NCAA Women’s March Madness heads to Sacramento. Who are the teams, coaches, stars?
Storied programs, coaches known to dress to the hilt with exuberant fashion, star players and familiar faces to the Sacramento region will be part of the storylines as Golden 1 Center becomes a hub of women’s college basketball March Madness.
Eight teams are headed to Sacramento to play in the NBA venue in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight rounds that run Friday through Monday, with the goal to reach the Final Four in Phoenix at Arizona State.
Who’s coming?
Two No. 1 seeds and a brand name in the No. 2 seeded in the LSU Tigers headline the field as Sacramento hosts the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight rounds for the first time.
Top-seeded UCLA plays No. 4 Minnesota at 4:30 p.m. Friday to open the festivities, followed by No. 2 LSU vs. No. 3 Duke at 7 p.m. (all games are televised by ESPN).
LSU is coached by the never-dull-in-fashion Kim Mulkey, whose team won the 2023 national championship with a 34-2 squad.
Duke is coached by former Sacramento Monarchs player and Kings broadcaster Kara Lawson.
Saturday’s opening games of the Sweet 16 feature No. 1 South Carolina against No. 4 Oklahoma at 5 p.m., followed by No. 3 TCU against No. 10 Virginia at 7:30 p.m.
South Carolina under fiery yet fun coach Dawn Staley won the national championship in 2022 with a 35-2 team and in 2024 with a 38-0 squad. TCU is coached by Mark Campbell, who guided Sacramento State to its only NCAA Tournament in his final season with the Hornets in 2023.
The Elite Eight games are March 29 and March 30, with one game each day.
Breaking down the teams
UCLA (33-1)
The Bruins have their greatest team, but the road to the top will not be easy for the six seniors who took a victory lap around their home court in Los Angeles to wave to fans after beating Oklahoma State 87-68 in a second-round game.
UCLA is in the Sweet 16 for the fourth consecutive season and seeks the program’s first national championship since 1978 when the tournament was known as the AIAW — Association for Interscholastic Athletics for Women. The women’s NCAA Tournament started in 1982.
The Bruins are paced by senior Lauren Betts, a dominating 6-foot-7 center who had 35 points against Oklahoma State in her Bruins home finale. She averages 16.5 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists, and her size makes interior scoring a dauntng task.
South Carolina (33-3)
It starts with the coach, Dawn Staley, who walks with a limp from eight knee surgeries during her Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame playing career, and can wow a room with insight, honestly and personality. At the helm for 17 years, Staley has been named National Coach of the Year five times, including 2022-24, and she won national championships in 2017, 2022 and 2024 to go with seven Final Four showings in the last 10 years, including reaching the finals last season, a loss to Connecticut.
The current team is anchored by leading players in guards Ta’Niya Latson (14.3 points) and Raven Johnson 10.0 points) and Joyce Edwards (19.9 points).
LSU (29-5)
The Tigers can score in bunches, having set the NCAA Division I record this season for the most 100-point showings in one campaign with 16 after topping Texas Tech, 101-47. The 54-point win is tied for the most lopsided second-round NCAA Tournament game since 1988.
Under coach Mulkey, LSU plays like their coach: intense and with flair. She is the first coach in NCAA history to win a national championship as a player, an assistant coach and as a head coach. Decked in bold colors and never shy to dress down referees in a heated moment, Mulkey won national titles at Baylor in 2005, 2012 and 2019 at LSU in 2023. Mulkey has participated in the NCAA Tournament as a player or coach every season since 1982 except 1985 and 2003.
LSU is paced by guards MiLaysia Fulwiley (14.6 points), Flau’jae Johnson (14.1 points), and Mikaylah Williams, who leads the team in assists.
Duke (26-8)
The Blue Devils seek their first NCAA finals appearance since 2006 and their first overall crown in program history — and they have a shot under coach Lawson, who is also the head coach for the U.S. women’s national team.
Lawson was a four-year starter at Tennessee under famed coach Pat Summitt, reaching two NCAA title games. Lawson helped lead the Sacramento Monarchs to the WNBA title in 2006 and began her coaching career as an assistant with the Boston Celtics of the NBA in 2019 and has been at Duke since 2020.
Duke is led by the versatile Toby Fournier (17.5 points) and Ashlon Jackson (11.3 points).
TCU (31-5)
The Horned Frogs of Texas Christian University advanced to Sacramento with a 62-59 overtime effort over Washington to extend their home winning streak at Schollmaier Arena to 44 games, extending the longest such streak in women or men’s college basketball.
TCU is in the Sweet 16 for the second successive season under spirited coach Mark Campbell, who will recognize a lot of people as Sacramento State is the host school for this event. Campbell has raved about his coaching tenure at Sac State.
TCU is led by Notre Dame transfer and 2025-26 Big 12 Player of the Year Olivia Miles, a guard who paces the Horned Frogs in scoring (20.1), rebounds (6.9) and assists (6.5).
Minnesota (24-8)
Under coach Dawn Plitzuweit, guard Tori McKinney and a cast of teammates who are Minnesota natives, the Golden Gophers are in the Sweet 16 for the first time in 21 years.
The Gophers are balanced with five players averaging double-figures in scoring, which was paramount in the program reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018. This makes for a dark horse at Golden 1.
Oklahoma (26-7)
The Sooners are contenders again, having reached the 2002 national title game with Final Four showings in 2002, 2009 and 2010, and the team is a fast-paced and fun-to-watch outfit under coach Jennie Baranczyk.
Senior center Raegan Beers averages 16.6 points and 11.1 rebounds, and star freshman guard Aaliyah Chavez averages 19.1 points and 4.3 assists. This is another dark-horse threat at Golden 1.
Virginia (22-11)
If there’s a Cinderella team in this women’s field, it’s the Virginia Cavalieres.
As a No. 10 seed, Virginia became the first team in NCAA history to play in the “First Four” opening-round games to reach the Sweet 16. The Cavaliers made it to Sacramento with an 83-75 double-overtime win over No. 2 seeded Iowa on Iowa’s home court in Iowa City.
Junior guard Kymora Johnson and coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton have been the driving force in leading the program to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2018.
Said the coach on the eve of the tournament, “The sky’s the limit.”