Women’s March Madness: Michigan join Texas, South Carolina in Elite Eight | NCAA Tournament 2026
Olivia Olson scored 19 points, sophomore Syla Swords added 16 and No. 2 Michigan overcame a slow start for a 71-52 victory over Louisville in the Sweet 16 on Saturday.
The Wolverines went on a 16-0 run in the second quarter to erase an 11-point deficit, their largest, then broke the tie in the third quarter by scoring 17 straight points and cruising to their second Elite Eight, both in the last five seasons.
Michigan (28-6) tied a school record for wins and will face top-seeded Texas on Monday night for a spot in the Final Four.
Elif Istanbulluoglu scored 18 points for the third-seeded Cardinals (29-8), who shot 35 percent and were outscored 49-16 over a two-quarter stretch from the middle of the second to the middle of the fourth.
Olson, the leading scorer among a group of sophomores leading both teams, missed four of her first five shots, and the Wolverines went more than six minutes without scoring to start the game.
Te’Yala Delfosse, who had 10 points, eight rebounds and two blocks, scored a 3-pointer in the second quarter which she capped with a three-point play to give Michigan the first lead at 28-25.
No. 1 Texas 76, No. 5 Kentucky 54
Rori Harmon had 11 points, seven assists and six steals and Texas beat fellow Kentucky, sending the top-seeded Longhorns to another Elite Eight of the women’s NCAA tournament.
Jordan Lee had 18 points while All-America forward Madison Booker had 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Longhorns (34-3), who are riding an 11-game winning streak. Harmon also pulled down seven rebounds.
Amelia Hassett scored three points on the first shot of the game for the Wildcats (25-11), but their lone lead didn’t last long. Texas responded with a 15-0 run, in the middle of which Harmon had three defensive rebounds and four assists in 90 seconds.
The Longhorns will face second-seeded Michigan in the Fort Worth Regional 3 final Monday night. The Wolverines beat Louisville 71-52 earlier Saturday, setting up the only regional final this year featuring the top two seeds.
Texas is in the Elite Eight for the third straight year under coach Vic Schaefer. Last year, he made it to the Final Four for the first time since 2003.
Clara Strack, the 6-foot-5 center who came from Virginia Tech under coach Kenny Brooks two years ago, led the Wildcats with 16 points. Asia Boone had 11 points while Teonni Key added 10 points and nine rebounds.
No. 1 South Carolina 94, No. 4 Oklahoma 68
Ta’Niya Latson scored 28 points and Raven Johnson added 18 to help No. 4 seed South Carolina beat No. 4 seed Oklahoma and advance to the Elite Eight of the women’s March Madness tournament.
South Carolina will face No. 3 seed TCU on Monday night for a chance to advance to the Final Four in Phoenix from the Sacramento 4 Regional.
The Gamecocks have advanced to the national semifinals in six of the last eight Final Fours and have won three national championships during that stretch. Oklahoma was seeking its first trip to the regional level since the 2009-10 season, which was the Sooners’ last time in the Final Four.
The Gamecocks (34-3) got off to a hot start behind Latson, who was playing in her first Sweet 16. The senior guard played the first three years of her career at Florida State before coming to South Carolina this season. She scored eight of the team’s first 10 points as the Gamecocks led 10-0.
Johnson scored nine points as the Gamecocks led 23-13 after the first quarter.
Oklahoma (26-8) turned the ball over on three of its first four possessions in the second quarter and South Carolina took advantage. Latson’s four-point play with 46 seconds left in the half made it 47-28. The Sooners got a stop on the next possession, but Sahara Williams missed a wide-open layup just before the buzzer.
Latson finished the first half with 18 points and Johnson 16. Second-team AP All-America Joyce Edwards was scoreless in the first 20 minutes. It didn’t matter because the Gamecocks had enough offense from Latson and Johnson.
No. 3 TCU 79, No. 10 Virginia 69
Marta Suarez had 33 points and 10 rebounds as part of a near-unstoppable duo with Olivia Miles, and No. 3 seed TCU beat 10th-seeded Virginia in the Sweet 16 of the women’s NCAA tournament.
TCU (32-5), making its second straight appearance in the Elite Eight, will face No. 1 seed South Carolina on Monday for a trip to the Final Four.
Miles, a senior and three-time All-American, finished with his own gaudy stat line of 28 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
In a few weeks, Suarez and Miles will likely be WNBA draft picks, but for now, their final college season and the chance they took to come to TCU has paid off.
The Horned Frogs went on a 17-4 run to start a second half that put them in front for good, although the Cavaliers pressed aggressively and cut the lead to six points with 27.1 seconds remaining.
Paris Clark scored 20 points and Kymora Johnson had 18 points, eight assists and six rebounds for Virginia (22-12), the only double-digit seed to reach the Sweet 16.
