The field of 68-teams in the 2025 women’s NCAA Tournament has been whittled down to 16.
All No. 1 seeds — UCLA, South Carolina, USC and Texas — advanced to the Sweet 16, which tips off Friday and runs through Saturday. All the No. 2 seeds and No. 3 seeds also moved on to Sweet 16. In fact, the lowest seeds to advance are No. 5 seeds Kansas State and Tennessee.
The biggest news coming out of the tournament’s second round is that USC star JuJu Watkins will miss the remainder of the tournament after suffering a season-ending knee injury.
‘I am so sad that JuJu is not playing in the tournament anymore, but I am excited for other players that are going to step into that spotlight,’ UCLA head coach Cori Close said. ‘And it’s not even about my players. It’s about the sport in general… There are so many elite players in our game, and I can’t wait to see some new faces shine.’
Here’s everything you need to know about the 2025 women’s NCAA Tournament, including a breakdown of each region, the best Sweet 16 games and players to watch.
SPOKANE REGION 1
All times Eastern.
No. 2 NC State vs. No. 3 LSU | Friday, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)
No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 5 Ole Miss | Friday, 10 p.m. (ESPN)
UCLA, the No. 1 overall seed, is one step closer to earning its first Final Four berth following Lauren Betts’ 17th double-double of the season, finishing with a game-high 30 points and 14 rebounds against No. 8 Richmond. UCLA will next face a gritty Ole Miss team that advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second time in three years following a narrow 69-63 win over No. 4 Baylor. The Rebels did so by forcing a season-high 21 turnovers from the Bears to earn the win. Meanwhile, NC State will look to contain a LSU team that has scored 100+ points in back-to-back March Madness games for the first time in program history. Aneesah Morrow nearly reached a triple-double in their second-round win over No. 6 FSU, finishing with 26 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists. The Wolfpack is clicking offensively too. NC State had four players in double figures in their win over No. 7 Michigan State and the team collectively knocked down 15 threes, a program NCAA Tournament record. Leading scorer Aziaha James had six of those 3-pointers, while Madison Hayes had five.
BEST SWEET 16 GAME: No. 2 NC State vs. No. 3 LSU: The two teams faced each other in November, with the Tigers coming away with a 82-65 win over the Wolfpack. Morrow led the way for LSU with 20 points, 15 rebounds, three steals and one block. The Wolfpack were out rebounded 44-24 by the Tigers and only shot 35.9% from the field and 9-of-26 from three, but look for NC State to rebound. The team’s shooting an improved 44.2% from the field and 19-of-50 from three through two games in the 2025 women’s NCAA Tournament.
BIRMINGHAM REGION 2
No. 2 Duke vs. No. 3 North Carolina | Friday, 2:30 p.m. (ESPN)
No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 4 Maryland | Friday 5 p.m. (ESPN)
Duke vs. North Carolina is one of the most storied rivalries in sports, but Friday will mark the schools’ first time meeting in the women’s NCAA Tournament. Duke coach Kara Lawson, however, said she’s ‘not really moved’ by the history surrounding the game. Maybe because this will mark Duke and North Carolina’s third matchup of the season. Duke is only focused on surpassing their Sweet-16 last year. The Blue Devils will have freshman Toby Fournier back in the lineup after missing the Blue Devils’ second-round tournament matchup due to an illness. Duke will look to break out against North Carolina’s stout defense, which held both opponents under 50 points for the first since 1995. Meanwhile, No. 1 South Carolina advanced to its 11th consecutive Sweet 16 appearance, the second-longest streak in the nation. The Gamecocks have depth and defense, ranking first in the nation in bench points per game (41.5) and fifth in blocks per game (5.8). They’ll face a No. 4 Maryland team that outlasted No. 5 Alabama in double overtime to advance to the Sweet 16 for the fourth time five years.
BEST SWEET 16 GAME: No. 2 Duke vs. No. 3 North Carolina: The Sweet 16 will mark the third matchup between the two teams this season. North Carolina won the first matchup 53-46 in overtime in January after leading by as many as 16 points, while Duke took the second matchup 68-53 in February. Duke freshman Toby Fournier and North Carolina’s Alyssa Ustby will be X-factors on Friday. Fournier missed all eight of her shots in the Blue Devils loss to UNC, but she scored 19 points and 10 rebounds in Duke’s win over the Tar Heels. On the other hand, Ustby had 10 points and 12 rebounds in their first matchup, but was absent from their second matchup with a knee injury.
