Women’s March Madness bracket breakdown: Best players to watch in Elite Eight

• All four No. 1 seeds — UCLA, South Carolina, USC and Texas — advanced to the Elite Eight of the 2025 women’s NCAA Tournament.
• South Carolina will face Duke, UCLA will take on LSU, Texas will play TCU, and UConn will face USC in the Elite Eight.
• Star players like UConn’s Paige Bueckers and LSU’s Aneesah Morrow have put up big numbers in the tournament so far.

And then there were eight in the 2025 women’s NCAA Tournament.

Despite the growing parity in women’s college basketball, all No. 1 seeds — UCLA, South Carolina, USC and Texas — advanced to the Elite Eight, which tips off on Sunday and concludes Monday. The lowest seed to advance to the regional finals is No. 3 LSU, a seeding head coach Kim Mulkey says has been “good to us.” (LSU won its first national championship in program history in 2023 as a No. 3 seed.)

No. 1 seeds have historically had the most success in the tournament, winning 32 national championships in the tournament’s 42-year history. No. 2 seeds have won the tournament seven total times, while the lowest seed to ever win a title has been a No. 3 seed three times.

But before we get ahead of ourselves, here’s everything you need to know about the 2025 women’s NCAA Tournament, including a breakdown of each region and the best players to watch in the Elite Eight.

WOMEN’S 2025 NCAA TOURNAMENT: Big upsets are rare in women’s March Madness

ELITE EIGHT: Updated March Madness bracket, schedule for women’s NCAA Tournament

No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 2 Duke women’s basketball

Time, TV: 1 p.m. Sunday (ABC)

Both South Carolina and Duke did just enough to advance to the Elite Eight. The defending champion Gamecocks trailed No. 9 Indiana and No. 4 Maryland at halftime in the second-round and Sweet 16 respectively, marking the first time South Carolina has faced a halftime deficit in two straight games since 2017. The Gamecocks rebounded and MiLaysia Fulwiley scored a go-ahead layup with 2:22 remaining to secure a 71-67 win over Maryland to advance to its fifth straight Elite Eight. Meanwhile, Duke also struggled in the Sweet 16 and only scored 47 points in its win over rival North Carolina, marking its second-lowest point total of the season (31% FG, 5-of-24 3PT). Only two Duke players reached double digits and the Blue Devil’s bench outscored the starters, 26-21. The Elite Eight matchup will mark a rematch of a regular-season game in December, when South Carolina defeated Duke 81-70 after leading by as many as 25 points. Chloe Kitts tied her career high at the time with 21 points in the regular-season matchup. If South Carolina wants to beat Duke and keep its title defense alive, the Gamecocks will need contributions from more than just Kitts and Fulwiley. South Carolina is in pursuit of its fifth consecutive Final Four, while Duke looks to move on to the Final Four for the first time since 2006.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: South Carolina G MiLaysia Fulwiley (12.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.6 spg), who was one-point away from her career-high in the Sweet 16; Duke G Oluchi Okananwa (10.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.8 apg), who recorded her third double-double of the season with a 12-point, 12-rebound performance; South Carolina F Chloe Kitts (10.3 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 2.1 apg), who leads South Carolina in rebounding this season; Duke G Ashlon Jackson (12.5 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.0 apg), who is looking to rebound from shooting 3-of-16 from the field and 2-of-9 from 3.

No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 3 LSU women’s basketball

Time, TV: 1 p.m. Sunday (ABC)

