Which players might steal the show at the women’s Final Four? Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, UConn’s Paige Bueckers and South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso head to the national semifinals in the spotlight. But in ESPN’s final rankings of the top 25 players for the 2023-24 season, we narrow the focus considerably: the best players for teams that […]
Continue readingFor the second consecutive year, South Carolina enters the final weekend unbeaten and will try to be the 10th team to finish a championship season without a loss. UConn, the most storied program in women’s college basketball with 11 NCAA titles, advances to its 23rd Final Four. Caitlin Clark sits atop the all-time scoring list […]
Continue readingALBANY, N.Y. — Just 2 minutes, 30 seconds into the third quarter of Friday’s Sweet 16 game, South Carolina looked like it was embarking on another women’s NCAA tournament runaway. The Gamecocks had opened up a 22-point lead on an Indiana team that seemed to be barely hanging on. But the Hoosiers had plenty left. […]
Continue readingBut Dawn Staley said she looked at point guard Raven Johnson and saw something else. “I knew she wasn’t gonna let us lose,” Staley said of Johnson, whose critical 3-pointer with under a minute left helped the No. 1 overall seed Gamecocks survive a huge rally by No. 4 seed Indiana. The Gamecocks won 79-75 […]
Continue readingSixteen teams have advanced to the regional semifinals in Albany and Portland. And the Sweet 16 is packed with potential. All four No. 1 seeds reached the round of 16. Defending champion LSU is back, as is No. 1 overall seed South Carolina, which is 34-0 and chasing a perfect season. Individual star power abounds […]
Continue readingSome of the chalk from the first two days of the women’s NCAA tournament has been erased. But not much. Two No. 5 seeds and a No. 7 broke through to the Sweet 16. And the top four seeds advanced to the regional semifinals in two regions — Albany 1 and Portland 4. The real […]
Continue readingWhat chalk? After higher seeds went 31-1 in the first round of the women’s NCAA tournament, Duke delivered an upset in the first game of the second round Sunday. The Blue Devils advanced to their first Sweet 16 since 2018 after rallying from 16 down to eliminate No. 2 seed Ohio State in Columbus. Later […]
Continue readingThe 2024 women’s NCAA tournament should have perhaps been played on a blackboard. There’s that much chalk all over it after the first round wrapped up. Higher-seeded teams went 31-1 in the first round. No bracket has played so true to form since the NCAA tournament expanded in 1994. For those who like to pick […]
Continue readingNow this feels familiar. Dawn Staley and the South Carolina Gamecocks are the No. 1 overall seed heading into the women’s NCAA tournament for the second consecutive season. They enter March Madness undefeated — for the second year in a row — and at 32-0 are the only remaining unbeaten Division I team in men’s […]
Continue readingStar power has defined the 2023-24 women’s college basketball season, and much of that focus has been on household names: Caitlin, JuJu, Paige, Angel. But let’s give it up for the duos that have helped shape the past five months of competition and will make their marks on the women’s NCAA tournament. ESPN considered many […]
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