Women’s Final Four Preview: Breaking Down UConn vs. South Carolina, UCLA vs. Texas

Before the Men’s Final Four tips off in Indianapolis on Saturday, the women’s NCAA tournament will take center stage.

The 2026 Women’s Final Four begins Friday in Phoenix, as the nation’s fifth-most populous city hosts the event for the first time. It’s all chalk for the women, as all four No. 1 seeds advanced to the semifinals: UConn will face South Carolina in the first matchup, followed by UCLA against Texas in the second. Here’s a look at those two games.

1 UConn (38-0) vs.  1 South Carolina (35-3) – 7 p.m. ET

This is a rematch of last year’s national title game, which the Huskies dominated for a 23-point victory. The Huskies have won 54 straight games, with all but one—a three-point November win over Michigan—coming by double digits. For all of the great UConn teams that Geno Auriemma has coached, this could be his best ever as its two-way domination is unparalleled in the sport.

Behind a pair of All-Americans in Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong, Connecticut leads the nation in both field goal percentage (52) on offense and field goal percentage allowed (33.4) on defense. It ranks second in Division I in three-point percentage (38.7), and the 15.7 steals per game the Huskies rack up lead all of college basketball. But a seemingly unbeatable UConn squad has tasted defeat the last two times it entered the Final Four undefeated. In 2018, UConn fell, 91-89, to Notre Dame to give the then-36-0 Huskies their only loss, while the prior year, the Huskies—also 36-0 entering the contest—lost to Mississippi State, 66-64.

As for the Gamecocks, they are in their sixth straight Final Four and hoping their every-other-year trend continues in 2026. South Carolina won national championships in 2022 and 2024, and one edge it has over UConn is utter domination during March Madness 2026. Dawn Staley’s squad has a 40.3-point average margin of victory during its four tournament games, highest among the Final Four teams.

South Carolina also has the size edge with 6-foot-3 Joyce Edwards (19.7 points) and 6-foot-5 Madina Okot (13.2 points), who are taller than any of UConn’s top seven scorers. But that stature doesn’t always translate to the boards as the Gamecocks can get pounded on the glass. When South Carolina secures 20 or fewer defensive rebounds, it has just a 2-3 record, compared with being a perfect 33-0 when grabbing more than 20 defensive boards.

1 Texas (35-3) vs. 1 UCLA (35-1) – 9:30 p.m. ET

UCLA’s lone loss of the season came at the hands of the Longhorns, 76-65, back on Nov. 26. The Bruins had a season-high in turnovers (18) and allowed a season-high 16 made free throws in the defeat, so Texas knows what to do to secure another victory. Leaning on All-American Madison Booker is another path to success for UT as she’s shot at least 50 percent from the field in eight straight games.

With Booker leading the way, Texas dominates opponents in the paint, but beyond the arc is an entirely different story. The Longhorns are simply an outlier in today’s era of basketball which is very reliant on the three-point shot. Out of the 363 Division I teams, Texas ranks 360^th in three-point attempts per game and 328th in three-point makes per game. While living inside the arc has worked for UT thus far, if it faces a big deficit, you wonder if it will be capable of overcoming it without a dependable three-point stroke.

Meanwhile, the Bruins have won 29 straight since that early-season loss to Texas. If they can push that streak to 31, UCLA will claim its first-ever NCAA Tournament championship, while the other three participants in the Final Four have a combined 16 titles. The Bruins’ veteran leadership will be key to that happening as UCLA’s six leading scorers are all seniors, including two-time All-American Lauren Betts.

She powers an offense that ranks in the top 10, nationally, in points (84.9), field goal percentage (51.3), three-point percentage (36.8), and assists (22.2). But among the Final Four participants, UCLA’s defense is the weakest. While it is a solid 18th in the country in defensive rating, the other three teams all rank in the top five. The Bruins often treat defensive possessions as simply a time to rest before putting all of their effort into the offensive end. UCLA simply does not pressure opponents and force turnovers, ranking just 279th in college basketball in forcing 14.3 turnovers per game.

This is just the second time in women’s NCAA Tournament history that there is a repeat Final Four. The matchups were different in 2025, but the programs were the same, and it resulted in UConn defeating South Carolina in the title game. Once the dust clears on Friday night, the championship game will take place Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET.