SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Joyce Edwards scored 24 points and Agot Makeer added 18 to help South Carolina beat TCU 78-52 to advance to the Final Four. The top-seeded Gamecocks will face UConn in the Final Four in Phoenix on Friday night in a rematch of last season’s national championship game. South Carolina (34-3) has now reached the Final Four in six straight years and won two national championships during that stretch. Staley has been at the helm for all of them, including the undefeated 2023-24 season.
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Madison Booker had 19 points and seven rebounds, fifth-year senior guard Rori Harmon has 13 assists and Texas is going to the women’s Final Four for the second year in a row. Justice Carlton added 15 points in the Longhorns' 77-41 rout over Michigan in the Fort Worth Regional 3 championship game Monday night. The Longhorns led by as many as 40 points in the only regional final matching the top two seeds. Top-seeded Texas is 35-3 and going to its fifth Final Four overall. The Horns play 35-1 UCLA on Friday in Phoenix. Olivia Olson and Mila Holloway had 11 points for 28-7 Michigan.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Raven Johnson has been a Final Four mainstay during her five years at South Carolina and she’s seen it all. The Gamecocks' leader has been part of two national championships for Dawn Staley in 2022 and 2024, although she missed most of the first one as she tore her ACL two games into the season. Now, she has helped the Gamecocks reach their sixth consecutive national semifinals — and seventh in nine years — by earning the Most Outstanding Player of the Sacramento 4 Regional after a 78-52 win over TCU in the Elite Eight on Monday night.
UNDATED (AP) — Sarah Graves has become a surprise fan favorite as Texas on the Longhorns' return trip to the Final Four. The senior guard, a former walk-on, scored the 37th and 38th points of her college career in the waning moments of a blowout win over Michigan in the regional final. The crowd, which chanted Graves' name before she entered, erupted as she sealed the victory. Graves says she's as surprised as anyone that she's become a cult hero of sorts. Graves added she just tries to pour herself into her more highly-regarded teammates and they have repaid that act many times over. Graves and the Longhorns will face UCLA in the national semifinals in Phoenix.
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Michigan misfired from start to finish in a 77-41 loss to Texas in the Elite Eight of the women's NCAA Tournament. The Wolverines had the worst-ever shooting percentage in the Elite Eight at 22.8%. Michigan missed from everywhere, easy layups included. The sophomore trio of Olivia Olson, Syla Swords and Mila Holloway combined to go just 9 of 42 from the field. The Wolverines tied a school record with 28 wins but fell short in their bid for their first Final Four.
UNDATED (AP) — Arizona, Michigan, UConn and Illinois have reached the Final Four. The Wildcats and Wolverines got there as No. 1 seeds. The Huskies are a No. 2 seed. The Fighting Illini are a No. 3 seed. This is Arizona's first Final Four in a quarter-century since the days of late coach Lute Olson. Michigan has been humming on offense in four tournament games. UConn is in the Final Four for the third time in four seasons dating to the 2023 and 2024 title runs. Illinois is leading the remaining teams in rebounding margin and defensive shooting percentage.
UNDATED (AP) — Michigan and Arizona boast elite efficiency metrics as the two No. 1 seeds to reach the Final Four. They have two of the best ratings in KenPom's data going back to the 1996-97 season. They're joined by an Illinois team that has put together a strong defensive showing through four NCAA Tournament wins. The Illini allowed their opponents to core on just 41.2% of their possessions. UConn is also in the Final Four after a stunning comeback against top overall seed Duke.
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Will Wade doesn’t ignore the firestorm that has followed him for almost a decade since the previous time he was LSU’s men’s basketball coach. Wade spoke Monday at his introductory news conference. He says “we’re coming back to try to hang a banner, win a national championship, or I’m going to be the first coach fired from the same school twice.” Wade was 105-51 with an SEC regular-season championship and three NCAA tournament appearances in his first LSU stint from 2017-22. LSU fired him in March 2022 for his involvement in NCAA Level I and Level II recruiting violations.
