The first four NCAAW Sweet 16 matchups throughout this year’s NCAA Women’s Tournament took place on Friday.
The Duke Blue Devils, South Carolina Gamecocks, LSU Tigers, and UCLA Bruins advanced to the Elite Eight with spots up for grabs in the Women’s Final Four, which will take place in Tampa, Florida the following weekend.
Fulwiley Impresses South Carolina With Clutch plays
In South Carolina’s close victory over Maryland, sophomore guard MiLaysia Fulwiley made crucial plays in the fourth quarter, including a go-ahead basket that helped secure the win.
MiLaysia Fulwiley today 🔥
• 23 points • 5 rebounds • 3 assists • 9/17 FG
South Carolina advances!
pic.twitter.com/AtIIBSlDrK
— Women’s Hoops Network (@WomensHoops_USA) March 28, 2025
The SEC Sixth Player of the Year contributed significantly for the Gamecocks, finishing the game with 23 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter. Fulwiley’s points total vs. Maryland is a career-high in the NCAA Tournament and was the most by a South Carolina player off the bench since 2000.
“If it’s that kind of game, Lay is the perfect guard that you can call on to manufacture points, and she did that,” South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said Friday. “Everybody just started to flow around her. We haven’t really had to play that way a whole lot, so it was a little bit different but refreshing to know we can call on the youngster, and she can come through for us.”
The South Carolina Gamecocks make their fifth consecutive appearance in the Elite Eight, and will face the Duke Blue Devils. These two teams also faced each other earlier in the season as South Carolina took the win back in December.
Morrow Leads The Tigers And Makes History With A Double-Double
Senior forward Aneesah Morrow leads the LSU Tigers with a dominant performance in the team’s win over the NC State Wolfpack. She had a double-double with 31 points and 19 rebounds while playing 35 minutes of action.
According to ESPN, Morrow surpassed Iowa’s Megan Gustafson by achieving 64 games with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds over the past 25 years. She also became the first player to have at least 30 points and 15 rebounds in the NCAAW Sweet 16 since Stanford’s Nneka Ogwumike in 2010.
Morrow will look to appear in the Women’s Final Four for the first time in her collegiate career since transferring from DePaul nearly two years ago.
With the victory, the LSU Tigers will make their third consecutive appearance in the Elite Eight and face the UCLA Bruins. It will also be a rematch of the 2024 Sweet 16, in which the Tigers eliminated the Bruins.
Betts continues her historic run for the Bruins with a double-double
UCLA Bruins junior center Lauren Betts made history in the team’s 76-62 victory over the Ole Miss Rebels on Friday. She finished with a double-double of 31 points and 10 rebounds.
Betts became the third player to record multiple 30-point and 10-rebound games in a single postseason in the last 25 years. The other two players were Delaware’s Elena Delle Donne in 2012 and Baylor’s Brittney Griner in 2013.
The No. 2 Duke Blue Devils will take on the No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks, followed by the No. 3 LSU Tigers facing the No. 1 UCLA Bruins as Elite Eight matchups will occur on Sunday.
