2024 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament

The 2024 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament was a 68-team single-elimination tournament to determine the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The 42nd edition of the tournament began on March 20, 2024, and concluded with the championship game on April 7, 2024 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio.

2024 NCAA Division I
women's basketball tournament

Season	2023–24
Teams	68
Finals site	Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Cleveland, Ohio
Champions	South Carolina Gamecocks (3rd title, 3rd title game, 6th Final Four)
Runner-up	Iowa Hawkeyes (2nd title game, 3rd Final Four)
Semifinalists	NC State Wolfpack (2nd Final Four) UConn Huskies (23rd Final Four)
Winning coach	Dawn Staley (3rd title)
MOP	Kamilla Cardoso (South Carolina)
NCAA Division I women's tournaments «2023 2025»

Big South champion Presbyterian, Southland champion Texas A&M–Corpus Christi, WAC champion California Baptist and at-large bid Columbia all made their NCAA tournament debuts. Additionally, Big Sky champion Eastern Washington made its second-ever appearance and first since 1987, Big West champion UC Irvine made its first appearance since 1995 and Sun Belt champion Marshall made its first appearance since 1997. In the championship game, Iowa returned for their second straight appearance while South Carolina entered their third championship game in seven years and became the tenth team in Division I women's tournament history to finish an undefeated season at 38–0.

This was the first time where the top #1 seed won both the Men's & Women's NCAA Tournament since 2012.

Tournament procedure

Further information: NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament § Current tournament format

A total of 68 teams participated in the 2024 tournament, consisting of the 32 conference champions, and 36 "at-large" bids that were determined by the NCAA Selection Committee. The last four at-large teams and teams seeded 65 through 68 overall competed in First Four games, whose winners advanced to the 64-team first round.^[1]

2024 NCAA Tournament schedule and venues

The first two rounds, also referred to as the subregionals, will be played at the sites of the top 16 seeds.

First Four

• March 20–21
• Four of the campuses seeded in the Top 16

Subregionals (First and Second Rounds)

• March 22 and 24 (Fri/Sun)
  • Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, South Carolina (Host: University of South Carolina)
  • Gill Coliseum, Corvallis, Oregon (Host: Oregon State University)
  • Moody Center, Austin, Texas (Host: University of Texas at Austin)
  • Maples Pavilion, Stanford, California (Host: Stanford University)
  • Bramlage Coliseum, Manhattan, Kansas (Host: Kansas State University)
  • Pete Maravich Assembly Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (Host: Louisiana State University)
  • Cassell Coliseum, Blacksburg, Virginia (Host: Virginia Tech)
  • Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio (Host: Ohio State University)
• March 23 and 25 (Sat/Mon)
  • Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Indiana (Host: Indiana University)
  • Purcell Pavilion, Notre Dame, Indiana (Host: University of Notre Dame)
  • McCarthey Athletic Center, Spokane, Washington (Host: Gonzaga University)
  • Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, North Carolina (Host: North Carolina State University)
  • Carver–Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City, Iowa (Host: University of Iowa)
  • Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, California (Host: University of California, Los Angeles)
  • Galen Center, Los Angeles, California (Host: University of Southern California)
  • Harry A. Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, Connecticut (Host: University of Connecticut)

Regional Semifinals and Finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)

• March 29 – April 1
  • Albany Regional, MVP Arena, Albany, New York (Hosts: The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and Siena College)
  • Portland Regional, Moda Center, Portland, Oregon (Host: Oregon State University)

National Semifinals and Championship (Final Four and Championship)

• April 5 and April 7
  • Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland, Ohio (Hosts: Cleveland State University and the Mid-American Conference)

Cleveland hosted the women's Final Four for the second time; the first was in 2007.^[2]

Qualification and selection of teams

Further information: 2024 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament qualifying teams

Automatic qualifiers

The following teams automatically qualified for the 2024 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's tournament.^[a]

