The Guru’s NCAAW Tourney Report: Defending Champion South Carolina Avoids Upset While UCLA Wins First NCAA Elite Eight to Fill Half the Final Four Field

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

The first half combo of this weekend’s Women’s Final Four in Tampa, Fla., that checked in Sunday afternoon can be labelled the way callers greet sports talk show hosts – first time, long time.

And that could easily continue when the other two national semifinalists are determined Monday night.

First up on the docket in a tightly fought contest in the Birmingham (Ala.) Region 2 title game easily now crossing the Rubicam as long time were the defending champs South Carolina, the top seed (overall No. 2) and second ranked outfit under Dawn Staley that rallied and held off second seed and seventh ranked Duke 54-50.

A few hours later overall No. 1 seed and top ranked UCLA in the Spokane (Wash.) Region 1 championship went up double digits before denying a short-falling rally by three seed and 10th-ranked LSU (31-6) to emerge 72-65 for the Bruins’ first-time trip to NCAA Women’s Final Four appearance in the 43-year history of the tournament.

The outcome gained revenge for losing to the Tigers last season in the Sweet 16 in Albany, N.Y.

When UCLA (34-2) thrashed South Carolina 77-62 last November the Bruins ended an unbeaten Gamecocks (34-3) run through last season and into the meeting at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles followed less than 24 hours later by evicting them from the Penthouse to earn their first-ever No. 1 ranking.

They stayed on top for 12 weeks until their cross-town rival Southern California beat them, ultimately twice, for the regular-season Big Ten title in their first season in the league after bolting the collapsing PAC-12 but got revenge a week later after the second loss winning the conference championship and returning to the top.

On Monday off the title game of Spokane Region 4, a fourth meeting could be in play for this weekend for the Tinsel Town schools in Tampa in the semifinals pending the outcome of the 9 p.m. clash on ESPN between No. 1 and fourth-ranked USC (31-3) and No. 2 and third-rank UConn (31-3), which upset the Trojans 80-73 in the same round last season but lost to them for the first time 72-70 in a game back in December in Hartford.

With only two sites in the regional rounds, the number placement corresponds to how the top seeds lined up in the original 68-team bracket announced the night of Selection Sunday and how they would match in the semifinals in Tampa.

There’s no re-seeding in the tournament as there is in the WNBA playoffs in the pros thus if a high seed is eliminated the advancing seed fills that next slot as the tournament continues.

The Spokane game will occur after the 7 p.m. contest for the Birmingham Region 3 crown between No. 1 and fifth-ranked Texas (34-3) and No. 2 and sixth ranked TCU (34-3).

The winner meets South Carolina which Texas split with during the Longhorns’ first season in the SEC after leaving the Big 12 with Oklahoma and were routed by the Gamecocks in the league championship.

TCU was given the same treatment from the Staley crew in a non-league game early in the season in Fort Worth, Texas.

Sunday, however, was the third straight game the South Carolina bunch were escape artists after challenged back home seven days ago in Columbia in the first half by Indiana in round two and extended until late in Friday’s Sweet 16 game, eventually winning 71-67 over fourth seed Maryland (25-8).

Against the Blue Devils (29-8), the Gamecocks held a slim two-point lead with 29.8 seconds left in regulation. Bree Hall of the defending champs was assessed an offensive foul, giving Duke a chance to tie.

Ashlon Jackson, who had 13 points and drew the charge, went for the lead shooting from deep, but Hall was all over her causing a miss on the attempt and then Hall grabbed the rebound sending her team heading for its fifth straight Final Four attempting a back-to-back championship, third in the last four years and fourth overall.

Chloe Kitts sealed the win with two from the line with five seconds left.

“I don't know if it could have happened anymore perfect,” Hall said. “Because it was literally like I messed up down there on offense and then turned around and got the ball back on defense. I was very happy.”

Kitts, who scored 14 and was regional MVP, had missed a pair late in the third with Duke up five, but Staley drew a play for her with Duke being forced to foul.

Duke, coached by former Tennessee star Kara Lawson, got her team back into contention with a strong defense.

The Gamecocks used an 8-0 run at the start of the fourth quarter to go ahead on a shot by Oregon transfer Te-Hina Paopao.

“I thought (Duke) forced us into taking some bad shots that almost ended our season,” Staley said. “But at the end of the day, I thought when we had to make plays off of broken sets, we did it in the fourth quarter, and I think that was the difference between them coming back and building the lead and us bearing down and making sure we win those broken play battles.”

When things had gotten tight MiLaysia Fulwiley had pushed her teammates pointing out their veteran advantage over Duke, whose star ACC freshman of the year Toby Fournier had a game-high 18 points with six boards and three blocks but was on the bench when Staley’s upper-class players were on the floor, a moved Lawson said was hers.

“We just were telling each other, ‘We have to fight,’” Fulwiley said. “We have to win. ‘These teams don’t understand how to win at this level, at this time in March. They haven’t been here before. I told them ‘Y’all have been here before. Y’all know what to do. Y’all know how to win and how not to lose. Just go out there and show that.’”

Sania Fagin added 12 points for South Carolina.

Lawson said she didn’t think Duke’s early deficit impacted the Blue Devils much considering they were ahead by four points at the outset of the fourth quarter.

“Like they always say, the other guys are good, too. The other guys are going to score, too. The other guys are good, too. You don't pitch shutouts.

 “I thought our team played hard. We defended at a high level, at a level well enough to advance. Our offense was not at a level high enough and certainly late it wasn't. That I think was the difference in the game.”

UCLA’s Lauren Betts didn’t make it three straight tournament games scoring 30 but was dominant enough scoring 17 points with seven boards while Gabriela Jaquez was one better scoring 18 with eight rebounds.

LSU’s Flau’Jae Johnson scored 28 and now has 48 hours to decide whether to return or go into the WNBA draft.

