play1:19Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. UCLA Bruins: Game HighlightsMinnesota Golden Gophers vs. UCLA Bruins: Game Highlights
play1:11North Carolina Tar Heels vs. UConn Huskies: Game HighlightsNorth Carolina Tar Heels vs. UConn Huskies: Game Highlights
play1:09Hannah Hidalgo finishes with near quadruple-double in Notre Dame’s winHannah Hidalgo does it all with 31 points, 11 rebounds, 10 steals and 7 assists in Notre Dame’s win over Vanderbilt.
Duke wins at the buzzer as Ashlon Jackson’s 3 spins around and goes in (1:00)Ashlon Jackson fires a shot at the buzzer that goes down as Duke stuns LSU to move on to the Elite Eight. (1:00)
Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. UCLA Bruins: Game HighlightsMinnesota Golden Gophers vs. UCLA Bruins: Game Highlights
North Carolina Tar Heels vs. UConn Huskies: Game HighlightsNorth Carolina Tar Heels vs. UConn Huskies: Game Highlights
Hannah Hidalgo finishes with near quadruple-double in Notre Dame’s winHannah Hidalgo does it all with 31 points, 11 rebounds, 10 steals and 7 assists in Notre Dame’s win over Vanderbilt.
Hannah Hidalgo does it all with 31 points, 11 rebounds, 10 steals and 7 assists in Notre Dame’s win over Vanderbilt.
What chalk? A pair of No. 2 seeds lost Friday in the women’s regional semifinals of the women’s NCAA tournament as the UConn Huskies, UCLA Bruins, Duke Blue Devils and Notre Dame Fighting Irish all advanced to the Elite Eight.
Behind a triple-double from Hannah Hidalgo, the 6-seed Irish knocked off the 2-seed Vanderbilt Commodores. And No. 3 seed Duke downed the No. 2 seed LSU Tigers on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
Here is ESPN’s guide to all of Friday’s action. Tune in Saturday as the Sweet 16 continues (12:30 p.m. ET on ABC).
The Blue Devils’ overall urgency on offense and pressure on defense paved the way, and the Tigers’ inability to find a shot in the paint in the first quarter and some early foul trouble also hurt. Flau’jae Johnson struggled to find her shot early, finishing with 13 points on 6-for-15 shooting. ZaKiyah Johnson and Kate Koval, who combined for nearly 19 points a game this season, were each held scoreless on a combined two field goal attempts.
How UCLA won: The Bruins scored just 18 points in the first period, tying their lowest scoring quarter of their NCAA tournament. Riddled with errors on defense and inconsistent shooting outside of the paint, the Bruins continued to struggle to gain momentum in the first half and led 34-29 at the break. But UCLA came out swinging after that and held the Gophers to 12 points in the third period. Minnesota tried to rally, but turnovers prevented the Gophers from trimming the double-digit deficit.
UCLA’s power in the paint determined the game, as well as a consistent effort from graduating members Kiki Rice (game-high 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting), Lauren Betts (16 points on 7-of-9 shooting, plus 5 blocks) and Angela Dugalic (13 points, 10 rebounds, 6-of-9 shooting).
Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. UCLA Bruins: Game Highlights
Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. UCLA Bruins: Game Highlights
How UConn won: Defense led the way for UConn, as it has all season. Even as they struggled to score in the first half, the Huskies forced 11 North Carolina turnovers and held the Tar Heels to 8-for-29 shooting. Sarah Strong’s second quarter (11 points) and Blanca Quiñonez’s continued productivity off the bench (11 points at the half) steadied the ship until their offense got going more after the break.
How the Huskies can advance to the Final Four: The Huskies faced Notre Dame in January, beating the Irish by 38 points — the most lopsided game in the rivalry’s history. But regular-season success doesn’t always translate to the NCAA tournament. And besides: Notre Dame is effectively playing with house money as a No. 6 seed; very few thought the Irish would even make it to the Elite Eight. The Huskies, meanwhile, carry the burden of being undefeated and the defending national champions.
