Women's Elite Eight: Live updates and analysis
Mar 30, 2026, 09:14 PM ET The Final Four is almost set! UConn and UCLA punched their tickets to Phoenix on Sunday, with the Huskies downing Notre Dame in Fort Worth, Texas, before the Bruins battled back against Duke in Sacramento, California. Texas is also headed to the desert after routing Michigan on Monday night….
The Final Four is almost set! UConn and UCLA punched their tickets to Phoenix on Sunday, with the Huskies downing Notre Dame in Fort Worth, Texas, before the Bruins battled back against Duke in Sacramento, California.
Texas is also headed to the desert after routing Michigan on Monday night. Now, South Carolina faces off with TCU to determine the final spot in the national semifinals. A Gamecocks win would send the same four teams to the Final Four for a second consecutive season.
ESPN has you covered for all of the live action, with Kendra Andrews, Charlotte Gibson, Alexa Philippou and Michael Voepel on site at both regionals, providing keys to the game for each team in action.
Jump to: How Texas beat Michigan | TCU-South Carolina preview
Final Four taking shape
Final Four opponent: vs. UCLA (Friday, 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
How Texas won: The Longhorns raced ahead 22-9 after the first quarter and never looked back. They led by 13 points at half and used a 21-6 run to end the third quarter that really put the score out of reach.
Coach Vic Schaefer’s teams always have a strong defensive identity, but the Longhorns’ offense was also dominant early in Monday’s game, when Texas made 11 of 12 field goal attempts to start the game. The Longhorns had offensive lulls as the game progressed, but their defensive effort remained excellent. The Wolverines shot just 23%, including 2-for-15 from 3, and had 15 turnovers. Michigan sophomore stars Olivia Olson, Syla Swords and Mila Holloway really struggled in their first Elite Eight, finishing a combined 9-of-40 from the floor and committing nine turnovers. Schaefer likely couldn’t have asked for much more from his Texas squad.
No. 1 factor that helped the Longhorns reach the Final Four: Schaefer said Texas is playing its best basketball of the season after the Longhorns’ Sweet 16 win. This is only a little more than six weeks after he called out the team for having “no heart” and being “probably the softest team I’ve had in years” after its 86-70 loss to Vanderbilt on Feb. 12.
South Carolina’s Elite Eight game is still on tap, but is it time to consider Texas the best team left in the field? The Longhorns’ combination of experience, depth, defensive tenacity and offensive firepower could lead Texas to its first national title since 1986. — Alexa Philippou
Previewing the Elite Eight
9 p.m. ET, ESPN
Voepel’s prediction: South Carolina, 81-72
Charlie Creme’s prediction: South Carolina, 82-68
Andrews’ prediction: South Carolina, 75-57
Gibson’s prediction: South Carolina, 90-83
Philippou’s prediction: South Carolina, 77-61
How the Horned Frogs can advance to the Final Four: Two words: Olivia Miles. If you look at TCU’s slower starts, the key factor is Miles’ ability to take full control of the court in the second half. The second half is where Miles makes her magic. And if Miles and Marta Suarez can continue to be in sync on offense, TCU will force many defenses to surrender to its power in and out of the paint. Miles and Suarez scored or assisted on all 79 points for TCU. Keeping that momentum, the duo will be able to put up a fight against South Carolina’s defense. It’s Miles’ smooth and crafted passes that create multiple opportunities for the offense to rise to the occasion. Coming into Monday’s matchup, TCU was 4-2 this season when trailing at the end of the first. But from here, TCU will need to dominate on offense early and capitalize off Miles’ mastery at the lead. South Carolina’s power on defense will slow down TCU’s offense if the Horned Frogs don’t start their matchup strong in the Elite Eight. — Gibson
1:08
Olivia Miles drops near triple-double as TCU advances to the Elite Eight
Olivia Miles drops 28 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists as TCU puts away Virginia 79-69.
How the Gamecocks can advance to the Final Four: It sounds simple, but against the Horned Frogs — a team South Carolina hasn’t played since 2024 (85-52 win), the Gamecocks have to keep up the same level of intensity and execution they’ve had through the first three games of the tournament.
South Carolina has opened the tournament with three consecutive 90-point games (including two 100-point games in the first two rounds) for the first time in program history. The team’s plus-135 point differential through the Sweet 16 is the fifth largest in tournament history. On Saturday, the offense was run through Ta’Niya Latson and Raven Johnson, who scored or assisted on 63 (67%) of South Carolina’s points. Johnson’s 18 points were a career high in the NCAA tournament. Latson finished with 28, two shy of her tournament career high.
If they keep that up, the Gamecocks have a good shot to make it to the Final Four for the sixth year in a row. — Andrews
