
with an average of 18.9 million viewers watching undefeated South
Carolina beat Iowa and superstar Caitlin Clark.
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