Aneesah Morrow had 15 points and seven boards while Mikaylah Williams scored 10 with seven boards and Sa’Myah Smith grabbed 10 boards.

While UCLA is two wins from a first NCAA title, the Bruins in 1978 were national champions winning at home led by four-time all-American Ann Myers-Drysdale in the first year the AIAW went with a Final Four format.

“To do something we haven't done in a really long time or in the NCAA era, I'm just so just really proud, proud of my teammates, the staff, the coaches of just continuing to get better every day and grow from each season prior and,” Jaquez said afterwards. “I just don't even have words, just so proud.”

Since the loss to LSU, the Bruins’ goal of improvement was getting tougher and dealing in chaos when it occurs in a game.

“The game was won in the poise and the choice to go back to neutral, get ourselves refocused, and make the next right step,” UCLA coach Cori Close said.  “That’s where I think the game was won.”

The Bruins darted to a 14-point lead midway in the third before momentum swung to LSU rallying to within three points under the four-minute mark.

Jaquez had a personal best four from deep while Timea Gardiner made five, making it the first time in 25 years a UCLA duo each made four or better from beyond the arc.

“If You would have said, ‘Hey, you're going to win this game by hitting 10 threes,’ I would have told you, you're crazy,” Close said.

Betts got into early foul trouble, a first for her in an opening period, and was forced to the bench the rest of the half.

But in the next quarter the Bruins, propelled by Gardiner making three of her long ones, out-dueled LSU 14-4 and were up six points at the half.

“The game was lost in the second quarter,” LSU coach Kim mulkey said. “That’s where the game was lost. We didn't capitalize on Betts being off the floor.”

 Added Betts, “I don't have to be in the game at all times. I have a team full of players who are just amazing and talented in their own right, and they put in the work. So, I knew that as I was sitting there... They have my back.”

Kiki Rice dealt eight assists for the winners.

Looking Ahead

Southern Cal is trying to advance to the Trojans’ first Final Four since the end of the Cheryl Miller era in 1986 without the injured JuJu Watkins, the dynamic national player of the year who suffered a tournament-ending ACL right-knee injury five minutes into the second round home win at the Galen Center last Monday night against Mississippi State.

Miller led USC to back-too-back titles in 1983 and 1984 and then in the championship two years later lost to Texas, which at 34-0 became the first NCAA winner unbeaten.

The Trojans, with the No. 1 freshmen class, were given hope to continue off their newcomers’ performance Saturday over Kansas State as Kayleigh Heckel, Avery Howell, and Kennedy Smith combined for 45 points.

And on the other bench UConn graduate Paige Bueckers is looking to extend her collegiate career a few more games for what would be her first title and the Huskies’ extended record 12th.

Ever since Hall of Fame longtime coach Geno Auriemma’s squad blasted South Carolina in the Gamecocks’ Colonial Life Arena in early February UConn’s prospects have accelerated, given the Watkins injury and Bueckers scoring 34 points in the second round and 40 Saturday night in the win over Oklahoma.

The native of Minnesota is likely to go to the Dallas Wings next month as the overall No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft.

“You try not to think about the stakes or the pressure or getting to the Final Four,” Bueckers said. “Obviously, that's there, so you try not to think about it and just go out and play every single game the same way, like it's your last, like it's the most important 40 minutes of your life.”

USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said, “Paige has been an incredible player for years now. She does it efficiently. It's her ability to score, her ability to pass and involve others to move without the basketball. I think what we're seeing is a little different now.

“It's an urgency, right? Not that she's not been urgent before, but you see it in her face there's no more waiting. It can't be ‘OK, next time.’ “It’s right now.”

Bueckers, named national player of the year as a freshman, can relate to Watkins’ injury having missed a portion her sophomore year, her entire year in 2023, but then leading the Huskies to the finals last year before losing to Iowa and Caitlin Clark in a season a slew of her other teammates were injured.

Looking back, Bueckers said, “ I know last year, a huge part of my journey was wanting to inspire people who have gone through terrible injuries, devastating blows, that you can come back better and stronger and nobody can write you off, nobody can put you in a box to the injury related narratives.

“You can break all those narratives, and you can come back better than ever mentally, physically, emotionally.”

In the Birmingham Region 3 matchup, while Texas is loaded led by SEC player of the year Madison Booker and senior Rori Harmon, TCU off its break-thru to the Elite Eight and turnaround under Mark Campbell to win the Big 12 could be the closest to a Cinderella still alive but that would be a mis-read with the likes of Sedonna Prince, an Oregon transfer, and Hailey Van Lith, the first men’s or women’s player suiting up in five straight Elite Eight games with three different teams – Louisville, last year LSU, and now Louiville.

She scored 26 points in Saturday’s elimination of Notre Dame.

Rutgers Ousted at Buffalo in WNIT

  After getting the Big Ten’s automatic spot, drawing a bye and getting two home wins the Scarlet Knights’ 13-20 season came to an end, losing in the WNIT’ Great Eight round 71-64 at Buffalo (28-7) of the Mid-American Conference.

Destiny Adams, one of the bright spots this season, scored 26 points with 13 boards while JoJo Lacey scored 16.

The Bulls’ Chellia Watson scored 28.

 

 

 

 

The Guru’s NCAAW WBIT Final Four Report: Villanova Readies For Belmont in Return to Semifinals

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

Here are the readouts from Sunday morning’s press conference for both teams advance of the Villanova/Belmont game Monday afternoon. Questions in bold in the Belmont section came from media representatives.

Villanova with coach Denise Dillon and Jasmine Bascoe and Maddie Webber

DENISE DILLON: It's great to be here. Extremely excited to continue the season and to participate in the WBIT Finals. It's exciting with the two right here to my right in Jas and Maddie, who have done such a great job leading the way on the floor and just to get us here.

We want to continue to work. We want to continue to make this season last, so we're ready to go.

THE MODERATOR: Just talk about what these extra two to three weeks do for your team building, and how important it has been and what this experience has meant to you.

