Yes, Virginia, there is a Cinderella. Thanks to the Cavaliers, the Sweet 16 has a surprise entrant.
The 2026 women's NCAA tournament was relatively stunner-free over the first three days. But No. 10 seed Virginia made history when it outlasted No. 2 seed Iowa in double overtime Monday. For the first time, a team that played in the First Four will also play in the Sweet 16. The Hawkeyes' loss meant that for the third time in four years, at least one No. 2 seed failed to reach the regionals.
And Virginia wasn't alone in lower-seeded teams winning on the road. No. 6 seed Notre Dame won at No. 3 seed Ohio State and 5-seed Kentucky hung on at 4-seed West Virginia.
The No. 1 seeds had no such issues at home. UConn, UCLA, Texas and South Carolina won their second-round games by an average of 38.5 points. All four were so impressive in the first two rounds that changing the order at the top of the re-rank was impossible.
But there was plenty of shake-up elsewhere in a Sweet 16 dominated by the SEC (six teams) and ACC (five teams).
Perhaps a little rusty, UConn got off to a slow start in the first round against UTSA. Syracuse was not given the same luxury. As the Huskies did so often during the regular season, they came out sharp and relentless from the opening tip. After making 13 of their first 17 shots and forcing eight Orange turnovers in the first quarter, the Huskies essentially secured their trip to the Sweet 16 after 10 minutes. Azzi Fudd had her career-best half with 26 points and then finished with 36 to match her career high in her final game at Gampel Pavilion. The Huskies' 65-point first half marked the seventh time they have exceeded 60 in a half in NCAA tournament play. UConn played four games against ACC opponents this season and beat them by an average of 34 points. Another ACC foe, North Carolina, awaits in Fort Worth, Texas.
UCLA didn't put away Oklahoma State as quickly and thoroughly as the other No. 1 seeds disposed of their second-round opponents, but the Bruins hold on to No. 2. These rankings are not just about one game. Just like an NCAA tournament résumé, there is a body of work element. The biggest issue Monday was the Bruins held only a two-rebound advantage over the smaller Cowgirls. UCLA still shot over 50% and assisted on more than two-thirds of its field goals, two earmarks of the Bruins' season. Lauren Betts took advantage of the size discrepancy with a career-high 35 points as UCLA advanced to its fourth straight Sweet 16.
Madison Booker deferred in the first round. She dominated in the second. After scoring 14 points against Missouri State on Friday, Booker produced a career-high and Longhorn NCAA tournament-record 40 points. As she does so well, Booker got most of those points on midrange jumpers, shooting 14-of-21 overall. She also had eight rebounds and five assists, joining Caitlin Clark and Candice Wiggins as the only players to go 40-5-5 in this century. Booker also made two of her three 3-pointers -- and that is where the Longhorns' story gets interesting. For the season, Texas ranks last in Division I in 3-point rate and makes only 4.2 3-pointers per game. But after making 8-of-12 against Oregon on Sunday, the Longhorns have made 27 from deep in the SEC and NCAA tournaments (five games) on 50% accuracy. The biggest Texas weakness has become a strength in the postseason.
After watching Texas and UConn overwhelm second-round opponents, South Carolina wasted little time doing the same to USC. Pounding the ball inside early to Joyce Edwards and Madina Okot seemed to demoralize the Trojans. That is what the Gamecocks do best. They are second in the country in points in the paint and delivered another 60 against USC. Edwards finished with 23 points and has 21 20-point games this season, tying A'ja Wilson for the most by a South Carolina player this century. Edwards' 19.9 scoring average is nearly four points better than Wilson's as a sophomore. But one of Edwards' worst games of the season (12 points on 3-of-12 shooting) came in the Jan. 22 overtime loss to Oklahoma in their lone SEC meeting. The Sooners are up next for South Carolina in Sacramento, California.
