The Athletic has live coverage of the 2026 Women’s March Madness Sweet 16.

The Sweet 16 continues to whittle down to the Elite Eight at the NCAA Tournament regional sites in Fort Worth, Texas, and Sacramento, Calif.

Michigan started Saturday’s action with a dominant 71-52 win against Louisville after overcoming a slow start in the first quarter

The Wolverines followed Friday’s action, which saw UConn continue its bid for another unbeaten national championship season. Sixth-seeded Notre Dame upset No. 2 seed Vanderbilt, and Duke sank LSU in buzzer-beating fashion.

No. 3 TCU 79, No. 10 Virginia 69

When Olivia Miles transferred from Notre Dame to TCU last April, Horned Frogs coach Mark Campbell had a clear vision — both for himself and for his incoming superstar.

“My main priority,” Campbell said Friday, “was to find Olivia again. Find her joy. Find her spirit and her love for the game and play at a level that I knew I could reach, but I really wasn’t getting there for some reason.”

Suffice it to say, both parties have gotten just what they wanted.

No. 3 seed TCU ended No. 10 seed Virginia’s Cinderella run Saturday night in Sacramento with a 79-69 win that has the Horned Frogs back in the Elite Eight for just the second time in program history, but also the second consecutive season. Just two years after TCU had so little depth that Campbell had to turn to the student body for help, TCU is still dancing. And Miles — who draped a TCU flag over her shoulders and hugged Campbell after the game — looks like she’s just where she’s meant to be.

The spunky guard put on a show at the Golden 1 Center with no-look passes, one-handed passes and 28 points to go along with her eight assists and 10 rebounds.

In the second half, shortly after Virginia fans started to tease her about not being able to finish with her left hand, she playfully gestured to them after a pretty left-handed pass, and turned to them at the end of the game to blow them a goodbye kiss, accented by sticking out her tongue. Whether she was dancing down the court, putting on a passing clinic or finishing razzmatazz reverse layups, her showmanship was on full display.

Now she’s got at least one more game of her college career, when the Horned Frogs take on top-seeded South Carolina on Monday night.

“I’m finally out of the Sweet 16. I’m so happy about that,” Miles said. “Ultimately, I wanted to find my joy back …. but I truly feel like the people around have allowed me to love basketball again.”

She credits Campbell and TCU’s system for allowing her to play with freedom.

“I think just being around coaches growing up who have allowed me to be me and be creative and try things. … Luckily I haven’t run into a coach that’s like, ‘Girls can’t do one-handed layups or or girls can’t make one-arm passes.’ I haven’t heard that. And I’ve heard players that have had to put themselves in a box because they’re not able to be creative. And thank goodness I was around people who always inspire me to try new things. My coaches have always been like, ‘If I see you doing it in practice, go ahead and do it in the game.’ And so it’s just translated. And because I’ve practiced it so much, it’s like second nature at this point.

“I’m just so confident when I do it and (Campbell) allows me to do it, as well. Sometimes.”

In addition to Miles, TCU forward Marta Suárez was spectacular for TCU, too, finishing with a career-high 33 points on 12-of-25 shooting from the field and a 4-of-7 mark from deep. The Cavaliers had no answers for Suárez in the first half in particular, when she scored 18 points in myriad ways. TCU, with its length, also dominated the Cavaliers down low and finished the night with 46 points in the paint to Virginia’s 28.

TCU outscored Virginia 24-11 in the third quarter, which ultimately was the nail in the coffin. Credit No. 10 Virginia, though, both for an unexpected run and for keeping TCU on the ropes — especially toward the end of the game when TCU struggled to respond to Virginia’s full-court press and the Cavaliers cut it to six with 28 seconds to go.

But Saturday night was all about the Horned Frogs, who now shift their sights toward South Carolina. — Grace Raynor, women’s basketball writer

No. 1 South Carolina 94, No. 4 Oklahoma 68

All you had to do was look at Dawn Staley’s shirt pregame to get a sense of how Saturday’s Sweet 16 tilt between South Carolina and Oklahoma would go.

Staley, assistant coach Khadijah Sessions and reserve forward Adhel Tac were rocking Raven Johnson T-shirts, as if the senior guard needed any more motivation after rookie Aaliyah Chavez — Johnson’s defensive assignment — exploded in the Sooners’ regular-season win over the Gamecocks on Jan. 22.

There would be no repeat of that performance, no early end to South Carolina’s season or Johnson’s career. Johnson would not allow it, as the Gamecocks won 94-68 to advance to the Elite Eight for the sixth consecutive season.