MADDIE WEBBER: So I think just like coming in with, like, a completely new team, like, playing together for as long as possible is, like, it just makes everything so much more fun, and, like, getting to know everyone even more. And I mean, we want this season to last as long as possible, and continuing to play, it just feels great.

JASMINE BASCOE: Like Webb said, we have a really fun group of girls now. So just being able to stretch the season out as long as we can. It's going to be sad when we're over, so just going to keep going. Keep playing.

THE MODERATOR: Through this experience of the WBIT and the three games that you had to play, what did you maybe learn about your team through those experiences, and how will you be able to take that moving forward?

MADDIE WEBBER: I think we just learned to keep playing Villanova basketball. The first game we stopped doing that a little bit. But just continuing to play like we know how to is so important. And then just working together and doing it for each other has helped us win most of our games.

JASMINE BASCOE: A really big emphasis, like Webb said, just playing how we know we can play. Like at certain times we strayed away from that but we are at our best when we continued to play Villanova Basketball. We showed that we can push through a tough game -- the teams are really good. They played really well against us but we showed we can push through and win the games.

THE MODERATOR: Let's talk the familiarity of coming to a place that's in your conference, and what edge, if any will that give you.

MADDIE WEBBER: I think playing here helps us a lot. I month-to-month like home-court advantage. But since we've played here before, it definitely helps. We say all the time that we really like this gym. So that helps a lot, too.

JASMINE BASCOE: It's an historic place and just knowing that we've been here before, we have that sense of familiarity. But you've just got to go play.

THE MODERATOR: One of the questions I would have for you is teams go through different phases throughout the year. Talk about the phase that you feel your team is in right now, competing at a championship level against teams that you haven't seen.

DENISE DILLON: I have to say, it's impressive. I can't credit this group enough for their commitment to each other, commitment to getting better every day. For us to be playing our best basketball at this point is exceptional. You know, you have teams at this point, whoever wants to play, gets over that mental fatigue, and this group certainly does.

I go back to just the leadership. Maddie Burke has been that person for us from the start of the year, showing up every day, commitment to work and getting better and taking a lot of the young ones under her wing.

You're impressed by the numbers that Jasmine Bascoe and Maddie Webber are putting up, but it's certainly because of the leadership of our veteran players who are just continuing to push them and give them the confidence that they need, and then they are confident in their own ability.

Just a really great group, and again, just have a new group throughout the year get better and work together has been a great experience for me as a coach. I think I'm just getting better because of them.

THE MODERATOR: I know you guys talked about having a relatively new group this year, but you were here last year, and from those experiences last year, what have you been able to pass on to everyone? And also, postseason is about enjoyment.

DENISE DILLON: Right.

THE MODERATOR: Not about pressure.

DENISE DILLON: Exactly.

THE MODERATOR: What did you learn from last year that maybe you're passing on to this group?

DENISE DILLON: I do think it's amazing. The only two players for us are Kaitlyn Orihel and Maddie Burke who had played in this tournament last year at Hinkle.

So Maddie Webber was injured, and as we say, with having so many new ones, it's really, I think, the focus and attention for this group has been to just work to get better every day, and not putting emphasis on what game it is or the importance of it.

Every game is important. If you embrace that, then the results take care of themselves, and I think that's just been the message we've delivered as a staff to this group. Just continue to work in practice to get better. They enjoy the game so much, as you would think every player does, but it's not the case.

But this group does. They just show up every day to get better and have eliminated the noise of what the situation is and again focusing in on the results taking care of themselves; that they do what they are capable of doing.

THE MODERATOR: Obviously when you get to this level, the competition is intense. The competition, you're facing great teams. First give your thoughts about Belmont and what challenges they present to your team coming up tomorrow.

DENISE DILLON: I'd just say the mentality of everyone being a threat, everyone being an option for Belmont. They score the ball in so many different ways, but the three ball most importantly. They have got to get them off the three-point line because if they are feeling it there, it makes for a long night. Just their intensity. They are on the defensive end crowding the paint, doing a lot of work to get the ball out of scorer's hands.

I would say with Belmont, a lot of what I'm talking about of players just wanting to continue to play and the season continue on. They are never out of the contest, and I think in that Northern Arizona game, it really showed. Just continue to battle through each possession. Continue to play for each other, and they got it done.

They then flipped the script and took it to JMU from the jump. We know this team is extremely talented. Yeah, it's going to be a battle and looking for that possession game, and hope we have that last possession.

THE MODERATOR: As you're going through the scouting and preparation, is there any team that you faced in your conference that you would say, you know, remember this team, and remember how we prepared and played against this team, is there any comparisons that you can use for Belmont in terms of maybe who you faced in the BIG EAST or nonconference?

DENISE DILLON: Yeah, I would say within their system what they look to do with their cuts and screens and threes, I compare it to Creighton, how they run their offense with having multiple scorers, and really trying to get the three with three-man game, two-man game, whatever it might be, a little bit of that. I think that's always easier when you talk to the team about players that they have faced or styles that they have faced. That's one.

I think even here, Butler, how they play with constant movement, cuts, the fills. Yeah, something we have seen but obviously different personnel. So being locked into what the tendencies of Belmont's players are looking to get.

THE MODERATOR: If you can talk about personnel availability for you, any concerns? Everybody ready to go? How are you entering tomorrow's game?

DENISE DILLON: Yeah, again, when you're playing your best basketball together, it couldn't be a better time. But having everyone healthy is really great for us.

It's a long season for all, but you had times with Lara Edmanson out a stretch early in the season; Ryanne Allen. I could go down the list of players; Bronagh Power-Cassidy. So they are all back and ready to go.

Maddie Webber took a heck of a hit in the last game to hour mouth, a little trauma there. But she's ready, all fixed up, patched up, ready to go. Happy to have the full roster ready to battle.