Early in the season, the Tigers punished 12 mid- and low-major opponents by an average of 63.3 points. They nearly did that to a Power 4 opponent in the second round with a 54-point win over Texas Tech. In the process, LSU set the NCAA record for the most 100-point games in a season with 16, the last two of which came in the first two rounds. More importantly, it's the fourth Sweet 16 in the five years since Kim Mulkey became the head coach in Baton Rouge. Overwhelm is not a strong enough verb to describe what LSU did to Texas Tech in Baton Rouge on Sunday. It was a mismatch in size and athleticism from the second quarter on. Flau'jae Johnson finished her career at the Maravich Center in front of 11,000 fans in style with 24 points. Of all the numbers to pull from LSU's first two NCAA tournament games, 70 total points off turnovers stand out the most. When the Tigers beat Duke 93-77 on Dec. 4 in the ACC/SEC Women's Challenge, they turned 19 Blue Devils turnovers into 25 points and won the game 93-77.
In a history-making season for Vanderbilt, the offense has received most of the attention. That makes sense when Mikayla Blakes, the nation's top scorer, is the face of the program. But what about the defense? Only Texas forced more turnovers in SEC play than the Commodores. Vanderbilt was sixth in the country in points off turnovers and was opportunistic against the Illini on Monday, scoring 17 points off turnovers. Still, the turning point in the game came late in the first quarter and into the second when the Illini missed 16 straight shots and Vanderbilt opened a 23-8 lead. With Blakes nearly posting a triple-double with 25 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists and Illinois shooting just 29.6%, there was no comeback. The Commodores' 29th win puts them in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2009.
With NC State leading scorer and point guard Zoe Brooks sidelined by an injury, the Wolverines saw a weakness and exposed it. Entering the game ranked 14th in the country in forced turnovers (21 per game), Michigan matched the season average and turned the Wolfpack over 21 times, converting them into 35 points to pull away with a 64-point second half. Olivia Olson led the charge, with all 27 points coming after halftime. The Wolverines' 92 points were the program's most in an NCAA tournament game. A full-court press fueled the Wolverines in the first two rounds. Holy Cross and NC State averaged just 0.63 points per possession against the press. The core group of sophomores -- Olson, Syla Swords, Mila Holloway and Te'Yala Delfosse -- produced the ninth-most-prolific offense in the country this season and will now play in their first Sweet 16.
For the second straight game, Duke will face a team it lost to in the regular season when it meets LSU in the regional semifinals. The first of these rematches went well. The Blue Devils clamped down on Baylor's offense to avenge a 58-52 loss in Paris to start the season. Defense has been Duke's calling card under coach Kara Lawson and, according to ESPN Analytics, Duke is fifth in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency this season. The Bears received every bit of that ranking, turning over the ball 23 times, shooting just 30% from the field, missing all 14 of their 3-pointers and scoring a season-low 46 points. Duke's offense might be a concern though. The Blue Devils turned over the ball 36 times in the first two rounds and were below their points-per-play average for the season in both games.
The last time Oklahoma lost a game against a team that isn't a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in this NCAA tournament was Jan. 11 at Kentucky. In that same span, the Sooners have beaten six NCAA tournament teams. To beat the Spartans in the second round, Oklahoma leaned on its stars -- Raegan Beers and Aaliyah Chavez -- and a big second half. Beers had 18 points and 14 rebounds. Chavez also scored 18 to go with six assists. In the second half, the Sooners assisted on 10 of their 14 field goals and outscored Michigan State 40-29. The Sooners' assist rate for the game was 72.4%, more than 10% better than their season average.
Olivia Miles has played only one season at TCU, but she left a lasting imprint in Fort Worth, especially in her most recent two games there. Her 30 points, 26 rebounds and 22 assists marked the first 30-20-20 two-game run in the NCAA tournament since Nicole Powell with Stanford in 2002. Most of Miles' production against Washington came late. Playing from behind most of the game after a dismal second quarter, TCU outscored the Huskies by 11 in the second half and overtime. In those 25 minutes, Miles had 14 of her 18 points and five of her eight assists. She also played all 45 minutes. What put TCU's second straight trip to the Sweet 16 in jeopardy was allowing the game to be played at Washington's pace. The 62 points were the Horned Frogs second fewest in a win this season.
