NCAA women's tournament Final Four: What you need to know for UConn-South Carolina, UCLA-Texas on Friday
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Geno Auriemma and Dawn Staley, two of the best coaches in women’s basketball history, will be back on the same court Friday in Phoenix.
In a rematch of last year’s national title game, Auriemma’s UConn and Staley’s South Carolina are meeting in this year’s Final Four.
The NCAA tournament national semifinal will headline a doubleheader that also includes two more No. 1 seeds, UCLA and Texas. This is the second time the same four teams have reached the Final Four back-to-back seasons. That last happened in 1995-96, and it’s the fifth time all four top seeds have advanced to the Final Four.
Here’s what you need to know heading into Friday’s games.
No. 1 UConn vs. No. 1 South Carolina (7 p.m. ET on ESPN)
UConn’s last national title game appearance: 2025
South Carolina’s last national title game appearance: 2025
In last year’s national title game, the Huskies entered halftime with a 10-point lead before pulling away in the third quarter. Auriemma and Paige Bueckers embraced late in an 82-59 victory that rewarded UConn its 12th national championship, and its first in nine years. That was the longest drought between national titles for the Huskies since they won their first with Rebecca Lobo in 1995.
They got the best of Staley’s Gamecocks, who were hoping to hang the program’s fourth national championship banner, and third in the span of four years. South Carolina shot 34.4% from the field, recording its second-lowest field goal percentage of the season. Joyce Edwards and Tessa Johnson both had 10 points in that game.
Edwards and Johnson are two of the five Gamecocks players averaging double-digit scoring figures this time around for an offense that ranks third in the country with 87.1 points per game. That’s the highest scoring average South Carolina has logged in a season this decade. Even without Chloe Kitts — who has missed the 2025-26 campaign with a torn ACL in her right knee — the Gamecocks are more potent this year.
Players to watch
UConn G Azzi Fudd
So, yes, you should be keeping one eye glued to Sarah Strong, the Naismith Player of the Year. But it’s important to remember that Fudd was the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four last year. She capped off an impressive weekend in Tampa with 24 points in the national title game against the Gamecocks. The graduate guard will be in the WNBA soon, but, for now, she’s still starring for the Huskies.
South Carolina C Madina Okot
Edwards, a sophomore forward, leads the team with 19.7 points per game — tied for the 20th-most nationally — however, senior center Madina Okot is a double-double machine. Standing 6-foot-6, Okot has stacked 22 of those this season, tied for the third most in the nation. The Mississippi State transfer is averaging 13.2 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. She’s also made 13-of-27 attempts from long range this season and is shooting 70.4% from the free-throw line.
Stat to remember
Of UConn’s 38 wins this season, only one has been by fewer than 13 points, and that was a 72-69 victory over Michigan on Nov. 21 in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase. That night, Michigan converted a dozen 3-pointers, and UConn turned the ball over 17 times.
No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 1 Texas (9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN)
UCLA’s last national title game appearance: N/A
Texas’ last national title game appearance: 1986
On this side of the bracket, some new — or at least new-ish — blood will emerge. UCLA has never played in a national title game, and Texas hasn’t been there since it won it all in 1986. That year, the Longhorns authored the first perfect season in NCAA Division I women’s basketball history.
These teams have already squared off once this season. That was on Nov. 26 at the Players Era Championship. Texas established a 20-point lead by intermission and held on for a 76-65 win. Bruins center Lauren Betts suffered a left arm injury after Madison Booker stripped the ball from her in the third quarter. Betts later returned to the floor but finished with just eight points and wound up missing the following game against Duke. Booker finished with 16 points on a mere 6-of-17 shooting.
The Longhorns were paced by senior guard Rori Harmon. She piled up a season-high 26 points to go along with five assists.
Both Texas and UCLA are in the Final Four for the second year in a row. In 2025, Cori Close took the Bruins to their first-ever national semifinal, and Vic Schaefer reintroduced the Longhorns to that stage for the first time since 2003. Now they’re going head-to-head with a trip to the national title game on the line.
Players to watch
Texas F Madison Booker
Booker was the Big 12 Co-Player of the Year as a freshman. Last year, as a sophomore, she earned SEC Player of the Year honors. In her third season with the Longhorns, the smooth-shooting forward thrust herself into the National Player of the Year conversation. She’s played like one of the best players in the country during the NCAA tournament, too. Booker’s averaged 22.5 points and 8.8 rebounds over her four games in this year’s dance. That stretch included a 40-piece in the Round of 32 versus Oregon.
UCLA C Lauren Betts
Betts is finishing her prolific college career on a high note. Projected as a top-five pick in this year’s WNBA Draft, the 6-foot-7 senior center is putting up 24 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3 blocks per contest in her final March Madness. She’s bookended that four-game stretch with double-doubles, first against California Baptist and then versus Duke. In between, she erupted for 35 points in a second-round victory over Oklahoma State.
Stat to remember
UCLA is in the bottom third of the nation in pace, according to Her Hoop Stats. Texas, on the other hand, is top 100 in that category. Which team dictates the tempo for the majority of the game could make the difference.
