The Women's NCAA Tournament Elite Eight wrapped up Monday night with four teams punching their tickets to the Final Four in Phoenix, and the field could hardly be more loaded. No. 1 UConn destroyed No. 6 Notre Dame 70-52 on Sunday. No. 1 UCLA rallied past No. 3 Duke on Sunday evening. On Monday, No. 1 Texas routed No. 2 Michigan 77-41, and No. 1 South Carolina faced No. 3 TCU in the nightcap [1].

For the first time since the tournament expanded, all four No. 1 seeds were alive entering the Elite Eight, and the chalk largely held. ESPN's pre-tournament projections had given this scenario a less than 15 percent probability, but the top seeds have been dominant throughout, with UConn, UCLA, and South Carolina winning their first three games by an average of 22 points [2].

Sunday's action set the tone. UConn's Blanca Quinonez led all scorers with 24 points as the Huskies held Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo to a triple-double -- 22 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists -- that was impressive on its face but insufficient against a team that shut down every other Irish player [3]. Notre Dame shot 31 percent from the field as a team. Hidalgo was the show, but UConn was the better team by every other measure.

UCLA's win over Duke was tighter and more dramatic. Duke led by as many as 10 points in the second half before Lauren Betts scored 23 to power the Bruins' comeback [4]. Duke's Ashlon Jackson, whose buzzer-beating three-pointer had upset LSU in the Sweet 16, could not conjure the same magic against UCLA's length and discipline.

Monday's Texas-Michigan game was not competitive. Madison Booker and the Longhorns jumped to a 20-point lead by halftime and never looked back, advancing to the Final Four for the first time since 2003. The 36-point margin was the largest in an Elite Eight game this century [5].

The Final Four is set for Friday, April 3 in Phoenix, with the championship game on April 5. UConn will face South Carolina or TCU. UCLA draws Texas. The bracket has delivered the matchups the sport wanted: established powerhouses, star players, and a stage in Phoenix that sold out within hours of bracket announcement [6].

For women's basketball, the tournament has been a vindication. Television ratings through the first three rounds were up 18 percent over 2025. Attendance records fell at multiple venues. The sport that Caitlin Clark helped elevate two years ago has proven the audience is real, durable, and growing.

-- AMARA OKONKWO, Fort Worth