Laura Ziegler transferred to Louisville for her final season in the hopes of playing deep into March. In part because of her contributions, she is doing just that as the Cardinals are making their first trip to the Sweet 16 since 2023. After leaving Saint Joseph's, Ziegler became a vital part of Louisville's attack and someone Jeff Walz can run his offense through. She leads the team in rebounding and is second in scoring, assists and 3-point percentage. With 12 points in each of the first two NCAA tournament wins, Ziegler has been -- alongside Tajianna Roberts -- Louisville's most consistent postseason player.
A veteran group got North Carolina to the Sweet 16 last year. Sophomores led the Tar Heels this time. Elina Aarnisalo and Lanie Grant, who combined to score or assist on 51 of the team's 74 points against Maryland, fueled a complete change in game plan from the first round. After taking 40 3-pointers against Western Illinois, North Carolina took only 11 against Maryland, instead focusing on getting to the rim. Spreading the floor for her guards, coach Courtney Banghart created driving lanes for Aarnisalo and Grant. The Tar Heels also harassed Maryland into shooting 32% overall and 3-of-23 on 3-pointers, tied for the second fewest North Carolina has given up to a Power 4 opponent this season.
When Teonni Key suffered a dislocated elbow and sat out six games in January, the Wildcats went 2-4. Since her return, Kentucky's only losses have been to South Carolina (twice), Vanderbilt (twice) and Texas -- all No. 1 or No. 2 seeds in this tournament -- and three of the games were decided by single digits. Against West Virginia on Monday, Key and frontcourt partner Clara Strack were the X factors. Key scored a game-high 19 points and added 10 rebounds, while Strack had 18 points and 15 rebounds; they outrebounded the Mountaineers by themselves. Key might be just as important against Texas. In their last meeting Feb. 9, she had eight points and three rebounds, yet Kentucky was within three points with less than five minutes to go before losing 64-53.
Notre Dame entered the NCAA tournament as one of the hottest teams in the country that didn't win a regular-season or conference tournament championship, winning 11 of its last 13 games. Now the Irish have advanced to their fifth straight Sweet 16. The catch: None of those previous four teams reached the Elite Eight. Niele Ivey has yet to take a Notre Dame team to the regional final. Hannah Hidalgo's engine continues to run on all cylinders, but against the Buckeyes she had significant help. Vanessa de Jesus (15 points), Iyana Moore (13 points) and KK Bransford (10 points) all exceeded their season scoring averages. For her part, Hidalgo recorded her second consecutive game with eight steals and also had 26 points and 13 rebounds Monday. She's the first player since 2000 to have a pair of games with eight steals in one NCAA tournament.
Amaya Battle might not need to buy a meal with her own money in Minneapolis again. Her corner jumper with less than a second left beat Ole Miss and sent the Gophers to their first Sweet 16 since 2005. Minnesota trailed most of the second half and benefited greatly from Ole Miss star Cotie McMahon fouling out with 4:22 left. The Gophers won those last four minutes 11-4. Minnesota's efficiency is the other key -- and it might also be important for the Gophers' chances to advance in the bracket. Minnesota ranks in the bottom quarter in the country in pace but is 16th in points per 100 possessions. The Gophers make the most of their opportunities, best exemplified by Minnesota taking only 12 3-pointers but making seven against the Rebels. Mara Braun's 4-of-5 performance from beyond the arc and 17 points were critical.
The Cavaliers remain last in the rankings, but just being included in them means they have made history. Virginia is the first team to play in the First Four to reach the Sweet 16. Virginia also became the first double-digit seed to reach the regionals since South Dakota (10) and Creighton (10) did it in 2022, and the Cavaliers pulled off the biggest upset of this NCAA tournament in beating No. 2 seed Iowa in double overtime at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. And though Kymora Johnson might have started this tournament as one of the most underrated players in the field, she has become this year's new star of March. Despite early struggles against the Hawkeyes, Johnson finished with 28 points for the second straight game, delivering when it mattered most by scoring 14 combined points in the two overtimes. She also hit the winner in the First Four against Arizona State.