Automatic qualifiers

Conference	Team	Record	Appearance	Last bid
America East	Maine	24–9	10th	2019
American	Rice	19–14	4th	2019
Atlantic 10	Richmond	29–5	4th	2005
ACC	Notre Dame	26–6	29th	2023
ASUN	Florida Gulf Coast	29–4	10th	2023
Big 12	Texas	30–4	36th	2023
Big East	UConn	29–5	35th	2023
Big Sky	Eastern Washington	29–5	2nd	1987
Big South	Presbyterian	20–14	1st	Never
Big Ten	Iowa	29–4	30th	2023
Big West	UC Irvine	23–8	2nd	1995
CAA	Drexel	19–14	3rd	2021
CUSA	Middle Tennessee	29–4	21st	2023
Horizon	Green Bay	27–6	19th	2018
Ivy League	Princeton	25–4	11th	2023
MAAC	Fairfield	31–1	6th	2022
MAC	Kent State	21–10	6th	2002
MEAC	Norfolk State	27–5	3rd	2023
Missouri Valley	Drake	29–5	15th	2023
Mountain West	UNLV	30–2	11th	2023
NEC	Sacred Heart	24–9	5th	2023
Ohio Valley	UT Martin[a]	16–16	5th	2014
Pac-12	USC	26–5	18th	2023
Patriot	Holy Cross	20–12	14th	2023
SEC	South Carolina	32–0	20th	2023
Southern	Chattanooga	28–4	17th	2023
Southland	Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	23–8	1st	Never
SWAC	Jackson State	26–6	7th	2022
Summit	South Dakota State	27–5	12th	2023
Sun Belt	Marshall	26–6	2nd	1997
WCC	Portland	21–12	6th	2023
WAC	California Baptist	28–3	1st	Never

1. Southern Indiana defeated UT Martin in the OVC championship. However, due to Southern Indiana's transition from Division II, UT Martin received the OVC's automatic bid.

Bids by state

The sixty-eight teams came from thirty-four states.

Richmond

Notre Dame

Presbyterian

Iowa

UT Martin

USC

South Carolina

Chattanooga

Marshall

UConn

Green Bay

Portland

South Dakota State

Texas

Eastern Washington

Rice

UNLV

Texas A&M–Corpus Christi

Sacred Heart

Maine

Kent State

California Baptist

Fairfield

Norfolk State

Princeton

Jackson State

Middle Tennessee

UC Irvine

Florida Gulf Coast

Stanford

LSU

UCLA

Ohio State

Oregon State

NC State

Virginia Tech

Gonzaga

Oklahoma

Indiana

Utah

Kansas State

Colorado

Syracuse

West Virginia

Duke

Baylor

Louisville

North Carolina

Tennessee

Ole Miss

Creighton

Nebraska

Kansas

Florida State

Alabama

Michigan State

Iowa State

Texas A&M

Marquette

Holy Cross

Drake

Drexel

Maryland

Michigan

Vanderbilt

Columbia

Auburn

Arizona

Participating teams in the 2024 tournament.

Bids	State(s)	Schools
5	California	California Baptist, Stanford, UC Irvine, UCLA, USC
	Tennessee	Chattanooga, Middle Tennessee, Tennessee, UT Martin, Vanderbilt
	Texas	Baylor, Rice, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas A&M–Corpus Christi
3	Connecticut	Fairfield, Sacred Heart, UConn
	Iowa	Drake, Iowa, Iowa State
	North Carolina	Duke, NC State, North Carolina
	Virginia	Norfolk State, Richmond, Virginia Tech
2	Alabama	Alabama, Auburn
	Florida	Florida Gulf Coast, Florida State
	Indiana	Indiana, Notre Dame
	Kansas	Kansas, Kansas State
	Michigan	Michigan, Michigan State
	Mississippi	Jackson State, Ole Miss
	Nebraska	Creighton, Nebraska
	New York	Columbia, Syracuse
	Ohio	Kent State, Ohio State
	Oregon	Oregon State, Portland
	South Carolina	Presbyterian, South Carolina
	Washington	Gonzaga, Eastern Washington
	West Virginia	Marshall, West Virginia
	Wisconsin	Green Bay, Marquette
1	Arizona	Arizona
	Colorado	Colorado
	Kentucky	Louisville
	Louisiana	LSU
	Maine	Maine
	Maryland	Maryland
	Massachusetts	Holy Cross
	Nevada	UNLV
	New Jersey	Princeton
	Oklahoma	Oklahoma
	Pennsylvania	Drexel
	South Dakota	South Dakota State
	Utah	Utah

Bids by conference

Thirty-two conferences earned an automatic bid. In nineteen cases, the automatic bid was the only representative from the conference. Thirty-six additional at-large teams were selected from twelve of the conferences.