Belmont with coach Bart Brooks  Kendal Cheesman, Tuti Jones

BART BROOKS: First, it's a thrill to be here. Any time you're playing this late in the season, it's a really cool thing, and we don't take that for granted. We are unbelievably grateful to the selection committee, and the welcome that we got last night at the hotel was awesome. I got to try on a NASCAR helmet. Never done that before. So checked that off my list. But it was really cool.

And I think our players, we're enjoying every second of this. We're excited about the opportunity to keep playing. We've talked really for the last month of the season that we are trying to make this last as long as possible because we really do -- I think we've got a special group and we love being around each other.

So these road trips don't feel like work. It's fun, and it's enjoyable, and this has been a great experience so far. We have an unbelievable test on our hands against Villanova. That's a really hard team to prep for on a quick turnaround, but we're excited it we get a chance to compete tomorrow and play in this tournament.

THE MODERATOR: Kendal, talk about what these extra two to three weeks means to be together with your teammates and your coaches, and what have you been able to take from that experience in terms of building even a stronger bond and maybe even something that will help the program moving forward?

KENDAL CHEESMAN: Yeah, I love this group. This is probably my favorite team I've ever been on, and you want the season to last as long as it can. I feel like it's a testament to the work we've put in all year but also just a blessing for us to, like Coach Bart said, go on these road trips or play at home or whatever it may be any given night. I feel really lucky, and we just want to keep it going as long as we can.

TUTI JONES: Like she said, I love being around this group and it's just really easy to play with them. And like, obviously, we're together more than we're not. So, I mean, even things like team dinner, I love being around them, and just getting to play basketball with one another has always been fun.

THE MODERATOR: Give us your thoughts about getting to play in such an historic venue like Hinkle Fieldhouse, and what are your first impressions from just walking around, and seeing something that you'll be able to take with you for the rest of your lives?

KENDAL CHEESMAN: It's really exciting. I feel like when we all walked in, we kind of just took it in, and we were all looking forward to that moment.

So I think it will be really cool to get on the court and actually play tomorrow. So we're excited about it.

TUTI JONES: Yeah, it's nice to be in here. I like just looking up at the banners and seeing all the different things that are hanging around. Nice facility. I'm just grateful we get to play here.

THE MODERATOR: Talk a little bit about what it was like for you to go through the three games, and I know you had an unbelievably exciting game against Northern Arizona, but last year, the team came into the same event, didn't quite make it to Indianapolis.

So what kind of feelings do you guys have heading into this event where you've got four really great teams and you're playing for a championship?

KENDAL CHEESMAN: Yeah, I feel like this team is just super competitive, and we want to win. We don't want the season it be over. So all these teams that we're meeting in this tournament are really good, and we know that. We just prepare going into each game. We just want it to as long as long as we can, and so that's our mindset.

TUTI JONES: Yeah, I feel every game has been really competitive and it's been really fun. I know we have a lot of great teams here in Indianapolis. I'm just excited to play who's next and make it to the championship.

THE MODERATOR: Talk about the Missouri Valley Conference and how that helps you prepare and if there's anybody that you played or have seen in the Missouri Valley that kind of gives you a "that-reminds-me-of-them kind of moment.

KENDAL CHEESMAN: I feel like overall the Missouri Valley has a variety of different types of teams, whether it's fast paced or physical, and overall, just every team has gotten us prepared for the postseason.

I don't know about one singular team. But all of them really helped us on any given night. Each game has a life of its own. It's been a good season in that conference for us.

TUTI JONES: Yeah, the Missouri Valley is very competitive it's been fun playing that conference. I think we're definitely prepared to play who's next.

THE MODERATOR: Your program took another step this year with the ability to get to this point in the season after being in it a year ago. Talk about what that means to you and what you think the impact will be on the program moving forward.

BART BROOKS: Well, yeah, I think every team is a little bit different. Every season is unique. This was the first year in my life as a coach that we've ever been able to host a postseason game, and we got to host two of them.

It's a lot easier to win at home than it is on the road; I know that. I'm not sure we make the come back we made if we weren't in front of our fans and in our home against Northern Arizona.

So that was a unique thing for me as a coach. It's not lost on me that we did get two home games, and that's a big deal this time of year when you don't have travel in the mix and you can be present in your comfortable place.

Moving forward for our program, I think all of our players came to Belmont because they wanted to play in this kind of environment. They wanted to play in postseason tournament play, and I'm just thrilled that this group is able to do that.

This group probably deserves to play in this event and get to a Final Four here at the WBIT more than just about any group I've coached. So I'm excited and thrilled for them.

Q.  I know the players talked about the MVC, and you typically schedule a really tough non-conference schedules which helps you go into conference, but how does the MVC schedule help you go into the postseason?

BART BROOKS: Well, I think the Missouri Valley is a really unique league, and it has a ton of styles. So we get to play against teams that are great in transition; teams that move the ball and play five-out pass-and-cut; teams that are heavy ball screen; teams that have two big guys and you have to be really good inside. We've played against all of that.

So, really, every team that we've played here in the postseason so far has had a lot of similarities to a team we played in our league. And I think that's given us a chance to maybe use some comparable game planning and things that we've seen and things that we need to work on and fix based on the last time we played a team that played in that similar style. I believe that that's the case again.

Villanova is a very unique team. When you think about quick turnaround preps, Villanova is probably the last team on my list I want to prep for in two or three days. But again, I think being able to play some of the teams in our league has probably helped us expedite that process, and we'll see tomorrow how that went.

THE MODERATOR: How about team-wise, coming into this game as far as personnel, do you have everybody available? Are are things you're working on still to get availability for someone? How are you heading into this semifinal game?

BART BROOKS: I think everyone in the country who is still playing is probably limping their way through the finish line at this point. We've got some banged up people. But we're all here. We're all hands on deck. Everyone is available until I find out otherwise today. Hopefully no accidents on the escalator.

But yeah, we're here and we're healthy and we're excited. I think our group has been -- we've been smart with taking care of our bodies down the stretch, and I think that's probably key to this run that we've been done.

