March 23, 2025, 11:32pm
Are you more prepared? The 2025 Women’s NCAA Tournament has declined to 32 teams as a hint for Sunday’s second round. March Madness has meant many records so far. Six teams scored 100 points in the first round, while five teams won over 50 points.
It all became a Cholkie first round. The 32 rounds included only two-digit double-digit seeds, and all 16 host teams were advanced. Is the upset available in store as the sweet 16 begins to take shape?
We capture all the actions on Sunday here, and we have an analysis of all matchups with reporters on the ground. Find the next winner and relive what happens on the day. And be sure to check out the rankings of the 32 remaining teams on the field.
Jump: Live Coverage | Complete Results and Analysis
Complete Sunday Results and Analysis
Final: Tennessee 82, Ohio 67
How did Tennessee move another five seeds into March’s insanity? Sunday was the No. 5 seed day of the Women’s NCAA Tournament. Three of them won a road game and advanced to Sweet 16. The end of the regular season didn’t go as well as the Ladyvols had hoped for. They lost to Georgia in Kentucky and at home. They then fell to in-state rival Vanderbilt in the second round of the SEC tournament. But we’ve seen Tennessee’s best in the NCAA tournament. Fellow SEC teams began to acquire Tennessee’s high-pressure style play under Tennessee’s freshman coach Kim Caldwell, but Lady Vols’ NCAA opponents weren’t. South Florida had 24 sales in the first round and Ohio State 23. The Buckeyes are also known for their press, but Tennessee did it better on Sunday. Tennessee scored 37 points from Ohio’s turnovers. And even when the Buckeyes gathered on a 20-2 run to take the lead in the third quarter, the Ladyvols answered with a 10-2 run.
In the fourth quarter, the Ladyvols were defensively choked, keeping Ohio State at eight points. For the second year in a row, the Buckeyes were eliminated at home in the second round. Sunday’s game was the only time of the season when Ohio State lost at home, where the Buckeyes (26-7 overall) finished 16-1. Freshman Jaroni Cambridge led with 19 points.
What it means for Tennessee: Lady Vols didn’t shoot a high percentage from behind the arc (29.4%), but made 10 3-pointers. They also bordered Ohio State with a 39-34 rebound. If seeds are retained, they will face No. 1 Seed Texas hosting Illinois on Monday for the Elite Eight spot. Lady Vols last held its regional final in 2016. -Michael Voepel
Final: TCU 85, Louisville 70
How did TCU advance to the first Sweet 16? The short answer is the same. Four starters finished the double-digit game, with Agnes Emmanop leading the horned frog at 23. This was a cathartic performance from a team whose injuries last season held so many tryouts. Big 12 player and rookie of the year Haley Vanliss defeated the former team with 16 points and 10 assists (she played for the Cardinals for three seasons). The TCU cooked on the offensive side and shot 63% from the floor and 61.1% from the 3-point range, but the frogs disrupt Louisville significantly, keeping the Cardinals at 33.8% fire. The bright spot in Louisville was Jada Curry’s incredibly offensive performance. He dropped 41 points and hit six three-point shots in a lost effort.
The following is the TCU: The Louisville victory created the first Sweet 16 in program history, finishing the season unbeaten at home. Later this week, TCU will face third-seeded Notre Dame in the Birmingham 3 region. The two teams previously played in the Cayman Islands Thanksgiving tournament. The Frogs made the Irish better and won 76-68, but don’t be surprised if Notre Dame is considered a favorite in the rematch. – Katie Burns
Final: Ole Miss 69, Baylor 63
What is the difference between Ole Miss? This second 4-5 matchup in the NCAA tournament was just as exciting as the first Sunday. Shortly after five-seeded Kansas defeated fourth-seeded Kentucky in overtime in Spokane 4, Ole Miss was similarly upset on Baylor’s home court in Spokane. This was a rallying point for Ole Miss Coach Yolette McPhee-McCuin and her team. McPhee-McCuin and the Rebels also created Sweet 16 in 2023. Sunday was the fourth program history in which Ole Miss won a true road game in the NCAA tournament.
The Rebels struggled in the second quarter, scoring just six points. However, their defense was good enough, chasing only 29-26 at halftime. Neither team was able to move things from behind Arc All Game. Ole Miss and Baylor were 25-4 totals. However, the rebels reached even more lines at the free throw line, finishing 21-17 with a foul shot, Baylor’s 7-11. Ole Miss forced 21 turnovers and was shot better in the second half. The rebels were open-looking five-fourths in the first half and nine-fourths in the second half.