Two of the most dominant post players in the nation will face off in the Elite Eight in UCLA’s Lauren Betts and LSU’s Aneesah Morrow. Both are on a tear. Betts recorded a historic 31-point, 10-rebound performance in UCLA’s 76-62 win over No. 5 Ole Miss, shooting 93.8% from the field, which ties the record for the highest field-goal percentage in an NCAA Tournament game with a minimum 15 attempts. She’ll meet her match in Morrow, who had 30 points and 19 rebounds in LSU’s 80-73 win over No. 2 NC State. Flau’Jae Johnson was held to a season-low three points in the win and suffered a scratch to the eye that caused double vision, but Mulkey said Johnson will be “good to go.” Sunday’s matchup will mark a rematch of last year’s Sweet 16, where LSU defeated UCLA 78-69. The Bruins are in search of their first Final Four appearance, while LSU looks to return to the Final Four for the first time since their title run in 2023.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: UCLA C Lauren Betts (19.7 ppg, 9.7 Rob, 2.9 bpg), who has scored 61 points and 24 rebounds in the last two games; LSU F Aneesah Morrow (18.5 ppg, 13.5 rpg, 2.5 spg), who moved to No. 4 on the NCAA’s all-time career rebounding list (1,707) after grabbing 19 boards Friday; UCLA G Kiki Rice (13.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 5.0 apg), who was three assists shy of a double-double in the Sweet 16; LSU G Flau’Jae Johnson (18.3 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.5 apg), who will look to bounce back from shooting 1-of-8 from the field on Friday.

No. 1 Texas vs. No. 2 TCU women’s basketball

Time, TV: 7 p.m. Monday (ESPN)

TCU continues to rewrite record books following a dominant performance from veteran guard Hailey Van Lith, who scored a game-high 26 points (10-21 FG, 2-5 3PT), nine rebounds and four assists in TCU’s 71-62 win over Notre Dame, the most points she’s dropped in all five of her career Sweet 16 appearances. The Horned Frogs advance to their first Elite Eight appearance (and Van Lith’s fifth) riding a 13-game win streak. Van Lith, the Big 12 Player of the Year, will meet No. 1 Texas and Madison Booker, the SEC Player of the Year, in the Elite Eight. The Longhorns outlasted No. 5 Tennessee 67-59 to advance to the regional final for the fourth time in five years. Texas’ offense has grabbed all the headlines, but the Longhorns defense has stepped up in the NCAA tournament. Texas forced the nation’s top scoring offense into 18 turnovers, nine of which came in fourth quarter.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: TCU G Hailey Van Lith (17.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 5.5 apg), who set TCU’s single-season record for points scored (663 points) in a season; Texas F Madison Booker (16 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.7 apg), who has scored double-digit points in 30 of 37 games this season; TCU C Sedona Prince (17.5 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 2.4 apg), who has recorded double figures in five of her six career NCAA Tournament games; Texas F Taylor Jones (12.1 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.8 bpg), who was two rebounds short of a double-double on Saturday.

No. 2 UConn vs. No. 1 USC women’s basketball

Time, TV: 9 p.m. Monday, ESPN

When the 2025 women’s NCAA Tournament bracket was first unveiled on Selection Sunday, many circled the potential Elite Eight matchup between the No. 1 USC Trojans and the No. 2 UConn Huskies, setting up a highly anticipated rematch between JuJu Watkins and Paige Bueckers. We got the matchup, but it will look a different as one superstar will be missing. Watkins suffered a season-ending injury early in the Trojans’ 96-59 win over No. 9 Mississippi State. USC proved they are fully capable of winning without Watkins in a 67-61 win over No. 5 Kansas State. Freshman guard Kennedy Smith led the way with 19 points. The Trojans will be tasked with slowing down a red-hot Bueckers, who’s in midst of a legendary streak in the final women’s NCAA Tournament of her career. She scored a career-high 40 points in UConn’s win blowout win over No. 3 Oklahoma, days after tying her previous high of 34 points in UConn’s second-round win over South Dakota State. The veteran is now No. 4 on the UConn’s all-time scoring list (2,375 career points), surpassing Katie Lou Samuelson (2,342) and Tina Charles (2,346). She’s 27 points away from passing Napheesa Collier (2,401). 

PLAYERS TO WATCH: UConn G Paige Bueckers (19.2 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 4.8 apg), whose 40 points set a UConn record for a NCAA Tournament game; USC F Kiki Iriafen (18.6 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 1.9 apg), who was held to seven points one game removed from recording a season-high 36 points; UConn F Sarah Strong (16.1 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 3.5 apg), who recorded her fifth double-double of the postseason on Saturday; USC G Kennedy Smith (9.2 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.0 apg), who tied her career-high of 19 points on Saturday.

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