So I feel good about our team physically going into tomorrow.

Q.  Like every school, and especially mid-majors, you've lost some players to the portal. But Tuti Jones who at the end of the day for five years what does that say about her but also the program?

BART BROOKS: I think it's a unique situation nowadays. I think mid-major programs, I think we have all made a living of having veteran kids who have been in our programs for three or four years, and knew everything that we did inside and out and had a chance to compete with maybe some more talented teams down the stretch. I think that's been our recipe, and that's been harder to execute here at the last handful of years with the transfer portal.

And Tuti, obviously, she's a staple of our program. She's the program's heartbeat. She's been here through everything. I think she's almost been in as many games as I have at Belmont, which is wild to think about.

But the transfer portal is also a really good thing. Because I know we've gotten a lot of really good players out of the transfer portal, and you know, so I'm not complaining about it. We've lost a handful of players. But I think we've equally addressed it and maybe gotten better because of it, too.

I'm excited about the group that we got this year. We got a lot of old kids, like Tuti, who have been here. We got some old kids who haven't been here. But man, they are dependable and they are veterans, and I think any time you get to this point of the years are veterans are really important.

Q.  The MVC is obviously real tough. A tough fight to the end there to see who was going to win the conference. Do you think in the future that the NCAA Tournament should be looking a little bit closer at the MVC for at-large bids?

BART BROOKS: Well, I think that's a challenge every year for mid-major conferences. I think there's multiple mid majors in a lot of leagues that are good enough to play and win games in the NCAA Tournament.

Unfortunately for us, us as an example, we played six quad one teams in our nonconference schedule, and only one of these games was a home game. So if you put other teams in that circumstance -- like we scheduled really hard. We were competitive in those games. But we got one of those at home, and that was a four point loss to Ohio State.

If you put other teams in that same predicament and say, Hey, you've got to win some games to be an at large team, that's really hard to do when you're where we are and you're not able to get home games like other programs do.

So I think there's a lot of mid-majors that are good enough that have the talent. It's just we've got to find ways, more ways to get opportunities to get these games that we can win. You've got to beat at-large teams to be an at large team, and that's our mindset going into every season, and we didn't do the job. We didn't earn that this year. We had a chance but we did not earn that.

And so we, as a conference, we have to do a better job of finding games and winning some games against at large teams.

Q.  Watching Villanova, watching you guys, both so good on both ends of the floor, offensively, defensively. It's going to be a close game tomorrow, probably down to the last possession, maybe the last two possessions. Quick turnaround to prep. How much time have you spent on special situations, and how much time will you spend maybe tomorrow in your shoot around?

BART BROOKS: Yeah, we do that a ton, and I think a lot of what we do, we've been working on it all year. You know, there's nothing that we are going to do that we haven't worked on, and we haven't shown probably a handful of things that we're prepared to do late game because we haven't been in the situation yet.

But that's a huge piece of this time of year, and I think, you know, you can over think a lot of this stuff. But for me, it's like so much about what are our players good at, what are they confident in, and then let them go make the plays.

I wish it was me figuring all this stuff out, but it's so much about our players, and, you know, we put them in the right position to make a play. And usually the good players and the best teams go make plays down the stretch and figure out a way to win. I'm excited about that opportunity.

So that's why I haven't slept for I don't know how many days because I'm miserable thinking about the late-game situation that is Coach Denise is going to be drawing up and us having to fix and guard and all the things.

It's awesome, though. That's why it's a fun tournament.

THE MODERATOR: Final question for you. Throughout the year, a team will go through different phases where you feel really good about the way you're playing; it doesn't matter who you play or where you play, you know you're going to get an unbelievable effort, and other times you may hit a lull and have to work through some things.

What phase is your team in right now that you've seen through these three games of the postseason playing teams that you haven't seen, as opposed to the familiarity of conference play?

BART BROOKS: I feel like we've been through all of those things you described in the last three games. I don't know if we played three quarters of worse basketball than we did against Northern Arizona, and then had a quarter of being absolutely brilliant.

That's kind of the beauty of this sport, I guess, in that just if you keep your head where your feet or, and you focus on what's in front of you and you continue to play the possession, and there's time on the clock and you keep playing, you've got a chance.

But man, I feel really good about where we are. I think we've piecemealed our way through some tough stretches this year. We lost four in a row in the middle of our conference play, and I don't know if that's ever happened to us, for sure since I've been here. That was a unique thing we had to overcome.

I think we are battle-tested. I think we've got a lot of resilience, and I think we probably just played our most complete game front to back our last time-out against James Madison against a really good team on the road, and I thought we played great on both sides of the ball. I'm hoping that we're going to ride that momentum, and excited about the opportunity.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

The Guru’s NCAAW Tourney Weekend Report: UConn, USC, Texas and TCU Join UCLA, Duke, South Carolina and LSU to Complete Elite Eight

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

And now the Sweet 16 in Birmingham, Ala., and Spokane, Wash., over Friday and Saturday have been reduced to the Elite Eight.

Though the field is cut in half, expect expect the excitement to double with the matchups Sunday afternoon on ABC and Monday night on ESPN leading to next weekend’s Final Four in Tampa, Fla.

But let us first look back in reverse order.

The last of the eight games Saturday night that occurred in the Northwest perhaps had the most suspense heading into the opening tip given that Southern Cal, the No. 1 seed in Spokane Region 4 and fourth ranked team in the Associated Press women’s poll, was to take the floor for the first time without national player of the year JuJu Watkins, lost for rest of the season with an ACL right knee injury early in last Monday’s lop-sided home victory over Mississippi State at the Galen Center in Los Angeles.

On the other side was fifth-seed Kansas State (28-8), which had recently gotten back the Wildcats’ star player Aoki Lee from a month lost with an injury and upset No. 4 Kentucky last weekend on the other Wildcats’ court.

