The 2026 women’s NCAA tournament has a complete Final Four field set—and it includes quite a few familiar faces. Yup, all four teams from last year’s Final Four are heading back this year. One-seeds UConn, Texas, UCLA and South Carolina will play in Phoenix on Friday.
Be sure to come back later this week to follow along the games with us. But for now, here’s how everything went down on Monday as the Longhorns and Gamecocks booked the final spots for Phoenix.
Monday’s women’s Elite Eight matchups
Final: No. 1 Texas 77, No. 2 Michigan 41
The Longhorns dominated from start to finish, jumping out to an 18–4 lead in the first quarter and prompting a timeout from Kim Barnes Arico. The Wolverines showed better energy from that point, but they had no answers for a balanced Longhorns offensive attack led by Madison Booker (19 points), Justice Carlton (15 points), and Kyla Oldacre (12 points).
The suffocating Texas defense held Michigan to a season-low 41 points and just 23% shooting from the field. Texas is playing its best basketball of the season at the right time ahead of a Final Four showdown against UCLA. The Longhorns were the only team to defeat the Bruins this season.
Final: No. 1 South Carolina 78, vs. No. 3 TCU 52
After a slow start to the game, the Gamecocks imposed their will and took over with a 29–11 fourth quarter en route to the decisive victory. South Carolina dominated the glass (52–24) and the paint (46–28) while locking in defensively, particularly on TCU stars Olivia Miles and Marta Suarez.
The Horned Frogs seemed to dictate pace for much of the first quarter, but from that point on, it was the Gamecocks controlling the pace of play and getting out in transition. Joyce Edwards led all scorers with 24 points while Agot Makeer played big minutes off the bench for Dawn Staley. The freshman racked up a career-high 18 points in the big victory.
Up next for the Gamecocks? A rematch of last year's national championship game vs. UConn, who defeated South Carolina 82–59 to win the national title.
Live updates from Monday’s games
More March Madness from Sports Illustrated
- Sports Illustrated’s 2025–26 Men’s College Basketball All-Americans
- South Carolina Is Back in the Final Four, but This Is Not Your Typical Dawn Staley Team
- From ‘No Heart’ to ‘Texas Tough’: How the Longhorns Rolled to Women’s Final Four
- ESPN Analyst Says Video of Dan Hurley Lightly Headbutting Referee Is ‘Absolutely Nothing'
- Will Wade Defends Abrupt NC State Exit, Deflects Criticism With Jokes in LSU Return Press Conference
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Women’s March Madness Recap: Texas, South Carolina Breeze Into Final Four.
