Women's March Madness 2026: South Carolina and Texas reach all-top seed Final Four

FINAL: South Carolina 78 -- TCU 52

No. 1 South Carolina is on to the Final Four for the sixth year in a row after a xxx-point win over No. 3 TCU in their Elite Eight matchup in Sacramento on Monday. The Gamecocks will face No. 1 UConn in Phoenix on Friday in a rematch of last season's national championship game, which ended in a 23-point loss for Dawn Staley's bunch. 

South Carolina fell behind by eight in the opening minutes, but regrouped to take the lead by the end of the first quarter. The next two frames weren't pretty, but they were able to keep TCU at an arm's length. Then, in the fourth quarter, the Gamecocks finally found their groove and pulled away for a 26-point win. 

All-American forward Joyce Edwards scored 24 points -- her 22nd 20-point game of the season, which tied a program record -- and added 12 rebounds, two assists and three blocks to lead the way for the Gamecocks. Freshman Agot Makeer had the game of her life and added 18 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals off the bench. 

This was the end of the road for Olivia Miles and the Horned Frogs, who matched the program's best-ever finish with an Elite Eight appearance. Miles, who dealt with an apparent cramping issue in the second half, finished with 18 points and six assists, but had a rough shooting night (8 of 20). 

South Carolina has started the fourth quarter on a 10-0 run to push their lead up to 18 with seven minutes remaining. It's hard to see how TCU comes back from this sort of deficit considering they've only scored 41 points thus far. Just been too hard for them to score tonight

TCU star Olivia Miles went down, but the injury scare was short-lived. After getting massaged by the athletic trainers and hydrating on the bench, Miles is back on the court for the fourth quarter against South Carolina. 

Neither team could get much going in the third quarter, which finished all even at 14-14. South Carolina is up eight heading into the fourth quarter and is in control of the game, but their grasp feels a bit tenuous. 

TCU is still right in this pending Olivia Miles' health. Their star point guard hobbled off the court late in the third and was getting attention on the bench. Appeared to be a possible cramping issue. She has 18 points and five assists; no one else on TCU has more than seven points

TCU star Olivia Miles just drove in for a layup to cut the deficit to eight points late in the third and immediately collapsed to the floor. She hobbled off onto the area behind the bench and was having her calf massaged with a massage gun. Hopefully just a cramping issue

After limping off the court during the first half, TCU forward Marta Suarez was walking normal while warming up with the team before the third quarter. Suarez registered five points, five rebounds, one assist and one steal in the first half. 

South Carolina controlled the second quarter and will enter the half with an eight-point lead after Joyce Edwards hit a mid-range jumper just before the buzzer. The All-American has been terrific tonight and is now up to 14 points, six rebounds and three blocks. 

The Gamecocks also got two huge 3-pointers from Raven Johnson in the second quarter. The senior guard has added 10 points and four assists. 

Olivia Miles has 11 points and three assists, but is only shooting 4 of 11. No one else on TCU has more than five points. Also, will have to keep an eye on Marta Suarez. She hobbled off the floor late in the second quarter. 

Joyce Edwards has been awesome in the first half. She's on a personal 6-0 that has put the Gamecocks back in front after an early Horned Frogs run to start the second quarter, and is up to 12 points, five rebounds and three blocks on 6 of 8 from the field. Showing why she was a Second Team AP All-American this season

South Carolina fell behind by eight in the opening minutes -- their first deficit of any kind in the tournament -- but quickly regrouped and closed the first quarter on a 12-2 run to take a two-point lead. The Gamecocks started 0 of 5 from the field, but went 8 of 12 after that. 

Joyce Edwards has six points, four rebounds and three blocks already to lead the way for the Gamecocks, while Olivia Miles has seven points for the Horned Frogs. 

South Carolina cruised to the Elite Eight without falling behind at any point of their first three games. They immediately went behind against TCU, however, due to a 3 of 9 start from the field. The Gamecocks' offense will have to get going here if they want to keep up with the Horned Frogs' high-powered attack led by Olivia Miles. 

Olivia Miles just picked up her second foul early in the first quarter. Mark Campbell is going to leave her in the game, but you have to imagine this is going to change her aggressiveness on both ends. TCU is no a deep team and relies heavily on Miles to run their offense

The two had quite the embrace at the buzzer. What a ride for the point guard and her coach, and it is not over yet.  Also so cool to see the legend Jody Conradt, who coached Texas to the 1986 championship, celebrating on the court with the players.