Watkins couldn’t make the trip, but Trojans coach Lindsay Gottlieb revealed her superstar sent FaceTime greetings across the country before and following the 67-61 win by USC (31-3).

“She hit me up and just said how proud she was, before this game even, of the coaching staff, of the players, of everything that we are,” Gottlieb said. “And right after, it was hard to hear in the locker room, but there were a lot of smiles, and my daughter was blowing kisses to her and said, `JuJu’s not hurt?’

“`No, she's still hurt, but she's happy today and with us.’ So, just trying to keep her spirit with us. She’s just an incredible young person, and I think the way the team has responded says a lot about her and the true amount of chemistry that they have for each other.”

They also have the No. 1 freshmen class in the country, consisting of seven players, and on Saturday night the recruiting paid off as they made up for Stanford transfer Kiki Iriafen not equaling anything as productive as the 36 points she scored in the home team continuing on after Watkins got hurt.

Kennedy Smith, who started all season, had a team-leading 19 points.

“I’m ready for the moment,” she said. “Even in high school, just the balance with that, I think I was prepared to be in the position I am right now.

“We still have the common goal of obviously winning a national championship and with JuJu going down there was a bit of adversity to face,” Smith continued.

“We talked to her before the game, she was rooting us on. So just keeping her in our heart and minds and playing for her as well as for each other.”

Avery Howell, making her second start and being Watkins’ replacement, matched a personal best with 18 points, seven in the fourth quarter.

“Credit their freshmen, because this is a big stage and they’re the No. 1 recruiting class in the country for a reason, and I thought they stepped up,” said Kansas State coach Jeff Mittie.

“Smith got them off to a great start, Howell was fantastic, so it says a lot about the depth of their roster.”

Serena Sundell scored 22 for Kansas State and Lee contributed 12.

Of her recruits, Gottlieb said, “They are incredibly tough, and they are winners. And that’s what I told them before the game, and they earned every bit of it, and I’m just proud to be playing in the Elite Eight and proud of our group they got to experience it.”

Bueckers Pours 40 to Lead UConn over Oklahoma

On Monday night its going to be deja vue, part deux, for USC, playing two seed and No. 3 ranked Connecticut, the team that ousted them in the same round a year ago before the Trojans finally beat the Huskies on a big night from Watkins back in Hartford.

Saturday night belonged to Bueckers, however, in the game prior to Southern Cal, and the projected No. 1 WNBA draft pick next month to the Dallas Wings poured a career-high 40 points, 29 in the second half to single-handily outscore three-seed and 11th ranked Oklahoma as the Huskies (34-3) rallied from a 36-32 halftime deficit to down the Sooners 82-59.

Bueckers had gained her previous high at 34 in her final home game Monday when Connecticut rolled over South Dakota State at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs.

Against Oklahoma (27-8), besides creating distance with a personal 10-0 run in the fourth quarter the Minneapolis-area native matched her personal best with six makes from deep.

“Obviously, Paige was spectacular,” said Hall of Fame UConn coach Geno Auriemma, whose NCAA career win record for either men or women extended to 2247 triumphs, including a record NCAA 11 women’s titles.

“That was as good a game as I’ve seen her play the whole time she’s been here, at the most important time. When you’re a senior and you’ve been around as long as she has, this is what you’re here to do. This is why you came here.”

Ashlynn Shade added 12 points and freshman Sarah Strong had a double-double with 11 points and 11 boards.

It’s the 18th Elite Eight in the past 19 seasons for UConn, whose last title came in 2016. The next two saw the squad suffer buzzing beating losses in successive national semifinals, the next year Covid caused the cancellation of the tourney.

The Huskies were upset in the semis by Arizona in 2021, then got hit with a rash of in juries the past three seasons, one lost by Bueckers, though advanced to the title game against South Carolina in 2022, ended their final four streak in 2023 in a Sweet 16 loss to Ohio State, and then made it back to the semis last season falling short at the finish to Iowa and Caitlin Clark.

“Honestly, we just wanted to keep our season going as long as possible,” Bueckers said. “We all love playing together. We love playing here. We just love this program.”

“Everybody at this point of the season is trying to keep winning, to win a national title and keep the season going as long as possible. Everybody has the same goal, Bueckers said.

“Whether your season is ending or your career is ending, you want to stay in one game at a time, one practice at a time, one possession at a time, and just focus on that and maximizing that, and not getting too caught up in the future.”

Oklahoma’s Payton Verhulst scored 16 points in the first Sweet 16 appearance for the program since 2013, though the Sooners are winless lifetime against the Huskies, including the 2002 championship.

“I just said to our seniors, obviously this loss sucks, it should hurt, there’s going to be tears and heartbreak, but I think the biggest message that I wanted them to hear was that they started this culture at Oklahoma,” Verhulst said.

Birmingham 3: Texas Edges Tennessee and TCU Downs Notre Dame

Earlier Saturday, the second-seeded and sixth-ranked Horned Frogs, who claimed the Big 12 title, showed that last November’s then-upset of now third-seeded and eighth-ranked Notre Dame in the tropics was no fluke, beating the Fighting Irish 71-62.

The outcome provided a collegiate first for Hailey Van Lith who will be in her fifth Elite Eight with her third different team previously journeying with Louisville and last season with LSU.

TCU (34-3) is coached by Mark Campbell, who turned the Horned Frogs program around when arriving last season after a two-year stint at Sacramento State.

Prior to that, he was a longtime Oregon assistant, responsible for recruiting later WNBA All-Star Sabrina Ionescue, which resulted in a Final Four appearance in 2019 and likely another one in 2020 had not the NCAA tournament been cancelled.

The roster also has Oregon transfer Sedona Prince, who at the bubble-format NCAA tourney in 2021 in Dallas put a picture on social media showing the inverse comparison of weight room provisions compared to the men’s tourney, setting off a major independent investigation of the women’s tourney treatment compared to the men, resulting in wholesale changes.