Bids	Conference	Teams
8	Atlantic Coast	Duke, Florida State, Louisville, North Carolina, NC State, Notre Dame, Syracuse, Virginia Tech
8	Southeastern	Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt
7	Big 12	Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Texas, West Virginia
7	Big Ten	Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Ohio State
7	Pac-12	Arizona, Colorado, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Utah
3	Big East	Creighton, Marquette, UConn
2	Ivy	Columbia, Princeton
2	West Coast	Gonzaga, Portland
1	America East	Maine
1	American	Rice
1	Atlantic 10	Richmond
1	Atlantic Sun	Florida Gulf Coast
1	Big Sky	Eastern Washington
1	Big South	Presbyterian
1	Big West	UC Irvine
1	Coastal	Drexel
1	Conference USA	Middle Tennessee
1	Horizon	Green Bay
1	Metro Atlantic	Fairfield
1	Mid-American	Kent State
1	Mid-Eastern	Norfolk State
1	Missouri Valley	Drake
1	Mountain West	UNLV
1	Northeast	Sacred Heart
1	Ohio Valley	UT Martin
1	Patriot	Holy Cross
1	Southern	Chattanooga
1	Southland	Texas A&M–Corpus Christi
1	Southwestern	Jackson State
1	Summit	South Dakota State
1	Sun Belt	Marshall
1	Western Athletic	California Baptist

Seeds

The tournament seeds and regions were determined through the NCAA basketball tournament selection process and were published by the selection committee after the brackets were released on March 17.

Albany Regional 1 – MVP Arena, Albany, NY Seed School Conference Record Overall seed Berth type Last bid 1 South Carolina SEC 32–0 Automatic 2023 2 Notre Dame ACC 26–6 Automatic 2023 3 Oregon State Pac-12 24–7 At-large 2021 4 Indiana Big Ten 24–5 At-large 2023 5 Oklahoma Big 12 22–9 At-large 2023 6 Nebraska Big Ten 22–11 At-large 2022 7 Ole Miss SEC 23–8 At-large 2023 8 North Carolina ACC 19–12 At-large 2023 9 Michigan State Big Ten 22–8 At-large 2021 10 Marquette Big East 23–8 At-large 2023 11 Texas A&M SEC 19–12 At-large 2021 12 Florida Gulf Coast ASUN 29–4 Automatic 2023 13 Fairfield MAAC 31–1 Automatic 2022 14 Eastern Washington Big Sky 29–5 Automatic 1987 15 Kent State MAC 21–10 Automatic 2002 16* Sacred Heart Northeast 24–9 Automatic 2023 Presbyterian Big South 20–14 Automatic Never

Portland Regional 4 – Moda Center, Portland, Oregon Seed School Conference Record Overall seed Berth type Last bid 1 Texas Big 12 30–4 Automatic 2023 2 Stanford Pac-12 28–5 At-large 2023 3 NC State ACC 27–6 At-large 2023 4 Gonzaga WCC 30–3 At-large 2023 5 Utah Pac-12 22–10 At-large 2023 6 Tennessee SEC 19–12 At-large 2023 7 Iowa State Big 12 20–11 At-large 2022 8 Alabama SEC 23–9 At-large 2023 9 Florida State ACC 23–10 At-large 2023 10 Maryland Big Ten 19–13 At-large 2023 11 Green Bay Horizon 27–6 Automatic 2018 12 South Dakota State Summit 27–5 Automatic 2023 13 UC Irvine Big West 23–8 Automatic 1995 14 Chattanooga Southern 28–4 Automatic 2023 15 Norfolk State MEAC 27–5 Automatic 2023 16 Drexel Coastal 19–14 Automatic 2021

Albany Regional 2 – MVP Arena, Albany, NY Seed School Conference Record Overall seed Berth type Last bid 1 Iowa Big Ten 29–4 Automatic 2023 2 UCLA Pac-12 25–6 At-large 2023 3 LSU SEC 28–5 At-large 2023 4 Kansas State Big 12 25–7 At-large 2022 5 Colorado Pac-12 22–9 At-large 2023 6 Louisville ACC 24–9 At-large 2023 7 Creighton Big East 25–5 At-large 2023 8 West Virginia Big 12 24–7 At-large 2023 9 Princeton Ivy League 25–4 Automatic 2023 10 UNLV Mountain West 30–2 Automatic 2023 11 Middle Tennessee C-USA 29–4 Automatic 2023 12 Drake Missouri Valley 29–5 Automatic 2023 13 Portland WCC 21–12 Automatic 2023 14 Rice American 19–14 Automatic 2019 15 California Baptist WAC 28–3 Automatic Never 16* Holy Cross Patriot 20–12 Automatic 2023 UT Martin Ohio Valley 16–16 Automatic 2014

