The women’s Elite Eight is set. Which team has impressed the most? Which No. 1 seed has plummeted?
The games have gotten bigger, more competitive and exciting, but chalk remains the writing utensil of choice as the 2025 women’s NCAA tournament shifts to the Elite Eight.
UConn, TCU and UCLA Bruins rode big performances by their stars — Paige Bueckers, Hailey Van Lith and Lauren Betts. South Carolina, Duke and Texas leaned into defense. USC somehow overcame the loss of star JuJu Watkins. And LSU got production from an unlikely source.
That leaves us with three 1 vs. 2 matchups and one 1 vs. 3 in the regional finals, which feature many of the big-time matchups that were anticipated when the bracket was announced two weeks ago.
That also makes the rankings of the final eight teams that much more difficult, but we took our shot.
1. UConn Huskies
Original seed: No. 2 (Spokane 4)
Tournament results: 103-34 vs. No. 15 Arkansas State (first round); 91-57 vs. No. 10 South Dakota State (round of 32); 82-59 over No. 3 Oklahoma (Sweet 16)
With all that Paige Bueckers has accomplished with the Huskies, it’s hard to believe that she just had the greatest two-game stretch in her career and the greatest back-to-back NCAA tournament games in UConn history. She set a career-high 34 points in round two against South Dakota State and then blew past that with 40 in the Sweet 16 on Saturday against Oklahoma. Bueckers completely took in the second half after the Huskies trailed by four at halftime. She had 29 points after the break and at one point scored 19 straight fourth-quarter points for the Huskies. No UConn player had ever scored 40 points in a NCAA tournament game. Bueckers also just passed Maya Moore for the highest per game scoring average (19.8) in UConn history. The Huskies have won their three NCAA tournament games by an average of 42 points and easily retain the top spot in the rankings heading to the Elite Eight.
Up next: USC (Monday, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN)
2. UCLA Bruins
Original seed: No. 1 (Spokane 1)
Tournament results: 84-46 vs. No. 16 Southern (first round); 84-67 vs. No. 8 Richmond (round of 32); 76-62 vs. No. 5 Ole Miss (Sweet 16)
Everything with UCLA starts with Lauren Betts. The Bruins spread their half-court offense with a focus on getting their 6-foot-7 junior the ball in isolated one-on-one matchups. That neutralized an aggressive Ole Miss defense and helped Betts score 31 points on 15-of-16 from the field. When she grabbed her 10th rebound, Betts became just the third player in the past 25 years to record back-to-back 30-point, 10-rebound performances in the NCAA tournament. That’s some elite company: Elena Delle Donne did it in 2012 and Brittney Griner in 2013. Betts‘ legacy would be cemented at UCLA if she can get the Bruins one final step into their first NCAA Final Four.
Up next: LSU (Sunday, 3 p.m. ET, ABC)
Lauren Betts tallies 31 points and 10 rebounds, becoming the third player in the past 25 seasons with multiple 30-point, 10-rebound games in a single NCAA tournament.
3. South Carolina Gamecocks
Original seed: No. 1 (Birmingham 2)
Tournament results: 108-48 vs. No. 16 Tennessee Tech (first round); 64-53 vs. No. 9 Indiana (round of 32); 71-67 vs. No. 4 Maryland (Sweet 16)
The irony is striking: One of the most consistent programs of the past decade once again relied on its most wildly inconsistent player to deliver in the biggest game of the year.