The Associated Press dubbed Van Lith for her fete “Miss March,” a nickname Campbell called “deserved and earned.”

“In this era of the portal and the modern-day college athlete, and there are a lot of bad stories in the portal, but Hailey Van Lith leading three schools five times to the Elite Eight, Miss March, yes, she gets that title, and she can own it.”

“I thought offensively Hailey really carried us in the second half,” Campbell said. “Survived to play another game and compete on Monday night for a chance to go for a Final Four.”

The game was tied early in the fourth quarter 52-52 when Van Lith put TCU ahead with five of the next six points and 12 of her 26 points in the final period. She also had nine rebounds.

It’s the Horned Frogs first advancement to the next round.

“I was going to go out there and play as hard as I could to practice with these girls tomorrow,” Van Lith said.

“Going into this game, I was really just going to go and have no regrets. I was going to go out there and have fun and play with the joy that God gave me.”

Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey, who coached against Van Lith when she was with Louisville, said she sensed her grabbing the momentum.

“I feel like she saw the ball going in and she kind of rose,” I said. “You could tell her energy, her confidence was getting stronger, play by play.

“I thought she made some really good defensive plays as well. This is that stage where great players emerge. I thought she had a really complete game.”

Prince had 21 with six boards and six blocks for TCU.

“No offense to them, but it was really nothing they did to alter us,“ said Notre Dame guard, Olivia, Miles, who has 48 hours now to decide if she will return to the Irish or put herself in the WNBA draft where she is a projected lottery pick if she decides.

After the game She told reporters she was still undecided what her decision will be.

Continuing to talk about the game, Miles said, “obviously Sedona is in there. She was blocking shots, that’s one factor, but we literally were just missing shots that we normally make and that’s going to happen at times.“

The Irish in the fourth quarter were held to 10 points, their lowest total on the season.

Pitt transfer Liatu King scored 17, Merchantsville’s Hannah Hidalgo, the ACC player of the year who had been in the national player honors conversation, scored 15, and Miles scored 10.

Madison Conner added 13 to TCU’s total.

TCU on Monday night will face No. 1 seed and fifth-ranked Texas, who advanced against the Longhorns new SEC rival Tennessee 67-59.

The Longhorns (34-3) played the Lady Vols for years, but this season Texas moved from the Big 12, which gained TCU several years ago, with Oklahoma to the SEC.

The loss by Tennessee (24-10), seeded fifth and ranked 20th, ended the first season under Kim Caldwell, who brought a new swarming attack from Marshall and improvement, but the setback was another in a slew of narrow outcomes falling short against high-ranked opponents.

The Lady Vols were also bounced out of the SEC tourney the first day by Vanderbilt.

Madison Booker, the player of the year in the SEC, scored 17 for Texas, coached by Vic Schaefer, who led Mississippi State to successive Final Fours in in 2017 and 2018.

“We’ve been in these battles close enough,” said Schaefer of the closely fought contest. “We know what it takes. When you’re tired or maybe in that moment or the last four or five minutes, you fall back on your fundamentals.”

Jordan Lee added 13 points while Taylor Jones scored 12.

Tennessee got within one point near the end on a shot from Ruby Whitehorn, who scored 16, but Texas then lengthened its lead the rest of the way.

“I was proud of how hard we played,” Caldwell said. “A big point of emphasis was rebounding, and we did what we needed to there.

“They just did such a great job rushing us into shots and forcing some turnovers down the stretch when we needed to get some shots off.”

Texas also got 12 points from Bryanna Preston, while Zee Spearman added 13 for Tennessee, which is the only school to appear in all 43 NCAA women’s tourneys.

“We didn’t want it to be the last time we did it,” said Texas senior Rori Harmon. “We talked about accountability and leadership.

“We were over here grabbing each other by our jerseys and telling (each other), ‘You can’t let this happen, you can’t let this happen.’ I think it was just collectively, we all just wanted it so bad.”

Tennessee missed their last five shots.

Texas beat the Lady Vols 80-76 during the season and is now 18-2 against SEC squads this season.

“Our league is a monster,” Schaefer said. “There are just so many great teams, they are well-coached, and so many great players. I walk out and I look at Tennessee and it’s like looking at a WNBA team. They’ve got size at guard, size at 5, size everywhere. Athleticism, quickness all over the floor. It’ ain’t much fun.”

The Rebuilders

Seven of the eight coaches playing for a spot in the Final Four in Tampa are relatively recent hires, brought to rebuild programs from previous status, while Auriemma has been at UConn with his longtime assistant and former Rutgers star Chris Dailey where they built the Huskies from ground zero.

Schaefer returned to his native state after making Mississippi State nationally relevant; Campbell at TCU has been mentioned earlier in this post; Cori Close, who has won several national coach of the year awards this month, came to UCLA from an assistant at Florida State; Former Tennessee star Kara Lawson was hired at Duke from the staff of the NBA Boston Celtics, while LSU’s Kim Mulkey returned to her state from national power Baylor; Dawn Staley was hired from Temple to grow South Carolina; Lindsay Gottlieb, who led California to a Final Four, was hired at Southern Cal from the NBA staff of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Looking Ahead Elight Eight Part One – Sunday

All the No. 1 and three No. 2 seeds have advanced while No. 3 LSU topped No. 2 NC State.

Two games being played and airing Sunday on ABC at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. leads with No. 2 seed and overall seventh-ranked Duke (29-7), the ACC champs, facing No. 1 seed, No. 2 ranked and defending champion South Carolina (33-3), followed by No. 2 seed and 10th-ranked LSU (31-5) meeting Overall No. 1 seed (South Carolina is second) and No. 1 ranked UCLA (33-2).

In the national semifinals on Friday the winner of the UCLA-LSU game will meet the winner of Monday’s Connecticut-USC game while the Duke-South Carolina winner faces the Texas-TCU winner.