Portland Regional 3 – Moda Center, Portland, Oregon Seed School Conference Record Overall seed Berth type Last bid 1 USC Pac-12 26–5 Automatic 2023 2 Ohio State Big Ten 25–5 At-large 2023 3 UConn Big East 29–5 Automatic 2023 4 Virginia Tech ACC 24–7 At-large 2023 5 Baylor Big 12 24–7 At-large 2023 6 Syracuse ACC 23–7 At-large 2021 7 Duke ACC 20–11 At-large 2023 8 Kansas Big 12 19–12 At-large 2022 9 Michigan Big Ten 20–13 At-large 2023 10 Richmond Atlantic 10 29–5 Automatic 2005 11* Auburn SEC 20–11 At-large 2019 Arizona Pac-12 17–15 At-large 2023 12* Vanderbilt SEC 22–9 At-large 2014 Columbia Ivy League 23–6 At-large Never 13 Marshall Sun Belt 26–6 Automatic 1997 14 Jackson State SWAC 26–6 Automatic 2022 15 Maine America East 24–9 Automatic 2019 16 Texas A&M–Corpus Christi Southland 23–8 Automatic Never

*See First Four
Source:

Tournament bracket

All times are listed in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4)

First Four

The First Four games involve eight teams: the four lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers and the four lowest-seeded at-large teams.

	March 20 – Albany Regional 1 Columbia, South Carolina
	16	Sacred Heart	42
	16	Presbyterian	49

	March 21 – Portland Regional 3 Storrs, Connecticut
	11	Auburn	59
	11	Arizona	69

	March 21 – Albany Regional 2 Iowa City, Iowa
	16	Holy Cross	72
	16	UT Martin	45

	March 20 – Portland Regional 3 Blacksburg, Virginia
	12	Vanderbilt	72
	12	Columbia	68

Albany regional 1 – Albany, NY

	First round Round of 64 March 22–23					Second round Round of 32 March 24–25					Regional semifinals Sweet 16 March 29					Regional Final Elite 8 March 31
	1	South Carolina	91
	16	Presbyterian	39
						1	South Carolina	88
	Columbia, South Carolina – Fri/Sun
						8	North Carolina	41
	8	North Carolina	59
	9	Michigan State	56
											1	South Carolina	79
											4	Indiana	75
	5	Oklahoma	73
	12	Florida Gulf Coast	70
						5	Oklahoma	68
	Bloomington, Indiana – Sat/Mon
						4	Indiana	75
	4	Indiana	89
	13	Fairfield	56
																1	South Carolina	70
																3	Oregon State	58
	6	Nebraska	61
	11	Texas A&M	59
						6	Nebraska	51
	Corvallis, Oregon – Fri/Sun
						3	Oregon State	61
	3	Oregon State	73
	14	Eastern Washington	51
											3	Oregon State	70
											2	Notre Dame	65
	7	Ole Miss	67
	10	Marquette	55
						7	Ole Miss	56
	Notre Dame, Indiana – Sat/Mon
						2	Notre Dame	71
	2	Notre Dame	81
	15	Kent State	67

Albany regional 1 final

ABC

March 31 1:00 p.m. EDT

No. 1 South Carolina 70, No. 3 Oregon State 58
Scoring by quarter: 18—14, 19–19, 21—13, 12–12
Pts: Tessa Johnson (15) Rebs: Ashlyn Watkins (14) Asts: Raven Johnson (6)		Pts: Raegan Beers (16) Rebs: Timea Gardiner (12) Asts: Tied (5)

MVP Arena – Albany, NY Attendance: 13,568 Referees: Felicia Grinter, Talisa Green, Tyler Trimble

Albany regional 1 all-tournament team

• Kamilla Cardoso (MOP) – South Carolina
• Raven Johnson – South Carolina
• Raegan Beers – Oregon State
• Timea Gardiner – Oregon State
• Sydney Parrish – Indiana

Portland regional 4 – Portland, OR

	First round Round of 64 March 22–23					Second round Round of 32 March 24–25					Regional semifinals Sweet 16 March 29					Regional Final Elite 8 March 31
	1	Texas	82
	16	Drexel	42
						1	Texas	65
	Austin, Texas – Fri/Sun
						8	Alabama	54
	8	Alabama	82
	9	Florida State	74
											1	Texas	69
											4	Gonzaga	47
	5	Utah	68
	12	South Dakota State	54
						5	Utah	66
	Spokane, Washington – Sat/Mon
						4	Gonzaga	77
	4	Gonzaga	75
	13	UC Irvine	56
																1	Texas	66
																3	NC State	76
	6	Tennessee	92
	11	Green Bay	63
						6	Tennessee	72
	Raleigh, North Carolina – Sat/Mon
						3	NC State	79
	3	NC State	64
	14	Chattanooga	45
											3	NC State	77
											2	Stanford	67
	7	Iowa State	93
	10	Maryland	86
						7	Iowa State	81
	Stanford, California – Fri/Sun
						2	Stanford	87OT
	2	Stanford	79
	15	Norfolk State	50

