The women’s Final Four is now set, and it’s a carbon copy of last season.
Both Texas and South Carolina rolled to blowout wins on Monday night to wrap up the Elite Eight in the women’s NCAA tournament. This is now the second time in history that the Final Four field is the exact same in back-to-back seasons.
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Texas enters Final Four showdown with UCLA on a tear
For the Texas Longhorns, Monday night was a coronation.
Playing in front of a friendly crowd at the Fort Worth 3 regional final, top seed Texas hit its first nine field goals against No. 2 Michigan. The Wolverines never stood a chance.
Texas opened up an 18-4 lead en route to a 77-41 rout that it controlled from the opening tip. And while its offense set the early pace, its defense was the story of the game.
The Longhorns limited the Wolverines to 23% shooting from the field and secured 15 Michigan turnovers while allowing just five assists. Michigan’s All Big Ten tandem of Olivia Olson and Syla Swords combined to shoot 5-of-28 (17.8%) from the field, while Texas All-American Madison Booker needed just 29 minutes to tally 19 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks.
Texas has now won 12 straight games, including four tournament wins by 22-plus points each. It enters the Final Four playing arguably the best basketball of any team in the field.
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Up next is a one-loss UCLA team that projects to offer a much stiffer test. But the only team to beat the Bruins in the regular season? That would be Texas. This one should be good.
South Carolina sets up Final Four rematch with UConn
The Gamecocks kept things close for a while, but they too cruised to a blowout win in the Elite Eight to get back to the Final Four.
South Carolina fended off Olivia Miles and TCU to pick up a 25-point win on Monday night to wrap the second weekend of the NCAA tournament. After a tight contest that went deep into the third quarter, the Gamecocks erupted in the final period and outscored TCU 29-11 in the final 10 minutes. They absolutely bodied them on the glass, too, picking up 52 rebounds to the Horned Frogs’ 24.
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Down the stretch, South Carolina looked not just like a program that has now been to six straight Final Fours, but like a team capable of truly competing with the rest of the field this weekend in Phoenix.
But the first game is going to be the toughest. The Gamecocks will have to match up with No. 1 overall seed UConn right away. The Huskies have now won 54 straight games, and have gone a perfect 38-0 this season in truly dominant fashion. They won their regular-season games by an average of nearly 38 points. Oh, and last year’s national championship game was a 23-point blowout win for the Huskies against this same South Carolina squad.
South Carolina will have to be perfect on Friday night to end UConn’s run. A slow start like the Gamecocks had on Monday night likely won’t cut it.
But the rematch is set. For now, that’s all that matters.
Dawn Staley and South Carolina are headed back to their sixth straight Final Four. (Thien-An Truong/Getty Images)
(Thien-An Truong via Getty Images)
Here’s a look at how Monday night’s games turned out:
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Live coverage is over52 updates
Mon, March 30, 2026 at 8:07 PM PDT
South Carolina is going back to the Final Four after a dominant performance against TCU.
Mon, March 30, 2026 at 8:03 PM PDT
She’s clearly still hurting from her calf issue earlier in the game.
Mon, March 30, 2026 at 8:02 PM PDT
Back-to-back-to-back 3s for Tessa Johnson give her 11 points as the Gamecocks go up by more than 20.
Mon, March 30, 2026 at 7:53 PM PDT
Their offense is fully in rhythm, and they look unstoppable now.
Mon, March 30, 2026 at 7:51 PM PDT
Agot Makeer just keeps making impressive plays. She’s up to 18 points in this one as the Gamecocks are pulling away.
Mon, March 30, 2026 at 7:46 PM PDT
TCU needs Miles’ scoring and more as South Carolina takes a 12-point lead on an Agot Makeer layup.
Mon, March 30, 2026 at 7:40 PM PDT
This one is close down the stretch, but the outcome will likely depend on Olivia Miles’ ability to come back and be effective. She has 18 of TCU’s 41 points, and was sitting on the bench as the third quarter ended.
Mon, March 30, 2026 at 7:38 PM PDT
Miles fell to the ground after the shot, and limped off the court before going to the ground again. The training staff seems to be working on her left calf.
Mon, March 30, 2026 at 7:35 PM PDT
Agot Makeer has 11 points off the bench for South Carolina, and she’s been a huge part of their success so far as others have struggled to score. Tessa Johnson hasn’t gotten on the board yet, and Ta’Niya Latson has three points.
Mon, March 30, 2026 at 7:25 PM PDT
A big 3-pointer by Taylor Bigby narrows the deficit for TCU
Mon, March 30, 2026 at 7:20 PM PDT
After tweaking her ankle at the end of the first half, Suarez is giving it ago, per the ESPN broadcast.
Mon, March 30, 2026 at 7:02 PM PDT
Olivia Miles leads TCU with 11 points, while Joyce Edwards leads the Gamecocks.
Mon, March 30, 2026 at 6:58 PM PDT
South Carolina takes a seven-point lead as Marta Suarez goes down with an injury and comes out of the game for now. That could be a problem for TCU.
Mon, March 30, 2026 at 6:47 PM PDT
Miles has a game-high 10 points as the Horned Frogs are hanging tough.
Mon, March 30, 2026 at 6:37 PM PDT
In the final seconds of the first quarter, the Gamecocks took their first lead of the game after being down by as many as eight. TCU’s Olivia Miles has half of her team’s points, while Joyce Edwards leads the Gamecocks with six.
Mon, March 30, 2026 at 6:25 PM PDT
South Carolina finds itself in unfamiliar territory down 6-0 early in the first quarter. But Olivia Miles just picked up her second foul, will be something to watch.
Mon, March 30, 2026 at 6:22 PM PDT
And less than a minute in, Olivia Miles picks up a foul.
Mon, March 30, 2026 at 6:16 PM PDT
Cassandra Negley
Texas forward Madison Booker is the region’s Most Outstanding Player. She’s joined on the all-tournament team by teammates Rori Harmon and Jordan Lee, and Michigan’s Olivia Olson and Syla Swords.
Mon, March 30, 2026 at 6:09 PM PDT
Cassandra Negley
Oh, they had these Texas songs READY in the arena.
Mon, March 30, 2026 at 6:05 PM PDT
That’ll do it from Fort Worth, as Texas secures a commanding win over Michigan and heads to Phoenix to take on UCLA in the Final Four. Madison Booker put up 19 points, Justice Carlton had 15 and Kyla Oldacre had 12. The Longhorns held Michigan’s trio of Olivia Olson, Syla Swords and Mila Holloway to just 30 points combined.