Ole Miss: The Rebels scored big games from both fifth-year senior Madison Scott (14 points) and KK Deans (13 points) and freshman Cilatienow (16 points, 6 rebounds). Ole Miss fell to Louisville in 2023 with a recent Sweet 16 appearance and is now waiting for the winner of LSU, Florida’s second round game on Monday. In the SEC regular season finale, the Rebels defeated LSU 85-77 on March 2, but Tigers star guard Frauje Johnson was injured and did not play in that game. – Michael Vopel
Final: South Carolina 64, Indiana 53
How did South Carolina overcome the 26-25 halftime deficit? Simply put, it’s a huge third quarter. South Carolina scored 26 points during this period. Chloe Kitts went over the key in the run, but also clutching was to get a good interior play from Sania Fiegen. This wasn’t the best game Gamecocks have played this season. They sometimes looked scattered in large strip attacks in the game. Think about this. The third quarter was the only period in which the Gamecocks scored 17 or more points. That was the biggest difference in the game. Outside of that third quarter, their defensive performance also helped. South Carolina forced 16 sales, overtaking Indiana, having seven blocks and seven steals, seven steals. Kitz finished with a double double (10 points, 10 rebounds).
What can South Carolina learn from Sunday? South Carolina doesn’t rely on one player to lead the way this season, but they rely on a collective team to get the job done. If Sunday showed anything, the Gamecocks were able to survive the down game from the bench, especially the two main scorers, freshmen Joyce Edwards and Milaysia Fulwiley. Edwards is not distinctive from her game, with only 5 points in five shots. Fulwiley scored three points in a quarter of fire. Without the bench delivering points by bushels, others stepped up with Brie Hall (3-3-4), Kitz and Feizin. – Andrea Adelson
play
1:35
Paopao says keeping South Carolina simple was the key to success
Te-Hina Paopao talks about how the Gamecocks played the game and got a tough victory over Indiana on their way to the 11th straight Sweet 16.
Final: Kansas 80, Kentucky 79 (OT)
How did Kansas pull it out? It seemed that the 5th seed blew a chance to the Sweet 16 as Kentucky ran 5-0 late in the game. However, the back-to-back three-pointer gave Kansas the lead and set a thrilling finish. Under the stretch, boundary shooting allowed Kansas to not only keep pace with Kentucky, but ultimately progressed to the school’s first Sweet 16 since 2002. Temira Pointecter started the game by missing the first five deep shots, but surpassed the fix. She finished with a game high 24 points. Her makers were all three pointers. And then Georgia’s potential Georgia Amoor bouncing off the front and back of the rim to ensure Kansas could survive the absolute thriller.
What does this mean for Kansas: Kansas players have stepped up in many places along the course of the game. There are still questions about how well the Wildcats match their next opponent. This could be 1 seed USC. But that’s another problem on another day. – Ben Baby
Details: Kansas is moving on to its first sweet 16 in 23 years
Final: Notre Dame 76, Michigan 55
How did Notre Dame control Michigan? Michigan did not lead at any point in the 32 rounds as Notre Dame came to Wolverine from all angles with yet another double-digit victory. During the transition, Olivia Miles, Sonia Citron, Hannai Dalgo and Lea To King received points or support in all but six Notre Dame points, including paint attacks (36 points), several timing shots from Deep, and contributions from that star. The game was never close, but Notre Dame stepped into the gas in the third quarter, when Michigan was restricted to eight points. Naturally, as they were fighting in the first round from a fierce battle with Iowa State, the Wolverines couldn’t get the same contributions from Jordan Hobbs and Mira Holloway that they needed to go to the toes alongside a team that surpassed their opponents in 73 in the first two rounds.
What that means for Notre Dame: No one on the field ever spent easy time with his opponents during the opening weekend of the tournament. Notre Dame did a light job with Stephen F. Austin (won 54) and defeated the tired Michigan team at 21. Fighting Ireland looks like the version ranked number one in the country for most of the season. They were in Sweet 16 at Sweet 16.
Final: Duke 59, Oregon 53
How did Duke avoid being upset? Duke was only enough to capture this victory. After building a 10-point lead, the Blue Devils missed seven shots until the closures of the third quarter and the start of the fourth quarter, opening the doors for Oregon and Deja Kelly. Ashron Jackson held the Blue Devils with 14 points in third place and moved the Blue Devils to 7 with less than two minutes left, leaving a massive three-pointer in the second half of the fourth. All her 20 points came in the second half. Despite his desperate finish, the Blue Devils survived despite nearly spinning the ball several times in the final 30 seconds of the game…and went on.
What’s next for Duke? After escaping what tied the program’s biggest seed agitation loss in tournament history, Duke returns to Sweet 16 for the second year in a row. next? No. 3 North Carolina-No winner. 6 West Virginia. The Tar Heels present a familiar Blue Devils opponent, but the pair have never met in the NCAA tournament. This season, UNC won an OT victory in the team’s first matchup in January, with the Blue Devils helping out the matchup on February 27th. – Kendra Andrews
Details: On the bystander of Founier, Duke reaches two consecutive sweet 16