Portland 4 regional final

ABC

March 31 3:00 p.m. EDT

No. 1 Texas 66, No. 3 NC State 76
Scoring by quarter: 14–19, 17–24, 17–14, 18–19
Pts: Booker (17) Rebs: Moore (9) Asts: Booker (5)		Pts: James (27) Rebs: James (6) Asts: Rivers (5)

Moda Center – Portland, OR Referees: In'Fini Robinson, Katie Lukanich, Gina Cross

Portland 4 regional all-tournament team

• Aziaha James (MOP) – NC State
• Saniya Rivers – NC State
• Aaliyah Moore – Texas
• Shay Holle – Texas
• Kiki Iriafen – Stanford

Albany regional 2 – Albany, New York

	First round Round of 64 March 22–23					Second round Round of 32 March 24–25					Regional semifinals Sweet 16 March 30					Regional Final Elite 8 April 1
	1	Iowa	91
	16	Holy Cross	65
						1	Iowa	64
	Iowa City, Iowa – Sat/Mon
						8	West Virginia	54
	8	West Virginia	63
	9	Princeton	53
											1	Iowa	89
											5	Colorado	68
	5	Colorado	86
	12	Drake	72
						5	Colorado	63
	Manhattan, Kansas – Fri/Sun
						4	Kansas State	50
	4	Kansas State	78
	13	Portland	65
																1	Iowa	94
																3	LSU	87
	6	Louisville	69
	11	Middle Tennessee	71
						11	Middle Tennessee	56
	Baton Rouge, Louisiana – Fri/Sun
						3	LSU	83
	3	LSU	70
	14	Rice	60
											3	LSU	78
											2	UCLA	69
	7	Creighton	87
	10	UNLV	73
						7	Creighton	63
	Los Angeles, California – Sat/Mon
						2	UCLA	67
	2	UCLA	84
	15	California Baptist	55

Albany regional 2 final

ESPN

April 1 7:15 p.m. EDT

No. 1 Iowa 94, No. 3 LSU 87
Scoring by quarter: 26–31, 19–14, 24–13, 25–29
Pts: Clark (41) Rebs: Clark (7) Asts: Clark (12)		Pts: Johnson (23) Rebs: Reese (20) Asts: Reese (4)

MVP Arena – Albany, New York

Albany regional 2 all-tournament team

• Caitlin Clark (MOP) – Iowa
• Lauren Betts – UCLA
• Angel Reese – LSU
• Flau'jae Johnson – LSU
• Sydney Affolter – Iowa

Portland regional 3 – Portland, Oregon

	First round Round of 64 March 22–23					Second round Round of 32 March 24–25					Regional semifinals Sweet 16 March 30					Regional Final Elite 8 April 1
	1	USC	87
	16	Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	55
						1	USC	73
	Los Angeles, California – Sat/Mon
						8	Kansas	55
	8	Kansas	81OT
	9	Michigan	72
											1	USC	74
											5	Baylor	70
	5	Baylor	80
	12	Vanderbilt	63
						5	Baylor	75
	Blacksburg, Virginia – Fri/Sun
						4	Virginia Tech	72
	4	Virginia Tech	92
	13	Marshall	49
																1	USC	73
																3	UConn	80
	6	Syracuse	74
	11	Arizona	69
						6	Syracuse	64
	Storrs, Connecticut – Sat/Mon
						3	UConn	72
	3	UConn	86
	14	Jackson State	64
											3	UConn	53
											7	Duke	45
	7	Duke	72
	10	Richmond	61
						7	Duke	75
	Columbus, Ohio – Fri/Sun
						2	Ohio State	63
	2	Ohio State	80
	15	Maine	57

Portland regional 3 final

ESPN

April 1 9:15 p.m. EDT

No. 1 USC Trojans 73, No. 3 UConn Huskies 80
Scoring by quarter: 17–15, 16–18, 18–22, 22–25
Pts: JuJu Watkins (29) Rebs: Rayah Marshall (11) Asts: McKenzie Forbes (3)		Pts: Paige Bueckers (28) Rebs: Paige Bueckers (10) Asts: Nika Mühl (8)

