NCAA Women’s Tournament First Weekend Recap
The NCAA women’s tournament is officially two rounds deep and we have already seen tons of exciting finishes and even some upsets mixed in.
Like on the men's side of March Madness, the women's tournament has already seen some of its biggest players fall within the first two rounds including two number one seeds.
No. 1 Stanford was the first victim of the madness in the Round of 32 after a 54-49 loss against No. 8 Ole Miss.
The Cardinals could never get the offense going at any point of that game, failing to score over 15 points in all four quarters of play.
That sent the Rebels to their first Sweet 16 appearance since 2007.
Just one day later, another No 1 seed in the Indiana Hoosiers fell in the same round with a 70-68 defeat facing the No. 9 Miami Hurricanes.
The iconic moment came late in that game when Miami’s Haley Cavinder silenced the Assembly Hall crowd after nailing a late free throw.
That moment and more has led to the Hurricanes being one of the most exciting teams in the tournament thus far which was emphasized after a win on Friday against No. 4 Villanova to move on to the Elite 8.
While some of the tournament's top contenders have gone down swiftly, others have made the job look easy including the overall favorite in No. 1 South Carolina.
The Gamecocks have breezed through the first two rounds of play, winning by 30 points or more in both games.
Alongside Virginia Tech who has also won both its games by double-digits, the two teams are the only remaining number one seeds headed into the weekend.
While one of the nation’s best teams has looked as advertised, so has arguably the nation's best player.
Caitlin Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes fell early in last year's tournament but have made it past the first two rounds this time around.
That came after a close contest in the Round of 32 against No. 10 Georgia where the Hawkeyes managed to pull away late for a 74-66 win behind a 22-point, 12-assist performance from Clark.
Another popular two seed in the tournament is the UConn Huskies, who even without Paige Bueckers this season, have managed to win their first two games in the tournament and in convincing fashion.
Most recently in a 77-58 win over Baylor, Azzi Fudd led the way with 22 points to put legendary head coach Geno Auriemma ever closer to another title.
That puts them in the middle of an intriguing matchup with the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday who just survived a scare of its own in a two-point win over No. 6 North Carolina.
Now the best of the best remain in the tournament and fans should be in for some more exciting basketball this weekend as the field continues to shrink until a national champion is crowned.
Logan Bourandas is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email lxb5412@psu.edu.
