South Carolina’s Dawn Staley on why reaching the Final Four is never easy
Dawn Staley led the South Carolina Gamecocks to their sixth straight Final Four, but the legendary coach explains why it hasn’t always been easy.
sports pulse
Yes, the same teams from last season will be in the Women’s Final Four.
But the four No. 1 seeds — UConn, UCLA, Texas and South Carolina — all identified themselves in Phoenix with several wins in the women’s NCAA Tournament.
The Huskies, the No. 1 overall seed, have won each of their four March Madness games by an average margin of 25 points, have won 54 straight games since last season, and are the defending national champions. The remaining teams have a total of seven losses this season.
The University will face South Carolina in the first semifinal on April 3 (7 p.m. ET, ESPN) in a rematch of last season’s national title game. UCLA will face Texas, the only team it beat this season, in the second semifinal game (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).
USA TODAY Sports will have comprehensive coverage this week leading up to Friday’s national semifinals, but before we head to Phoenix, let’s take a look at our first Final Four predictions.
2026 Women’s Final 4 Prediction: Who will advance to the National Championship?
University vs. South Carolina predictions
Heather Burns: university university The result will be the same as last year’s championship match between the two teams, but we expect it to be a close battle. UConn’s deep roster and big game experience should help them win. Yes, the Huskies’ offense is centered around Sarah Strong and Azee Fudd, but players like Blanca Quiñones, KK Arnold, and Aly Ziebel have all proven they can dominate games offensively. South Carolina doesn’t have the depth to go back and forth players with UConn.
Megan L. Hall: UConn. Despite having seven players on the roster who made it to the Final Four, only two players from South Carolina have won championships. UConn, on the other hand, has six players who were on last year’s championship team and understand the level of play needed to win a title. With a trip to the national title game on the line, I worry that South Carolina will melt under UW’s suffocating defensive pressure and falter at its brightest moment.
Sidney Henderson: UConn. UConn’s depth and experience make them dangerous. Sarah Strong and Azee Fudd are the go-tos for offensive production in college, but Blanca Quiñones is a difference-maker for the Huskies. Quiñones dropped 20 points in UConn’s Elite Eight win over Notre Dame. South Carolina won’t be able to stop everyone.
Mitchell Northam: South Carolina. UConn has shown weaknesses in two areas this season: rebounding and 3-point shooting defense. South Carolina is elite in both areas, ranking fourth in the nation in 3-point shooting percentage this season and ranking within the top 15 in seven different rebounding statistics. It’s also hard to imagine anyone on the floor Friday night with more desire to win than Gamecocks point guard Raven Johnson. He is making his fourth Final Four appearance and is looking to avenge last year’s title game loss to UW.
UCLA vs. Texas
Heather Burns: UCLA. The Bruins have lost one game all season, and that was to the Longhorns. But if UCLA does what it does best and continues to play inside-out with Lauren Betts as the primary focus, it should be able to avenge the Texas loss. The Bruins have to deal with the basketball. If there are 20 turnovers, like in the first matchup against the Longhorns, all bets are off.
Megan L. Hall: UCLA. UCLA’s only loss this season was against Texas. The Bruins would be a much-changed team from that moment on, and would never lose to Texas again. The Bruins will rely on six WNBA draft picks to get back to the Final Four. Lauren Betts led the way with a double-double with 25 points.
Sidney Henderson: Texas. The Bruins have fallen behind several times this tournament and won’t be able to do that against a strong Texas team. Madison Booker and Lori Harmon are playing some exciting basketball, but the team’s defense is even more impressive. It’s hard to beat a good team twice, but Texas will suffer its second loss of the season to UCLA.
Mitchell Northam: UCLA. UCLA showed in its win over Duke that while it is an elite 3-point shooting team, it doesn’t need to rely on long-range shooting to win. The Bruins used 6-foot-7 center Lauren Betts to force the Blue Devils inside and let the veteran guard shine. Texas is a good defensive team and is the only team to beat UCLA this season, but the Bruins have too much talent, too many weapons, and too many ways to beat opponents to allow the Longhorns a second loss.
Where are the women’s final four?
- position: Mortgage Matchup Center (Phoenix)
The 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Final Four will be held at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, home of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury.
This will be the first time Arizona has hosted the women’s Final Four, but the men’s tournament has been hosted twice, most recently in 2024 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
last 4 dates
The two national semifinals of the Final Four will be held on Friday, April 3rd. The winners of these matchups will advance to the national championship game on Sunday, April 5th.
final four schedule
All times are Eastern.
- No. 1 UW vs. No. 1 South Carolina, 7 p.m.
- No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 1 Texas, 9:30 p.m.
If the field looks familiar, that’s because it is. For the second straight season, four teams remain in the women’s bracket: UConn, South Carolina, UCLA and Texas.
The Final Four tips off between top-seeded UConn and South Carolina at 7 p.m. ET. Both programs are looking to add another chapter in their history as the Huskies make their 25th Final Four appearance and the Gamecocks make their eighth appearance in five consecutive years under coach Dawn Staley.
Next up is a rematch between top-seeded UCLA and Texas, a rematch of the Nov. 26 matchup in which the Longhorns suffered their only loss of the season to the Bruins. Since then, UCLA has won 29 straight games.
