The 2025 NCAA Women’s Tournament continued on Friday with the opening day of Sweet 16 action.
(Read more: 2025 Women March Madness Schedule: Date, Location, Channel, How to Watch)
Duke began the day with a vintage defensive performance as the second-seeded Blue Devils held back against third-seeded North Carolina. No. 1 seed South Carolina then continued their title defense as the Gamecocks returned to hold back an upset Maryland.
The third seeded Louisiana also made the appearance of the third straight elite 8 after passing through and reaching the second seeded North Carolina.
The top seed of UCLA, the NCAA women’s tournament, saw some of it on Friday night. The Bruins had little trouble with No. 5 seed Ole Miss.
The biggest moments from the sweet 16 on the first day are:
Lauren Betts was so dominant that she barely missed, scoring 31 points on Friday night in 16/15 shooting leading UCLA past Mississippi 76-62, sending the Bruins to the Elite 8 of the Women’s NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018.
6ft-7 bet added 10 rebounds and 3 blocks to the overall seed in first place.
Kiki Rice added 13 points and seven assists, and was the only other player in double digits for the Bruins (32-2).
Tameiya Sadler scored 14 points in the fifth Rebels (22-10).
Betts had a similar line (30 points and 14 rebounds) in the Bruins’ second round, 84-67 victory over Richmond.
The Betts layup led the Bruins 19-10 in the opening quarter, but Ole Miss was closed within 21-19 with a KK Deans jumper.
At the end of the first half, Deans’ fast layup won the Rebels within 30-29 on the break.
The Bruins opened the second half with an 8-0 run, and went 45-33 with a 3-pointer from Rondine Jones.
Gabriella Jaquez was alone with a fast layup that brought UCLA to 63-46 in the final quarter.
This season, UCLA’s two losses took place against Juju Watkins and Southern California before the Bruins earned revenge in the Big Ten Tournament final, beating USC 72-67.
Betts scored 16 of UCLA’s 30 points. This season he scored more than half of the Bruins’ points.
She has 93 blocks this season and has been named Big Ten Player of the Year, averaging nearly three games.
LSU returns to the top NC state of thriller and moves to another Elite Eight
Anesah Morrow has 30 points and 19 rebounds, and Kailyn Gilbert has a key block with Mikaylah Williams’ Go-Ahead layup set to 1:07 left, with No. 3 Seed LSU past NC State 80-73, the second seeded in the tensioned Women’s NCAA Tournament Region semi-finals on Friday.
Wolfpack led 69-64, leading by Williams, who scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, leading the way by 4:29 before LSU began the Surge. After Gilbert blocked an attempt at a layup by Zoe Brooks in the NC State, Williams converted to the other side to 74-73.
LSU, who won the national title with manager Kim Mulkey two years ago, will reach the Elite 8 for the third year in a row and face top seeded UCLA.
Sa’myah Smith had 21 points and 11 rebounds at LSU, while Williams finished with 17 points and eight boards.
Brooks led NC State (28-7) with 21 points. Coach Wes Moore’s Wolfpack was short on bids to reach the second straight final four.
The game featured seven lead changes and four ties, with LSU’s 21-10 advantage in the first quarter being the biggest lead for either team. Moreau scored 10 points in his first period.
NC State surged forward to score a 40-36 halftime lead, with Moreau again dominating in the third quarter, leading LSU to 57-53 with 11 of the team’s 21 points.
NC State opened the fourth quarter with an 8-1 run. Wolfpack held LSU without field goals until Morrow made a layup until he played for more than seven minutes.
Morrow, the country’s top rebounder, had his 30th double-double of the season. Her efforts on the board helped the Tigers pass the Wolfpack 52-36, including an 18-10 advantage in offensive glass.
The 6-foot-1 forward is one of two women in NCAA history and has over 100 double doubles. She is also the only player in the country with more than 600 points rebounds this season.
South Carolina survives fear from Maryland and advances to the fifth elite eight
Milaysia Fulwiley scored 23 points. This included a go-ahead layup with 2:22 left, with Chloe Kitts adding 15 points and 11 rebounds to beat South Carolina fourth-seeded Maryland 71-67 and fourth-seeded Maryland 71-67 in the women’s NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.
The defending national champion gamecock went back and forth in all the games of Terrapin and did enough to finally clean it up in the final few minutes.
South Carolina will face Duke on Sunday in the Elite 8. The Blue Devils defeated Atlantic Coast Conference rival North Carolina 47-38 early Friday.
Dawn Staley’s team chased 60-59 at 3:25 before holding Maryland without points for the next three minutes. Fulwiley’s layup started a 7-0 run that gave Gamecocks (33-3) plenty of cushioning.
Kitz added three free throws between the spurt and Fully Wiley, who scored on the coast-to-coast drive.
The Gamecocks rose 66-60 in 25 seconds when Saylor Poffenbarger ended the Maryland scoring drought with a three-pointer.
However, Terps couldn’t be nervous as Gamecocks made five of their six free throws.
Kaylene Smikle scored 17 points and was fouled out after leading Maryland (25-8).
Neither team was able to enter the offensive flow in the first three quarters. South Carolina ousted 43-39 after the third inning, closing the period with a 13-7 run, ending with a grand transition basket from Fullwiley.
The two teams met once before at the NCAA Tournament with an 86-75 victory at South Carolina in 2023 at the Elite 8.
South Carolina avoided becoming the first defending champion to lose this early in the tournament since Louisville knocked out Britney Gleaner and Baylor at the Sweet 16 in 2013.
Duke defeats rival UNC for a trip to the Elite Eight
Oluchi Okananwa recorded his third double-double of the season, leading ACC Tournament champion Duke past North Carolina 47-38 on Friday, leading the women’s NCAA Tournament Elite 8.
The Blue Devils will make their 12th Elite Episode 8 appearance in the program’s history, playing either the South Carolina or fourth-seeded Maryland No. 1 seed and defending champions, scheduled to play Friday in Birmingham.
Okananwa scored 10 of the 12 points in the first half, earning 10 rebounds from the Duke’s bench. Acheron Jackson finished with 10 points, with three points being hit by Duke’s main goalscorer Toby Fournier, who missed the second round due to illness.
Fifth year senior Alyssa Ustby scored nine points on three of the 10 tar heels that were lacking in their attempts to advance to the first Elite 8 since 2014.
Neither team fired the ball well. Duke shot 31% after missing the first nine field goals. North Carolina has now 28% off the field.
Part of that may have been for familiarity. The team played for the second time this season, a month ago. North Carolina coach Courtney Vangart said this week that there is an added level of comfort for the team they just played.
But this was also two of the nation’s top defenses, forcing a departure, false shots and a desperate thrill in the second half of the shot clock at the start of the game.
This was the first meeting in the NCAA Tournament between the two teams, playing each other 111 times. North Carolina still has just a 56-55 edge.
Report by Associated Press
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