The 2026 women’s NCAA tournament continues Saturday with the last four games of the Sweet 16. On Friday, we saw Hannah Hidalgo stealing dreams in Notre Dame’s win over Vanderbilt, before UConn muscled its way through UNC to return to the Elite Eight for the 30th time in program history. In Sacramento, UCLA took care of business against Minnesota before Duke outlasted LSU with a buzzer-beating three to steal the game. What will Saturday have in store?
Sports Illustrated will have live updates throughout the Sweet 16 with analysis, score updates and more from around the bracket.
Live updates, analysis and highlights from Saturday’s gamesSaturday’s women’s Sweet 16 matchupsFinal: No. 2 Michigan 71, No. 3 Louisville 52
Michigan blew out Louisville to advance to the second Elite Eight in program history. The Wolverines did not play well for the first 15 minutes and still easily beat a really good Louisville team. Michigan has won its three tournament games by 35, 29 and now 19 points. I don’t want to get all hot-take-y here, but I think at this point, Michigan is basically the fifth No. 1 seed. The Wolverines play the Texas-Kentucky winner Monday night. —Michael Rosenberg
Final: No. 1 Texas 76, No. 5 Kentucky 54
Wreaking havoc on the defensive end, the Longhorns helped force 24 turnovers, scoring 26 points off of them en route to the lopsided victory. Watching Texas win by 22 points and seeing Madison Booker score only 17 is a little bit like seeing the Death Star operate without some of its tractor beams. But that’s a testament to how deep and talented this Texas team is. The backcourt duo of Jordan Lee, who had 18 points, and Rori Harmon, who was a disruptive force on defense, led the way for the Longhorns.
If there’s any cause for concern on the Longhorns side of things, it’s that they seemed to get a bit careless with the ball in the second half, opening the door for an 8–0 Kentucky run to make things semi-interesting. But for all intents and purposes, this Texas team has yet to be truly tested in the tournament. That’s likely about to change in the Elite Eight against Michigan. —Tim Capurso
Final: No. 1 South Carolina 94, No. 4 Oklahoma 68
The Gamecocks rolled to a decisive victory thanks to its backcourt trio of Ta’Niya Latson, Raven Johnson and Tessa Johnson, who combined for 60 of South Carolina’s points.
The three-point shooting disparity between the two teams—South Carolina knocked down 10 of 14 shots from beyond the arc while Oklahoma went 6-of-20—was also ultimately one of the deciding factors in the game. Playing suffocating defense and with the offense firing on all cylinders, the Gamecocks look like a formidable foe for either of TCU or Virginia in the Elite Eight. —Capurso
No. 3 TCU vs. No. 10 Virginia, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
As the first team to go from the First Four to the Sweet 16 in the women’s NCAA tournament, Virginia will be looking to keep the Cinderella magic going. Junior Kymora Johnson has been key during this run, scoring 28 points in back-to-back games for the Hoos. Meanwhile, TCU is looking to shake off a second-round game against Washington that didn’t see the Horned Frogs’ best effort: TCU had a season-low 19 points in the first half and was held to just three in the second quarter. But Olivia Miles, who had a triple-double to start the tournament and was just two assists shy from a second against the Huskies, will be looking to keep her college career alive as long as possible and that should be terrifying for Virginia.
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