Staley calls Johnson an extension of the coaching staff on the court, and Johnson had her team ready to execute from tipoff. On the first possession, she was directing traffic, motioning Tessa Johnson to the corner to create a lane for Ta’Niya Latson’s drive to the basket. In the blink of an eye, the score was 10-0.

Raven Johnson prides herself on being able to make the right play. Although her nickname is “Hollywood,” a vestige of when she would come to AAU practice with a lot of jewelry, high socks and Justice clothing, Johnson doesn’t always have a lot of flash in her game. She just gets the job done.

Against Oklahoma, that meant she had to be a scorer early to keep the defense honest. She had 9 points in the first quarter, getting into the lane and draining a couple of jumpers — each more demoralizing than the last, since the Sooners were defending her as a playmaker, not a finisher. Johnson finished with 18 points, three assists and zero turnovers and was able to take the fourth quarter off to rest up for Monday’s game.

Latson led the way with 28 points, Madina Okot had 12 rebounds and the Gamecocks held Oklahoma 18 points below its season average.

Johnson has experienced a lot of winning at South Carolina. She is a two-time national champion (though the first title came during her redshirt season) and has been to the Final Four two additional times. Her lone goal coming into Sacramento was to earn more opportunities to lead this team and continue the South Carolina legacy.

“I love Raven during this time because it reminds me of playing on an Olympic team, where nothing really matters but winning,” Staley said Friday. “Points don’t matter, who gets the notoriety — Raven just wants to win. And I love the purity of that.”
Thanks to that mentality, Johnson and the Gamecocks have a chance to keep adding wins to their ledger in the Elite Eight against the winner of No. 3 TCU or No. 10 Virginia on Monday. — Sabreena Merchant, women’s basketball writer

No. 2 Michigan 71, No. 3 Louisville 52

When Michigan last played in the Sweet 16 in 2022, the coaching staff wore baseball and softball uniforms.

So when the Wolverines took the court Saturday to face Louisville (the team that bounced Michigan from that NCAA Tournament in the Elite Eight), the coaching staff showed up wearing those jerseys again.

But that was about the only thing that looked the same for Michigan. Back in 2022, it was a surprise to see the Wolverines getting that far.

Now? With this talented, sophomore-led group, this is the expectation (with hopes to go even further). And after a turnover-heavy first quarter, No. 2 seed Michigan slammed the door on No. 3 seed Louisville, advancing to the Wolverines’ second-ever Elite Eight.

.@OliviaOlson2024 taking a trip to Europe ✈️#MarchMadness x 🎥 ABC / @umichwbball pic.twitter.com/yGL1Np7VIi

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) March 28, 2026

Syla Swords, Olivia Olson and Te’Yala Delfosse — all sophomores — combined for 45 of the team’s 71 points, while sophomore Mila Holloway tallied seven of the Wolverines’ 16 assists. Despite having the overall size disadvantage, Michigan dominated the glass 42-33, with 5-foot-7 Brooke Quarles Daniels finishing with a game-high nine boards.

The Wolverines will face their toughest challenge when they play Texas for a trip to the Final Four. This sophomore class came to Michigan with the expectation to push the program further than it had ever been, and come Monday, it will have that shot. — Chantel Jennings, women’s basketball writer

No. 1 Texas 76, No. 5 Kentucky 54

Texas beat Kentucky the last time the teams played in February, but it was far from the Longhorns’ best performance. They were out-rebounded by the Wildcats at home and won by just 11 points. Saturday’s Sweet 16 matchup was a much different team.

The Longhorns, who have now won 11 straight games, dominated Kentucky from the start, advancing to the Elite Eight after a 76-54 win.

Though the end result was expected, the performance was a sign that coach Vic Schaefer has Texas playing its best basketball at the right time. The Longhorns out-rebounded Kentucky 38-29 on Saturday and jumped out to a double-digit lead early in the first quarter, never relinquishing control. Texas shot 54 percent from the field and got a masterful performance from point guard Rori Harmon, who had 11 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, six steals and just one turnover.

Texas earned the third No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and the right to play in its home state after beating South Carolina 78-61 in the SEC tournament. It hasn’t slowed down since then, winning each of its first two NCAA Tournament games by 42 points and then winning by 22 on Saturday.

The Longhorns have an interesting matchup against No. 2 seed Michigan on Monday night for a spot in the Final Four. Much like the Longhorns, Michigan likes to pressure its opponents, and if the Wolverines get hot from 3-point range, it could be an interesting game. Still, Texas is playing like a dominant No. 1 seed with its eyes set on a trip to the Final Four. — Cameron Teague Robinson, women’s basketball writer

This story will be updated.