BIRMINGHAM REGION 3
No. 2 TCU vs. No. 3 Notre Dame | Saturday, 1 p.m. (ABC/ESPN+)
No. 1 Texas vs. No. 5 Tennessee | Saturday, 3:30 p.m. (ABC)
No. 1 seed Texas will face a familiar SEC foe in the Sweet 16 in No. 5 Tennessee. The Longhorns narrowly won their first regular-season matchup against the Lady Volunteers in January following a go-ahead basket from SEC Player of the Year, Madison Booker. Tennessee’s Talaysia Cooper struggled during that matchup, only recording seven points on 3-of-12 shooting, but look for her to bounce back in Tennessee’s 37th Sweet 16 appearance, marking the most of any school. No. 2 TCU and No. 3 Notre Dame also will have a Sweet 16 rematch. (More on this later.) The Horned Frogs advanced to their first Sweet 16 appearance in school history following Hailey Van Lith’s 16-point, 10-assist double-double against her former team — Louisville — marking the seventh of her career. The Fighting Irish also breezed past Michigan thanks to Liatu King, who became the fourth player in program history to record 15 points and 15+ rebounds. More history is on the line. The Horned Frogs are in pursuit of its first Elite Eight appearance in school history, while the Fighting Irish are looking for their first Elite Eight berth since 2019.
BEST SWEET 16 GAME: No. 2 TCU vs. No. 3 Notre Dame: If the Sweet 16 matchup between the Horned Frogs and Fighting Irish is anything like their first matchup earlier in the season, expect fireworks. Notre Dame jumped to a 14-point lead over TCU during their regular-season matchup in November, but the Fighting Irish’s defense faltered down the stretch. Sedona Prince went off for 20 points, 20 rebounds and 8 blocks in TCU’s comeback win. Notre Dame will have to step up their defense to contain Prince and four-time All-American Hailey Van Lith.
SPOKANE REGION 4
No. 2 UConn vs. No. 3 Oklahoma | Saturday, 5:30 p.m. (ESPN)
No. 1 USC vs. No. 5 Kansas State | Saturday, 8 p.m. (ESPN)
When the women’s NCAA Tournament bracket was first unveiled on Selection Sunday, many circled the potential Elite Eight matchup between No. 1 USC and No. 2 UConn, setting up a highly anticipated rematch between JuJu Watkins and Paige Bueckers. But Waktins’ unfortunate season-ending injury has turned the bracket upside down. Watkins has started 33 of USC’s 34 games this year, leaving a big hole for the Trojans to fill. But don’t count out the supporting cast of Kiki Iriafen and Kennedy Smith, who led the Trojans to a dominant 37-point victory over No. 9 Mississippi State. Kansas State, however, is firing on all cylinders. The Wildcats outlasted No. 4 Kentucky in an overtime thriller to notch their 28th win of the season — tying the second-most wins in program history — following an impressive performance from seniors Temira Poindexter (8-of-15 3PT) and Serena Sundell. The veteran group set a school record for the most points in a season (2,781 points) and is the only team in the nation with 300+ steals and 200+ this year. Meanwhile, No. 3 Oklahoma will look to slow down Paige Bueckers and No. 2 UConn, which is in pursuit of its first championship since 2016. The Sooners are 0-13 against the Huskies all-time, including two losses in the NCAA Tournament. But Oklahoma has been defensively stout with 136 rebounds in the first two games of the tournament, marking the most in a two-game span in NCAA Tournament history
BEST SWEET 16 GAME: No. 1 USC vs. No. 5 Kansas State: Don’t count out USC just yet. Although the Trojans will be without Watkins, the supporting cast of Iriafen and Kennedy Smith are more than capable of righting the ship against Kansas State, which features the dangerous duo of Serena Sundell and Ayoka Lee.
2025 women’s NCAA Tournament schedule
Sweet 16: March 28-29
Elite Eight: March 30-31
Final Four: Friday, April 4, 7:00 and 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
NCAA championship game: Sunday, April 6, 3 p.m. ET (ABC)
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