While some brackets have been failing, others have been flourishing. Here is a recap of the first and second rounds of the 2026 NCAA Women’s March Madness tournament.
On Friday, March 20th, the first half of the first round games were played as follows:
- 14 Charleston (64) vs. 3 Duke (81)
- 14 UC San Diego (40) vs. 3 TCU (86)
- 9 Virginia Tech (60) vs. 8 Oregon (70)
- 11 Nebraska (62) vs. 6 Baylor (67)
- 11 South Dakota State (54) vs. 6 Washington (72)
- 12 Murray (67) vs. 5 Maryland (99)
- 12 Gonzaga (66) vs. 5 Ole Miss (81)
- 16 Missouri State (45) vs. 1 Texas (87)
- 15 Holy Cross (48) vs. 2 Michigan (83)
- 13 Western Illinois (51) vs. 4 UNC (82)
- 13 Green Bay (58) vs. 4 Minnesota (75)
- 15 Jacksonville (58) vs. 2 LSU (116)
- 12 Colorado State (62) vs. 5 Michigan State (65)
- 10 Tennessee (61) vs. 7 NC State (76)
- 10 Villanova (52) vs. 7 Texas Tech (57)
- 13 Idaho (59) vs. 4 Oklahoma (89)
With 12 points, 14 assists, and 16 rebounds, TCU’s Olivia Miles made history with her 12th career triple-double. Her performance led the Horned Frogs to a 46 point win over UC San Diego.
No. 1 Seed Texas defeated Missouri State by 42 points, showing their hope and motivation to win their first March Madness tournament since 1986.
On Saturday, March 21st, the second half of the first round games were played as follows:
- 14 Howard (54) vs. 3 Ohio State (75)
- 14 Vermont (52) vs. 3 Louisville (72)
- 16 Southern (34) vs. 1 South Carolina (103)
- 10 Virginia (82) vs. 7 Georgia (73)
- 11 Fairfield (60) vs. 6 Notre Dame (79)
- 12 JMU (56) vs. 5 Kentucky (71)
- 11 Rhode Island (55) vs. 6 Alabama (68)
- 16 UTSA (52) vs. 1 UConn (90)
- 9 USC (71) vs. 8 Clemson (67)
- 15 FDU (48) vs. 2 Iowa (58)
- 13 Miami OH (54) vs. 4 West Virginia (82)
- 9 Syracuse (72) vs. 8 Iowa State (63)
- 15 High Point (61) vs. 2 Vanderbilt (102)
- 9 Princeton (68) vs. 8 Oklahoma State (82)
- 10 Colorado (57) vs. 7 Illinois (66)
- 16 California Baptist (43) vs. 1 UCLA (96)
After being tied 61-61 at the end of the 4th quarter, the Trojans and Tigers went head to head in overtime. Ultimately, USC won by 4 points even though they were missing some of their star players.
On Sunday, March 22nd, the first of the second round games were played as follows:
- 5 Maryland (66) vs. 4 UNC (74)
- 7 NC State (63) vs. 2 Michigan (92)
- 5 Ole Miss (63) vs. 4 Minnesota (65)
- 7 Texas Tech (47) vs. 2 LSU (101)
- 6 Baylor (46) vs. 3 Duke (69)
- 8 Oregon (58) vs. 1 Texas (100)
- 5 Michigan State (71) vs. 4 Oklahoma (77)
- 6 Washington (59) vs. 3 TCU (62)
Madison Booker of Texas broke the school record for points in an NCAA tournament game, scoring 40 points to advance the Ducks.
In LSU’s 101 point game against Texas Tech, they broke the Division I record for the number of 100 point games in one season (16).
On Monday, March 23rd, the last of the second round games were played as follows:
- 6 Alabama (68) vs. 3 Louisville (69)
- 10 Virginia (83) vs. 2 Iowa (75)
- 6 Notre Dame (83) vs. 3 Ohio State (73)
- 5 Kentucky (74) vs. 4 West Virginia (73)
- 9 Syracuse (45) vs. 1 UConn (98)
- 7 Illinois (57) vs. 2 Vanderbilt (75)
- 9 USC (61) vs. 1 South Carolina (101)
- 8 Oklahoma State (68) vs. 1 UCLA (87)
UConn was dominant in their game, going on a 31-0 scoring run against the Oranges, proving their place as tournament favorite.