FINAL: Texas 77 -- Michigan 41

No. 1 Texas is heading back to the Final Four after a historic win over No. 2 Michigan in their Elite Eight matchup in Fort Worth on Monday. The Longhorns' 36-point win is tied for the third-largest in the history of the Elite Eight. They will play No. 1 UCLA, whom they beat back in November, in Phoenix on Friday night. 

Texas made its first nine shots from the field to build a double-digit lead and never looked back. They were ice cold in the second quarter and got off to a slow start in the third, but caught fire again after that. Plus, their defensive effort ensured that Michigan never had a chance to get back in the game. The Longhorns held the Wolverines to a season-low 41 points on 13 of 57 (23%) shooting. 

Madison Booker led the Longhorns with 19 points and seven rebounds on 9 of 13 from the field, while Rori Harmon put up seven points, seven rebounds and 13 assists and Kyla Oldacre added a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double off the bench. 

The Longhorns have started the fourth quarter on a 14-0 run to push their lead up to 40 in the middle of the fourth quarter. Just a disastrous offensive showing by Michigan, which is now 9 of 47 (19%) from the field. This one is over. Just a matter of the final margin at this point. 

Even though Texas is up by 30 with under eight minutes to go,  Vic Schaefer is anything but relaxed. When Syla Swords took that wide open 3-pointer, which she missed, Schaefer screamed "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" while it was in the air. 

When the center drew a foul on Mila Holloway, it absolutely electrified the crowd. The fans here at Dickies Arena were as loud as I have heard them all regional. Michigan's young team looked pretty rattled by it. These Texas fans are ready to see their team make consecutive Final Fours -- quite a feat following a 22-year drought. 

The Longhorns got off to another slow start in the third quarter, but after missing their first seven shots their offense kicked into gear. They won the frame 21-8 to build a 26-point lead heading into the fourth quarter and are 10 minutes away from back-to-back Final Four appearances. 

Madison Booker is up to 19 points and seven rebounds on 8 of 13 from the field, while Rori Harmon is flirting with a triple-double: seven points, seven rebounds and 10 assists. 

As a team, Michigan is shooting 9 of 42 from the field, including 2 of 11 from 3-point range. 

Texas had a blistering start to the game, but their shooting has fallen off a cliff. The Longhorns have hit only 4 of their last 24 shots and are a brutal 0-9 from three-point range. Guard Jordan Lee has been the worst offender, hitting only 2-of-12 shots and whiffing on seven three-pointers. 

Starting point guard Rori Harmon sat for much of the second quarter, but coach Vic Schaefer needs more than three shot attempts from the star senior. 

The second quarter was a rough display of basketball from both teams. Texas shot 4 of 17 from the field and Michigan shot 4 of 16. Perhaps it's fitting, then, that they managed an identical 12 points. As a result, the Longhorns are still up by 13 heading into the intermission. 

Madison Booker has 15 points on 6 of 9 from the field to lead the way for the Longhorns, while Syla Swords has a team-high eight for the Wolverines. 

All things considered, a 13-point deficit isn't that bad for Michigan, but they have a lot of work to do in the second half. 

Texas has really cooled off offensively in the second quarter, but Michigan hasn't been able to take advantage because they've been just as bad. In fact, despite shooting 2 of 11 over the first five minutes of the frame, Texas has actually extended its lead to 15. 

For the game, Michigan is shooting 5 of 25 from the field, and has nearly as many turnovers (four) as made baskets. 

It was all Texas in the first quarter. The Longhorns shot an incredible 11 of 12 and have jumped out to a 13-point lead after the opening 10 minutes. All five starters have scored, with Madison Booker and Breya Cunningham leading the way with six points a piece. 

On the other end, the Longhorns have held the Wolverines to 3 of 17 from the field. If there's any silver lining for Michigan, it's that they fell behind by double digits early against Louisville in the Sweet 16 and were able to turn that game around. It won't be as easy to do so against Texas, though. 

Texas wing Madison Booker made some early mistake, losing her handle and getting pressured into a double-dribble, but she's recovered nicely since then. Booker came off a baseline screen and hit a jumper that looked an awful lot like another Texas No. 35 and hit another pull-up in transition. She also had a strong drive to the basket to give her six early points against the Wolverines. 

The Longhorns have come out all over the young Michigan Wolverines, hitting their first nine shots to take a commanding 18-4 lead with 3:44 still remaining in the first quarter. The Longhorns are well on their way to returning to the Final Four. 

The Longhorns have been dominant in the tournament, and if the first few minutes of Monday's Elite Eight matchup are any indication, they're on their way to another comfortable win. They're a perfect 6 of 6 from the field and have already built a double-digit lead at the under-five timeout in the first quarter.