Moda Center – Portland, Oregon Attendance: 10,869 Referees: Maj Forsberg, Kyle Bacon, Brian Hall

Portland regional 3 all-tournament team

• Paige Bueckers (MOP) – UConn
• Rayah Marshall – USC
• McKenzie Forbes – USC
• JuJu Watkins – USC
• Aaliyah Edwards – UConn

Final Four – Cleveland, Ohio

	National Semifinals Final Four Friday, April 5					National Championship Game Sunday, April 7
	A1(1)	South Carolina	78
	P4(3)	NC State	59
						A1(1)	South Carolina	87
						A2(1)	Iowa	75
	A2(1)	Iowa	71
	P3(3)	UConn	69

National semifinals

ESPN

April 5 7:00 p.m. EDT

A1 South Carolina Gamecocks 78, P4 NC State Wolfpack 59
Scoring by quarter: 16–16, 16–15, 29–6, 17–22
Pts: Kamilla Cardoso (22) Rebs: Ashlyn Watkins (20) Asts: Te-Hina Paopao (6)		Pts: Aziaha James (20) Rebs: River Baldwin (9) Asts: Tied (2)

Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse – Cleveland, Ohio Referees: Eric Brewton, Melissa Barlow, Tiffany Bird

ESPN

April 5 9:30 p.m. EDT

A2 Iowa Hawkeyes 71, P3 UConn Huskies 69
Scoring by quarter: 14–19, 12–13, 25–19, 20–18
Pts: Hannah Stuelke (23) Rebs: Caitlin Clark (9) Asts: Caitlin Clark (7)		Pts: Tied (17) Rebs: Aaliyah Edwards (8) Asts: Nika Mühl (7)

Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse – Cleveland, Ohio Attendance: 18,284 Referees: Roy Gulbeyan, Gina Cross, Katie Lukanich

National championship

Main article: 2024 NCAA Division I women's basketball championship game

ABC, ESPN

April 7, 2024 3:00 p.m. EDT

A1 South Carolina Gamecocks 87, A2 Iowa Hawkeyes 75
Scoring by quarter: 20–27, 29–19, 19–13, 19–16
Pts: Tessa Johnson (19) Rebs: Kamilla Cardoso (17) Asts: MiLaysia Fulwiley (4)		Pts: Caitlin Clark (30) Rebs: Caitlin Clark (8) Asts: Caitlin Clark (5)

Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse – Cleveland, Ohio

Final Four all-tournament team

• Kamilla Cardoso (MOP) – South Carolina
• Tessa Johnson – South Carolina
• Caitlin Clark – Iowa
• Hannah Stuelke – Iowa
• Paige Bueckers – UConn

Record by conference

Conference	Bids	Record	Win %	FF	R64	R32	S16	E8	F4	CG	NC
Southeastern	8	13–7	.650	2	7	5	2	2	1	1	1
Big Ten	7	9–7	.563	–	7	4	2	1	1	1	–
Big East	3	5–3	.625	–	3	2	1	1	1	–	–
Atlantic Coast	8	11–8	.579	–	8	6	3	1	1	–	–
Pac-12	7	14–7	.667	1	7	6	5	2	–	–	–
Big 12	7	10–7	.588	–	7	7	2	1	–	–	–
West Coast	2	2–2	.500	–	2	1	1	–	–	–	–
CUSA	1	1–1	.500	–	1	1	–	–	–	–	–
Big South	1	1–1	.500	1	1	–	–	–	–	–	–
Patriot	1	1–1	.500	1	1	–	–	–	–	–	–
America East	1	0–1	.000	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–
American	1	0–1	.000	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–
Atlantic 10	1	0–1	.000	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–
ASUN	1	0–1	.000	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–
Big Sky	1	0–1	.000	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–
Big West	1	0–1	.000	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–
CAA	1	0–1	.000	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–
Horizon	1	0–1	.000	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–
Ivy League	2	0–2	.000	1	1	–	–	–	–	–	–
MAAC	1	0–1	.000	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–
MAC	1	0–1	.000	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–
MEAC	1	0–1	.000	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–
Missouri Valley	1	0–1	.000	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–
Mountain West	1	0–1	.000	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–
Southern	1	0–1	.000	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–
Southland	1	0–1	.000	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–
SWAC	1	0–1	.000	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–
Summit	1	0–1	.000	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–
Sun Belt	1	0–1	.000	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–
WAC	1	0–1	.000	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–
Northeast	1	0–1	.000	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Ohio Valley	1	0–1	.000	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

• The FF, R64, R32, S16, E8, F4, CG, and NC columns indicate how many teams from each conference were in the first four, round of 64 (first round), round of 32 (second round), Sweet 16, Elite Eight, Final Four, championship game, and national champion, respectively.

