Women’s March Madness 2026: Live updates, takeaways from Friday’s Sweet 16

March 28, 2026 No Comments

Women’s March Madness 2026: Previews, live updates, analysis from Friday’s Sweet 16playHannah Hidalgo finishes with near quadruple-double in Notre Dame’s win (1:09)Hannah Hidalgo does it all with 31 points, 11 rebounds, 10 steals and 7 assists in Notre Dame’s win over Vanderbilt. (1:09)ESPNMultiple AuthorsMar 27, 2026, 09:53 PM ET

The Sweet 16 is here! And some of the sport’s most storied franchises are up on Friday, with UConn taking on North Carolina and Notre Dame facing off against Vanderbilt. In the late games, No. 1 seed UCLA takes on Minnesota before Duke’s vaunted offense goes up against LSU’s high-powered scorers.

Here is ESPN’s guide to all of Friday’s action, which is live now on ESPN. Be sure to come back after the games tip for live updates and postgame analysis.

Jump to salaries: Postgame analysis | Game previews

(1) UCLA 80, (4) Minnesota 56

How UCLA won: The Bruins scored just 18 points in the first period, tying their lowest scoring quarter of their NCAA tournament. Riddled with errors on defense and inconsistent shooting outside of the paint, the Bruins continued to struggle to gain momentum in the first half and led 34-29 at the break. But UCLA came out swinging after that and held the Gophers to 12 points in the third period. Minnesota tried to rally, but turnovers prevented the Gophers from trimming the double-digit deficit.

UCLA’s power in the paint determined the game, as well as a consistent effort from graduating members Kiki Rice (game-high 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting), Lauren Betts (16 points on 7-of-9 shooting, plus 5 blocks) and Angela Dugalic (13 points, 10 rebounds, 6-of-9 shooting).

How the Bruins can advance to the Final Four: The Bruins are making slow starts a bit of a habit. Against the Gophers, the Bruins’ defensive errors allowed too many opportunities for their opponent to score. UCLA knows how to dominate: Betts surpassed her 1,000th rebound and Angela Dugalic hit the 1,000-career point mark. Rice showed off her skills in creating opportunities for her team. With 52 points in the paint, UCLA continues to demonstrate that once they get going inside, they are unstoppable. Eliminate the slow starts and increase opportunities in the paint, and the Bruins will be on their way to a second straight Final Four. — Charlotte Gibson

(1) UConn 63, (5) North Carolina 42

How UConn won: Defense led the way for UConn, as it has all season. Even as they struggled to score in the first half, the Huskies forced 11 North Carolina turnovers and held the Tar Heels to 8-for-29 shooting. Sarah Strong’s second quarter (11 points) and Blanca Quiñonez’s continued productivity off the bench (11 points at the half) steadied the ship until their offense got going more after the break.

A 12-0 run coming out of the locker room, pushing the Huskies’ lead to 20, was good enough to put the game away against a Tar Heels team that was held to 13 points across the second and third quarters. Strong, who has already taken home multiple national player of the year awards, led the way with 21 points, 10 rebounds, 5 steals, 2 assists and 2 blocks.

How the Huskies can advance to the Final Four: The Huskies faced Notre Dame in January, beating the Irish by 38 points — the most lopsided game in the rivalry’s history. But regular-season success doesn’t always translate to the NCAA tournament. And besides: Notre Dame is effectively playing with house money as a No. 6 seed; very few thought the Irish would even make it to the Elite Eight. The Huskies, meanwhile, carry the burden of being undefeated and the defending national champions.

Chief among Geno Auriemma’s priorities will be for his team to get off to a better start than it did in the first quarter against North Carolina, and to help his offense find more success against another stingy defensive team. That wasn’t an issue in their first meeting — UConn scored 85 points on 56% shooting — but the Irish are a different team since then. — Alexa Philippou