Chief among Geno Auriemma’s priorities will be for his team to get off to a better start than it did in the first quarter against North Carolina, and to help his offense find more success against another stingy defensive team. That wasn’t an issue in their first meeting — UConn scored 85 points on 56% shooting — but the Irish are a different team since then. — Alexa Philippou
North Carolina Tar Heels vs. UConn Huskies: Game Highlights
North Carolina Tar Heels vs. UConn Huskies: Game Highlights
Hannah Hidalgo finishes with near quadruple-double in Notre Dame’s win
How Duke won: Despite a game-high 28 points from MiLaysia Fulwiley, the Tigers trailed most of the game Friday. Even after a 10-0 run in the fourth quarter that gave them a late lead, the Tigers’ offense couldn’t compete with the Blue Devils. Sophomore Toby Fournier and senior Taina Mair led the charge for Duke, each scoring 22 points. According to ESPN Research, before tonight’s game, Mair hadn’t scored more than 11 points in any of her first nine NCAA tournament games. Ashlon Jackson added 19 points, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer that spun around the basket before dropping in to seal Duke’s Elite Eight appearance.
How the Blue Devils can advance to the Final Four: If the Blue Devils can maintain pressure on defense, especially in transition, they have a chance at another upset. Fournier needs to continue to be a dominant presence. Like most teams, Duke doesn’t have the size to hang with Bruins’ 6-foot-7 senior center Lauren Betts, but Delaney Thomas has played well this postseason. That inside battle is a matchup to watch, as how well Duke counters UCLA’s more experienced, veteran stars. — Charlotte Gibson
How the Bruins can advance to the Final Four: The Bruins are making slow starts a bit of a habit. Against the Gophers, the Bruins’ defensive errors allowed too many opportunities for their opponent to score. UCLA knows how to dominate: Betts surpassed her 1,000th rebound and Angela Dugalic hit the 1,000-career point mark. Rice showed off her skills in creating opportunities for her team. With 52 points in the paint, UCLA continues to demonstrate that once they get going inside, they are unstoppable. Eliminate the slow starts and increase opportunities in the paint, and the Bruins will be on their way to a second straight Final Four. — Charlotte Gibson
How Notre Dame won: Two words: Hannah Hidalgo. The ACC Player of the Year had a triple-double, with 31 points, 10 rebounds and 10 steals, as she took over the game and outplayed Mikayla Blakes in a matchup of two of the best scorers in the country. Hidalgo not only set the NCAA Division I single-season record for steals in the game, she became the second player to record a 30-point triple-double in NCAA tournament history, joining Caitlin Clark, who had 41 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists on March 26, 2023. Her steals really set the tone for the game, as the Notre Dame defense completely rattled and frazzled Vanderbilt for the bulk of the game. Vanderbilt had 23 turnovers, and Notre Dame completely dominated inside — outscoring the Commodores 54-20 in the paint. Still, Vanderbilt clawed its way back into the game in the fourth quarter after forcing Notre Dame to take too many ill-advised jumpers. Going to the free throw line 25 times, and making 21 of those shots, also helped.
But with the game on the line, Hidalgo came through again and again. With the score tied at 64 and 25 seconds left, Hidalgo outjumped multiple Vanderbilt players to take the inbounds pass, then bounced the ball to Cassandre Prosper for the layup and the lead. On the ensuing Vanderbilt possession, Blakes dribbled the ball out of bounds and Notre Dame held on to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time under Niele Ivey. After the final seconds ticked off the clock, Ivey and Hidalgo shared a long emotional embrace.
Duke wins at the buzzer as Ashlon Jackson’s 3 spins around and goes in (1:00)Ashlon Jackson fires a shot at the buzzer that goes down as Duke stuns LSU to move on to the Elite Eight. (1:00)
Ashlon Jackson fires a shot at the buzzer that goes down as Duke stuns LSU to move on to the Elite Eight. (1:00)
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