Welcome to Championship Week, basketball fans. This week we'll find out which team will earn her one of 32 guaranteed bids to the NCAA Women's Tournament and earn her ticket to the Big Dance.
The battle continued into the seven-conference final Sunday, with Caitlin Clark starting the game earlier in the day and Iowa State making a furious comeback to defeat Nebraska in the Big Ten title game. It was the Hawkeyes' third consecutive conference tournament victory, and they needed overtime to defeat a lively Nebraska team. Clark finished with 34 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds in the win.
The game continues into the afternoon, with the super-talented Angel Reese appearing in LSU's game against undefeated South Carolina.
Here's the full schedule:
Big Ten: Nebraska vs. Iowa, noon ET.
Southern: UNC Greensboro vs. Chattanooga, noon (ET)
ACC: Notre Dame vs. NC State, 1 p.m. ET.
SEC: LSU vs. South Carolina, 3 p.m. ET.
Atlantic 10: Rhode Island vs. Richmond, 4 p.m. ET.
Pac-12: USC vs. Stanford, 5 p.m. ET.
Big South: Presbyterian vs. Radford, 6 p.m. ET.
To stay up to date on all the major plays, big wins and heartbreaking losses, follow below.
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End of 1st quarter: South Carolina 18, LSU 15
The Tigers grabbed an easy bucket early to take the lead, but the Gamecocks tightened up defensively late in the quarter and went on an 11-2 run to take the lead.
Morrow scored six points and the Tigers jumped out to an early 13-7 lead.
The SEC Championship is underway and the Tigers get on the board first as Aneesa Morrow gets an easy bucket right away. Angel Reese then follows up with her own jumper.
UW has a double-digit lead over Marquette early in the Big East semifinals. Paige Bueckers had nine early points as the Huskies looked to return to the conference tournament finals.
Final: Notre Dame 55, NC State 51
The Irish won the ACC Championship for the first time since 2019! Hannah Hidalgo led the way with 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists.
full box score
Barring a miracle, Ireland look set to walk away with a win here.
This time, Hannah Hidalgo sliced through the North Carolina State defense for a layup!
The Irish tied it on a 3-pointer by Maddie Westbelt. The situation had been tense up until this point. There's just over three minutes left in the ACC title game.
Big win for Iowa. They battled back from a slow start, with star scorer Caitlin Clark overcoming another rough first half. March is all about persevering through this situation in order to achieve victory in the end. Iowa State is a strong candidate for the final No. 1 seed coming into Sunday's selection after Ohio State was eliminated early from the Big Ten Tournament. The Buckeyes held the No. 1 seed in their last release, but lost to Iowa State in the final game of the regular season and to Maryland in the opening game of the Big Ten Tournament.
Finals/OT: Iowa 94, Nebraska 89
The Hawkeyes are Big Ten Tournament champions for the third year in a row. Caitlin Clark led the way with 34 points, 12 assists, and 7 rebounds.
box score
Oh, one more thing! Gabby Marshall comes up wide with a block on the perimeter and hooks the ball. Big late moment from seniors Clark, Marshall and Kate Martin.
Nebraska could make some noise in the NCAA Tournament, especially with this run in the Big Ten. But the difference between a tournament-savvy team like Iowa and a team like Nebraska became apparent in the final minutes of regulation and overtime. There's still plenty of time and it's a four-point game, but Nebraska's turnover could be the deciding factor.
over time! Iowa tied the score on a tough drive by Caitlin Clark with about 30 seconds left, but Nebraska was unable to score on the possession.
There's one big thing about these last five minutes. Iowa State star forward Hannah Stuelke committed his four fouls. She played 37 minutes in the game and earned 23 points.
Nebraska went on an impressive 12-2 run before Caitlin Clark's 3-pointer pulled them back within five points. They are currently on a back-and-forth hunt for the Big Ten Tournament title and Iowa's No. 1 NCAA seed.
Nebraska 69, Iowa 65 (4Q 5:00)
Nebraska State wins with back-to-back three points from Karin Hake and Logan Nissley.
Caitlin Clark achieved her 21st triple-double of the season, and this 3-pointer brings her total to 21 points on the day.