North Carolina Tar Heels vs. UConn Huskies: Game Highlights

(6) Notre Dame 67, (2) Vanderbilt 64

How Notre Dame won: Two words: Hannah Hidalgo. The ACC Player of the Year had a triple-double, with 31 points, 10 rebounds and 10 steals, as she took over the game and outplayed Mikayla Blakes in a matchup of two of the best scorers in the country. Hidalgo not only set the NCAA Division I single-season record for steals in the game, she became the second player to record a 30-point triple-double in NCAA tournament history, joining Caitlin Clark, who had 41 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists on March 26, 2023. Her steals really set the tone for the game, as the Notre Dame defense completely rattled and frazzled Vanderbilt for the bulk of the game. Vanderbilt had 23 turnovers, and Notre Dame completely dominated inside — outscoring the Commodores 54-20 in the paint. Still, Vanderbilt clawed its way back into the game in the fourth quarter after forcing Notre Dame to take too many ill-advised jumpers. Going to the free throw line 25 times, and making 21 of those shots, also helped.

But with the game on the line, Hidalgo came through again and again. With the score tied at 64 and 25 seconds left, Hidalgo outjumped multiple Vanderbilt players to take the inbounds pass, then bounced the ball to Cassandre Prosper for the layup and the lead. On the ensuing Vanderbilt possession, Blakes dribbled the ball out of bounds and Notre Dame held on to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time under Niele Ivey. After the final seconds ticked off the clock, Ivey and Hidalgo shared a long emotional embrace.

How the Irish can advance to the Final Four: The Irish overcame their fair share of adversity this season, and using a seven-player rotation is not exactly a formula for success. But these players believe in each other, and with Hidalgo leading the way, anything feels possible. Hidalgo has been at the heart of their success, setting the tone on defense, and that is exactly what won the game against Vanderbilt. It is no easy feat holding Blakes to 7-of-26 shooting from the field, but that is exactly what happened. This Notre Dame team showed poise down the stretch, even when its 12-point lead evaporated. Hidalgo has spoken repeatedly about not taking this moment for granted, and she seems to be playing that way. — Andrea Adelson

(4) Minnesota vs. (1) UCLA

7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

How the Gophers can advance to the Elite Eight: The last time the Gophers made the Sweet 16, they were powered by future WNBA No. 1 draft pick Janel McCarville at center. The year before that, McCarville and point guard Lindsay Whalen led Minnesota to the 2004 Final Four. Whalen tried her hand at being the Gophers head coach from 2018 to 2023, after she retired from a Hall of Fame playing career in the WNBA. But Minnesota didn’t make the NCAA tournament under Whalen, and she was replaced by Dawn Plitzuweit for the 2023-24 season. Plitzuweit led the Gophers to the WBIT championship last season. To get further in the NCAA tournament this year, they will have to beat No. 1 seed UCLA. — Michael Voepel

How the Bruins can advance to the Elite Eight: In the first two games of this tournament, the Bruins have shown how dominant they can be in stretches, and they can lean on their Final Four experience for resilience. On Monday night, the Bruins survived the Cowgirls’ 9-0 run in the third quarter, never letting them get within single digits in that span. As UCLA continues in the tournament, the Bruins can’t give teams a chance to get back into the game. — Sarah Barshop

(3) Duke vs. (2) LSU

10:00 p.m. ET, ESPN

How the Blue Devils can advance to the Elite Eight: Duke will pack its defense — that’s a given. The biggest concern off the Baylor game was seeing the Blue Devils’ best player, Toby Fournier, in foul trouble. Fournier had 15 points but played only 22 minutes after picking up her third foul early in the third quarter before eventually fouling out. Fournier also fouled out of the ACC championship game and the regular-season finale against North Carolina. The degree of difficulty increases from here, and Duke cannot afford to be without Fournier for long stretches moving forward. — Andrea Adelson

How the Tigers can advance to the Elite Eight: How about a carbon copy of their first two NCAA tournament performances? When LSU is on, the Tigers are one of the best teams in the country because of their ability to score both in the paint and from 3. It became almost an afterthought against Texas Tech, but LSU went 7-of-18 from 3-point range in the game. The inside game is where it is at, and so far in two tournament games, LSU is shooting 72% in the paint — the best mark through two games by any team in the past six NCAA tournaments, according to ESPN Research. Flau’jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams are elite players, and when they are playing at the top of their game at the same time, that is a hard combination to stop. Every player who saw game action Sunday scored. If the Tigers can avoid some of the mistakes that have cost them wins in the past, they will put themselves in position to keep going in this tournament. — Andrea Adelson