Women’s Final Four: All No.1s
For the second straight year, all four No.1 seeds — UConn, UCLA, Texas, South Carolina — advanced to the women’s Final Four, which tips off Friday in Phoenix (espn.com). ESPN’s preview flags UConn’s Sarah Strong and stresses the bracket’s balance — every team carries a legitimate title claim heading into the weekend (espn.com).
UConn clinched its 25th Final Four with a 70-52 win over Notre Dame and enters Phoenix unbeaten at 38-0. (espn.com)) Sophomore All‑America forward Sarah Strong is averaging 18.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists this season and posted 21 points and seven rebounds in the Huskies’ Elite Eight victory. (espn.com)) South Carolina punched its ticket to a sixth consecutive Final Four by routing TCU 78-52, a game in which Joyce Edwards had 24 points and 12 rebounds while Agot Makeer contributed 18 off the bench. (espn.com)) UCLA rallied past Duke 70-58 in the regional final; senior center Lauren Betts led the Bruins with 23 points and became the program’s all-time leading shot blocker, and UCLA enters the weekend at 35-1. (uclabruins.com)) Texas closed out its Fort Worth regional with a 77-41 victory over Michigan, a game that featured 19 points from Madison Booker to send the Longhorns to Phoenix. (sports-reference.com)) The Longhorns’ defense was the story in Fort Worth, holding Michigan to an anemic shooting night while limiting the Wolverines’ main scorers, according to postgame analysis. (forbes.com)) The Final Four schedule in Phoenix has UConn facing South Carolina at 7:00 p.m. ET and UCLA meeting Texas at 9:30 p.m. ET on Friday, April 3. (ncaa.com)) The 2026 bracket also represents only the fifth time in Division I women’s tournament history that all four No. 1 seeds are in the national semifinals. (ncaa.com))