Duke advanced Friday in an ACC rematch beating three-seed North Carolina 47-38 in a defensive contest as the Blue Devils rallied from an early 11-0 deficit to the Tar Heels (29-8) and now will seek to make it a Final Four double with their men’s team playing in their first Elite Eight game since 2013.

Reserve Oluchi Okananwa had 12 points and 12 boards, and Ashlon Jackson scored 10 points for Duke.

“I’ll be honest, Lawson said afterwards. “I was a little worried down 11-0 and we hadn’t scored at all in the game. But I don’t think there’s ever been a shutout. I felt pretty good we could score at some point.”

Toby Fournier, who had been Duke’s star freshman, was held to three points.

UNC fifth-year senior Alyssa Ustby scored nine points.

The 85 points were the fewest ever in a regional final.

“Sitting up here after a loss is disappointing,” said UNC coach Courtney Banghart, who previously built Princeton into a national force. “Especially when you hold your third straight tournament opponent under 50 points, and you don’t win the game.”

Here’s a link to a photo gallery of the game shot by William Ewart. https://williamewartphoto.photoshelter.com/gallery/2025-NCAA-Birmingham-Regional-North-Carolina-vs-Duke/G0000Sy0ZNm3rvjU/

 

South Carolina had its second straight challenge from a Big Ten opponent, this one by fourth-seeded Maryland (25-8) going deep into the game until the Gamecocks prevailed 71-67.

MiLaysia Fulwiley scored 23 points while Chloe Kitts had 15 points and 11 boards.

“We’re a resilient group,” Staley said. “People thought we had the easiest region. I don’t think so. It’s not easy at all, it gets harder, because we’ve got to play Duke. I just think our team has been through so much. They’re unshakeable, you know. They’re unflappable.”

The Gamecocks Hall of Fame coach said surviving in the SEC tying Texas for the regular season title and splitting with the Longhorns before beating them in the conference championship game gave her players “confidence to be able to be in a tight knit game and find a way to win because that’s what it’s all about at this stage of the game.”

Kaylene Smikle, the Rutgers transfer, one of a bunch portal retrievals Maryland coach Brenda Frese brought in to replace a bunch who left, scored 17.

“We believed we could win this game,” Frese said. “We showed that we could win this game, and I think we gave a pretty good blueprint on how to beat South Carolina, to be quite honest, for the teams moving on.”

“The blueprint?” Staley said at Saturday’s preview press conference. “People played us like that ever since we had Aliyah Boston (the former national player of the year going as the top pick of the Indiana Fever in the WNBA to become rookie of the year).

“It’s nothing new. We lead the country in points in the paint. Clog the paint.

“They did a good job executing their game plan and we did a poor job at shot selection. So we will be better. We just got to take better shots.”

Of playing against Lawson, who like Staley has gone through the pro and international player and coaching experience, the Gamecocks coach said, “I respect the success Kara is having at Duke. I respect the fact that she has been in our game for a long time at different stops, you know, commenting, NBA assistant.

“She is an Olympian; she is an Olympic assistant coach. So, for someone that has devoted and served our game as long as she has, you gotta tip your hat to her.”

Gamecocks guard Te-Hina Paopao, a transfer from Oregon, said setting the tone needs to be improved.

“I feel like we’ve had some problems with that this season – playing with toughness.

“We’ve got to start some games with toughness. I feel like when the other team punches first and plays with toughness first, we tend to not be able to play with toughness until later in the second half or when it’s too late.

“I feel like we’ve got to come out punching first, playing with toughness first, and asserting our dominance in the first few minutes of the game. Sometimes we can be a little loose and not locked in from the beginning.”

In Sunday’s other game after getting to the top of the rankings for the first time this season, UCLA, which won the old AIAW in 1978, is going for its first-ever NCAA Final Four against an LSU team that knocked the Bruins out of the tournament in the Sweet 16 a year ago.

The Bruins advanced Friday against Ole Miss 76-62 as Lauren Betts, who transferred from Stanford two seasons ago, was 15-of-16 and scored 31 with 10 rebounds, virtually repeating the same double-double with one more point and four less rebounds to beat Richmond in Round two.

Bruins coach Cori Close referred to Betts as “a generational player” afterwards.

“She’s not only dominant for herself, but she makes everybody on the floor better. And so, you just want to put the ball in her hands as many ways and as many times as is possible.”

KiKi Rice had 13 points seven assists for the Bruins, who now turn to erasing bad memories in the Albany (NY) regional last season.

“We obviously have familiarity with LSU and meeting them in the Sweet 16 last year,” Close said, “but reality is LSU knows how to win, and they have proven that year after year, so it’s going to take a great effort from us.

“We thought boxing out Ole Miss was tough. LSU’s an even better offensive rebounding team. They obviously have a lot of weapons, and they play with great confidence and aggression, and (coach) Kim Mulkey is one of the best to ever do it.”

LSU has their own inside force in Aneesah Morrow, who transferred two seasons ago from DePaul in her hometown Chicago.

“The way she exerts her dominance is on the offensive glass and then really being crafty around the rim or attacking from the high post off the dribble. So that’s going to be our challenge, is to try to mitigate that and to play … get them out of their rhythm.”

Knowing where the defense is focusing on, Close called the key to winning, “who else steps up.”

LSU looking at the other way working against Betts, Mulkey said, “She is so talented. Just watching her from high school until today, it’s amazing how good she is.

“Certainly, her height is an advantage and we’re not going to grow that tall overnight. But we have to battle and do the best we can. But she’s not all they have. Certainly, everything they do goes through her, as it should, but they’re talented at a lot of positions.”

And that’s your report other than in the next one besides recapping Sunday’s NCAA games and looking ahead to Monday night’s other two qualifiers, Rutgers at Buffalo playing an Elite Eight equivalent game in the WNIT while Villanova might be part of a preview press conference in the WBIT in Indianapolis ahead of Monday’s semifinal at Butler’s Hinkle Fieldhouse playing Belmont.