Paige Bueckers put on a show in her bid to win a first national championship. Southern California proved it can win without JuJu Watkins.
Bueckers scored a career-high 40 points in UConn's blowout of Oklahoma, sending the second-seeded Huskies to the Elite Eight for the 18th time in 19 seasons.
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UConn will face USC on Monday after the Trojans took down No. 5 seed Kansas State 67-61 in their first game since Watkins tore her ACL. The Huskies knocked USC out of last year's NCAA Tournament, when Watkins was a freshman, so the Trojans will be looking for a little payback.
The rest of the Elite Eight will be gathering of high seeds — as usual in the women's NCAA Tournament.
TCU, a No. 2 seed, reached its first trip to the Elite Eight with a 71-62 win over Notre Dame behind a stellar performance by the well-traveled Haley Van Lith. She scored 12 of her 26 points in the fourth quarter to become the first player to lead three schools to the Elite Eight.
The Horned Frogs will meet former Big 12 rival and top seed Texas, a 67-59 winner over Southeastern Conference rival Tennessee.
Fellow top seeds South Carolina and Texas play in Sunday's Sweet 16 games.
Games to watch
South Carolina vs. Duke, Birmingham, Alabama. The Gamecocks and Blue Devils aren't worried about style points, even after ugly Sweet 16 wins. South Carolina was on the ropes against Maryland before pulling out a 70-67 win behind MiLaysia Fulwiley's 23 points to keep its bid for a second national championship alive. Duke had even more of a grind, pulling out a 47-38 win over North Carolina in the lowest-scoring game in the Sweet 16 or beyond in women’s March Madness history. The key in this game will be who can make shots. South Carolina coach Dawn Staley blamed poor shot selection for the Gamecocks' early hole against Maryland and Duke shot 31% in its win over North Carolina.
LSU (31-4) vs. UCLA (33-2), Spokane, Washington. The Bruins were the top overall seed in the bracket and have played like it so far. Lauren Betts has been a big reason. The 6-foot-7 All-American has been dominant in the NCAA Tournament, becoming one of three players to have multiple games with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds in the tournament in the last 25 seasons. She had 31 points on 15-of-16 shooting, 10 rebounds and three blocks in UCLA's 76-62 Sweet 16 win over Mississippi. LSU is in the Elite Eight for the third straight year. The Tigers' Aneesah Morrow is one of two women in NCAA history with more than 100 double-doubles after posting 30 points and 19 rebounds in an 80-73 win over N.C. State in the Sweet 16.
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 are (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, Florida, on Friday, April 4, with the championship game on Sunday, April 6. 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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