Game summaries and tournament notes

Tournament upsets

Per the NCAA, an upset occurs "when the losing team in an NCAA tournament game was seeded at least five seed lines better than the winning team."^[3]

Round	Albany	Portland	Albany	Portland
First round	None	None	No. 11 Middle Tennessee defeated No. 6 Louisville, 71–69	None
Second round	None	None	None	No. 7 Duke defeated No. 2 Ohio State, 75–63
Sweet 16	None	None	None	None
Elite 8	None	None	None	None
Final 4	None
National championship	None

Tournament records

Game officials

Media coverage

Most watched tournament games

(#) Tournament seedings and region in parentheses.

The Albany 2 regional final between Iowa and LSU, a rematch of the previous year's national championship game drew the largest audience ever for a women's college basketball game as well as the most watched college basketball game in the 45-year history of ESPN.^[4] The record would last only a few days, as Iowa's national semifinal match with Connecticut averaged the most viewers for a basketball game at any level on ESPN.^{[5][failed verification]} The Championship game again broke this record, with it becoming the most watched basketball game (including the NBA) since 2019 and the most watched basketball game to air outside of prime-time since the Fab Five played in the men's Final Four in 1992.^[6]

Rank	Round	Date and Time (ET)	Matchup	Network	Viewers (millions)	TV rating
1	Championship Game	April 7 3:00 p.m.	(A2-1)Iowa vs. (A1-1)South Carolina	ABC	18.89[6]	9.3
1	Final Four	April 5 9:30 p.m.	(A2-1)Iowa vs. (P3-3)UConn	ESPN	14.2[5]
2	Elite 8	April 1 7:12 p.m.	(1)Iowa vs. (3)LSU (Albany 2)		12.3[7]
3	Final Four	April 5 7 p.m.	(A1-1)South Carolina vs. (P4-3)NC State		7.1[8]
4	Sweet 16	March 30 3:50 p.m.	(1)Iowa vs. (5)Colorado (Albany 2)	ABC	6.9[9]	3.6

Television

ESPN broadcast each game of the tournament across either ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, or ABC. For the second consecutive season, the national championship game aired on ABC.^[10][11]

ESPN's The Pat McAfee Show broadcast live from Iowa City for the Iowa Hawkeyes' first-round game.^[12] ESPN provided Megacast coverage during the Final Four and national championship games, with the Bird & Taurasi Show alternate broadcast with Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi returning on ESPN2 and ESPN during the Final Four and national championship respectively, and the "Beyond the Rim" (additional statistics) and rail cam feeds available on ESPN+.^[13]

Studio host and analysts

• Elle Duncan (host) (first four, first/second rounds, regionals, Final Four, and national championship)
• Kelsey Riggs (host) (first/second rounds)
• Rebecca Lobo (analyst) (first four, and first/second rounds)
• Andraya Carter (analyst) (first four, first/second rounds, regionals, Final Four and national championship)
• Chiney Ogwumike (analyst) (first/second rounds, regionals, Final Four and national championship)
• Carolyn Peck (analyst) (Final Four and national championship)
• Nikki Fargas (analyst) (first/second rounds)
• Aliyah Boston (analyst) (Final Four and national championship)
• Lisa Mattingly (rules analyst) (first four, first/second rounds, regionals, Final Four, and national championship)
• Denny Meyer (rules analyst) (Final Four and national championship)

Commentary teams

First Four[14] Courtney Lyle and Carolyn Peck – Columbia, South Carolina Pam Ward and Christy Winters-Scott – Storrs, Connecticut Beth Mowins, Stephanie White, and Holly Rowe – Iowa City, Iowa Jay Alter and Kelly Gramlich – Blacksburg, Virginia First & second rounds Friday/Sunday (Subregionals)[14] Courtney Lyle and Carolyn Peck – Columbia, South Carolina Jason Ross Jr. and Aja Ellison – Corvallis, Oregon Tiffany Greene and Jimmy Dykes – Austin, Texas Roy Philpott and Brooke Weisbrod – Stanford, California Brenda VanLengen and Holly Warlick – Manhattan, Kansas Dave O'Brien and Christy Thomaskutty – Baton Rouge, Louisiana Jay Alter and Kelly Gramlich – Blacksburg, Virginia Matt Schumacker and Meghan McKeown – Columbus, Ohio First & second rounds Saturday/Monday (Subregionals)[14] Angel Gray and Andrea Lloyd-Curry – Bloomington, Indiana Sam Gore and Tamika Catchings – Notre Dame, Indiana Ann Schatz and Mike Thibault – Spokane, Washington Eric Frede and Steffi Sorensen – Raleigh, North Carolina Beth Mowins, Stephanie White, and Holly Rowe – Iowa City, Iowa Kevin Fitzgerald and Kim Adams – Los Angeles, California (UCLA) Elise Woodward and Mary Murphy – Los Angeles, California (USC) Pam Ward and Christy Winters-Scott – Storrs, Connecticut

