Women's March Madness Day 3 takeaways: How every team won

The second round of the 2026 women’s NCAA tournament is underway as teams look to advance in the bracket.

We’re tracking how every team won Sunday, booking their tickets to the Sweet 16.

Here is ESPN’s guide to all the Day 3 results, with analysis from reporters of how each game was won, and our experts’ takes on each winner’s chances to advance.

How Duke won: The Blue Devils thrive off their defense, and they completely shut Baylor down in every way to advance to the Sweet 16. Duke forced 23 turnovers — 13 of them steals — and held Baylor without a 3-point field goal on 14 attempts. According to ESPN Research, Duke contested 70% of Baylor’s field goal attempts and blocked 10, and added 13 steals as well. The Bears finished just 6-of-37 on those contested looks.

Another key difference was the way Duke dominated in the paint, outscoring Baylor 36-24. Arianna Roberson had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Delaney Thomas added 17 points. Thomas has scored 15 or more points in three straight games, the longest streak of her career.

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

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How LSU won: There is only one way to describe the way LSU played Sunday: absolute domination from start to finish. The Tigers showed off their power in the paint, and just how much of a threat they can be when Mikaylah Williams and Flau’jae Johnson are playing at the top of their game. Williams and Johnson combined for 48 points, and LSU scored 100 points for the 16th time this season — setting a new Division I record for the most such games. LSU is the second team to win its first two games of the NCAA tournament by 50 or more points, joining 2010 UConn. Those Huskies would go on to win the national title.

In her final game in Baton Rouge, Johnson delivered an exclamation point of a performance, scoring 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting, with four rebounds and just one turnover. When she checked out of the game for the final time with 7:44 left, she shared an emotional hug with coach Kim Mulkey.

LSU outscored Texas Tech 25-14 in the paint, and 24-0 on fast-break points. Two Texas Tech players fouled out trying to slow down the Tigers. But there was no slowing them down Sunday afternoon.

How the 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.

Johnson and Williams are elite players, and when they are both 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

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How Minnesota won: The Gophers led by three points at halftime, but the Rebels dominated the third quarter to take a 54-46 lead. Then Minnesota took advantage of the most crucial play in the game: when Ole Miss star Cotie McMahon fouled out with 4:22 left on a charge call driving to the basket. Without her on court, the Rebels struggled on offense, losing a 59-54 lead as Minnesota outscored them 11-4 the rest of the way.

McMahon, who played three years at Ohio State and then transferred to Ole Miss for her last season, entered Sunday’s game averaging a team-high 19.7 points. But she had foul trouble and played just 21 minutes, finishing with 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field. Ole Miss ends the season 24-12, and McMahon prepares for the WNBA draft, where she is expected to be a first-round pick.

The Gophers were led by guard Mara Braun, who had 17 points, including the game-tying 3-pointer with 1:17 left that made the score 61-61. After a shot clock violation where Ole Miss clearly missed McMahon’s ability to create, Minnesota center Sophie Hart battled to get a layup. Ole Miss forward Latasha Lattimore answered to tie it with a layup with 3.5 seconds left. Then Minnesota’s Amaya Battle made the game-winning jump shot from the baseline with less than a second remaining.

Ole Miss had one more look at the basket, a 24-footer by Tianna Thompson that would have won the game had it gone in. But it was short, and the Gophers celebrated the program’s first trip to the Sweet 16 since 2005. Battle finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Hart had 10 points.

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 2023-2024 season. Plitzuweit led the Gophers to the WBIT championship last season.

To get further in the NCAA tournament this year, odds are they will have to beat No. 1 seed UCLA. First, though, the Bruins must get past No. 8 seed Oklahoma State on Monday. Minnesota will need solid 3-point shooting again: The Gophers were 7-of-12 from behind the arc Sunday. — Michael Voepel

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How Michigan won: After NC State took an early lead in the first quarter, Michigan dominated for the rest of the game. The Wolverines were at their best when they played a press defense and forced multiple turnovers. Michigan led 28-25 at halftime but started the third quarter by dominating in the paint and pushed the lead to double digits with four minutes left in the period. Michigan’s Olivia Olson, who went scoreless in the first half, found her rhythm in the third and ended up with 27 points. Building off their double-digit lead, the Wolverines locked in with one quarter left and continued to play a stifling press defense. When NC State got into foul trouble, the Wolverines capitalized on the frustration and ran away with the game.

How the Wolverines can advance to the Elite Eight: One word: press. Well, actually, three-word hyphenate: Full-court press. Michigan played its best ball Sunday when it pressed on NC State. NC State made 22 turnovers and seemed to crumble under the relentless defense. Scoring leaders such as Mila Holloway and Olson will look to continue to capitalize on opportunities in the paint. The home crowd Sunday seemed to infuse energy into the Wolverines; they need to carry that into Fort Worth. — Charlotte Gibson

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How North Carolina won: The Tar Heels’ win was a true survive-and-advance affair. Far from an artistic success, North Carolina’s win was built on aggressive driving to the rim, opportunistic shooting and physical defense. A pair of sophomores led the way. Elina Aarnisalo scored 21 points and Lanie Grant had 20; the two combined to score or assist on 51 of North Carolina’s 74 points. But the biggest shot of the game came from freshman Nyla Brooks. Her 3-pointer with 1:43 left pushed the lead to 68-62 and out of reach for a Maryland team that struggled for the entire game to make shots. The Terps made just 3 of 23 3-point attempts and will regret a 17-of-31 performance at the free throw line. Maryland shot 32.4% from the field.

Playing in their last game in Maryland uniform, Saylor Poffenbarger and Yarden Garzon combined to shoot 3-of-23 from the field and 0-of-16 from 3-point range.

How the Tar Heels can advance to the Elite Eight: Back in the Sweet 16 for the second year in row, the Tar Heels will have much to improve upon if their first trip to Elite Eight since 2008 is possible. They allowed 21 Maryland offensive rebounds and turned over the ball 16 times. North Carolina will not be able to count on UConn or Syracuse missing the kind of open shots Maryland did.

One thing that worked: reversing the strategy of shooting 40 3-pointers in the first round against Western Illinois. North Carolina launched 11 3s against Maryland, making four, and instead routinely took the ball to the basket, scoring 44 points in the paint. Moving the ball better and getting more open looks from the perimeter will be an area to focus on. — Charlie Creme