Women's March Madness has boiled down from 64 teams to four.
Still standing in the Final Four are three No. 1 seeds and one No. 2, a slight difference from the men's side that features all top seeds for the first time since 2008.
UCLA earned a No. 1 seed after finishing the regular season as the top overall team in AP's ranking. The Bruins are led by center Lauren Betts, who is averaging a team-high 20 points and 9.6 rebounds per game.
South Carolina trailed UCLA as the No. 2 team in the ranking, with head coach Dawn Staley leading the defending champions. Joyce Edwards, MiLaysia Fulwiley and Chloe Kitts are the team's top three scorers, with guard Te-Hina Paopao a potential top pick in the upcoming WNBA draft, a key component.
Texas, No. 5 ranked by AP, rounds out the top seeds alive with Madison Booker leading the Longhorns at 16.5 points per game. Taylor Jones, Rori Harmon and Kyla Oldacre are also vital contributors.
Last is No. 2-seeded UConn (No. 3 ranked by AP), led by potential No. 1 overall pick Paige Bueckers. Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd, the latter of which will not join this year's draft, highlight the supporting cast.
The Longhorns and Gamecocks will take the court first on Friday, with the Bruins and Huskies following suit. But which two programs would make the best championship matchup? Let's rank the possibilities from least to most entertaining:
4. Texas vs. UCLA
The key theme in this ranking comes down to entertainment factor. The best finals feature the sports' most in-form stars. UCLA gets the short end of the stick with UConn fielding Bueckers. If Betts can dominate both ends of the paint to get past Bueckers and Co., the Bruins would then meet Texas if it spoils the Gamecocks' repeat bid. The Longhorns have Booker and Jones leading the way, but it falls short in entertainment despite the matchup involving two historic schools.
3. South Carolina vs. UCLA
The Bueckers factor hurts UCLA once again here. This matchup would feature the battle of the anchors in Betts for UCLA and South Carolina's Edwards and Kitts. Edwards, a 6-foot-3 freshman, is the program's leading scorer and the likely best solution for the 6-foot-7 Betts. Kitts, 6-foot-2, then offers the best rebounding for Staley's side to support Edwards, while Paopao is the playmaker and versatile shooter. Paopao going up against Kiki Rice, UCLA's best guard, would also be intriguing.
2. Texas vs. UConn
Enter the Bueckers factor. It would only make sense for the best possible matchup to feature the sports' most exciting prospect. Bueckers is averaging 20.1 points, 4.8 assists and 4.4 rebounds while being an efficient multi-level scorer. Would the Longhorns have enough to keep her in check? Considering the 6-foot guard dropped 40 against Oklahoma then 31 against USC, the odds would be against them. Texas also doesn't boast the 3-point volume to play the shootout game against Bueckers if it needed to, but at least the potential next major WNBA star is doing her thing.
1. South Carolina vs. UConn
Surprise, surprise. The best possible matchup involves the sports' top two teams. UConn and South Carolina have been two of the most dominant women's college basketball teams since the 2010s, with the Huskies, led by Geno Auriemma, hoarding five titles each from 2000-09 and 2010-2016. Staley helped the Gamecocks turn the tide with their first title in 2017, followed by successes in 2022 and 2024. A chance at repeating on one side of the coin with Bueckers' first title bid on the other would set the stage for quite the final battle.
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