Regionals (Sweet 16 and Elite Eight)[15] Pam Ward, Stephanie White, and Holly Rowe – Albany, New York (Regional 1 – Sweet 16 games only) Courtney Lyle, Carolyn Peck, and Brooke Weisbrod – Portland, Oregon (Regional 4) Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo, and Holly Rowe – Albany, New York (Regional 2 – Sweet 16/Regionals 1 & 2 – Elite Eight) Beth Mowins, Debbie Antonelli, and Angel Gray – Portland, Oregon (Regional 3) Final Four and National Championship[16] Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo, and Holly Rowe – Cleveland, Ohio

Radio

Westwood One will serve as radio broadcaster of the tournament.

Regionals (Sweet 16 and Elite Eight)

• Sam Neidermann and Isis Young – Albany, New York 1
• Troy Clardy and Debbie Antonelli – Portland, Oregon 4
• Lance Medow and Kim Adams – Albany, New York 2
• Matt Chazanow and Krista Blunk – Portland, Oregon 3

Final Four and National Championship

• Ryan Radtke, Debbie Antonelli, and Ros Gold-Onwude – Cleveland, Ohio

See also

• 2024 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
• 2024 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament
• 2024 NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament
• 2024 NAIA women's basketball tournament

References

1. "Expansion of 2022 DI women's basketball tournament to 68 teams approved". ncaa.com. 2018-11-17. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
2. "Women's Final Four: Future dates & sites". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
3. Wittry, Andy (March 15, 2023). "Here's how to pick March Madness men's upsets, according to the data". NCAA. Archived from the original on March 12, 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-12.
4. ESPN News Services (April 3, 2024). "Iowa-LSU sets women's NCAA hoops ratings record with 12.3M viewers". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
5. "Nearly 19 million for South Carolina-Iowa women's title game". ESPN.com. Associated Press. 6 April 2024. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
6. Lewis, Jon (2024-04-08). "South Carolina-Iowa women's final is top hoops game in five years". Sports Media Watch. Retrieved 2024-04-08.
7. Lewis, Jon (3 April 2024). "Monday (4/1) sports viewership: Record Iowa-LSU rematch dominates". Sports Media Watch. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
8. "Ratings - NCAA Semifinals on ESPN Shatter Viewership Records - UConn-Iowa Delivers 14.2 Million Viewers, Friday's NCAA Women's Final Four Scores Average Audience of 10.8 Million | TheFutonCritic.com". www.thefutoncritic.com. Retrieved 2024-04-08.
9. Lewis, Jon (2 April 2024). "Saturday (3/30) sports ratings: March Madness, MLB, UFL and more". Sports Media Watch. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
10. "ESPN acquires NCAA rights for US$500 million". SportsPro Media. April 2, 2012. Retrieved 2021-04-06.
11. "Calling on Cleveland: ESPN Is the Exclusive Home of NCAA March Madness Women's Basketball for the 29th Year". ESPN Press Room U.S. 2024-03-17. Retrieved 2024-03-17.
12. "The Pat McAfee Show and WWE champion Roman Reigns are heading to Iowa City on March 22". Iowa City Press-Citizen. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
13. Lucia, Joe (2024-04-04). "'The Bird & Taurasi Show' highlights ESPN's MegaCast Final Four broadcasts". Awful Announcing. Retrieved 2024-04-08.
14. "ESPN Announces Commentator Pairings for Exclusive Coverage of NCAA March Madness Women's Basketball". ESPN Press Room U.S. 2024-03-18. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
15. "NCAA Women's March Madness Marches On Across ESPN Platforms". ESPN Press Room U.S. 2024-03-18. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
16. "Calling on Cleveland! ESPN's MegaCast Presentation of the 2024 NCAA Women's Final Four Tips Off Friday, April 5". ESPN Press Room U.S. 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03.

External links

• NCAA Women's Basketball Division I