March Madness is about to begin, and with so many tournaments and championships, it can be hard to keep track of who's in it to win it!
The main event of the season to lots of fans in the sports world is March Madness. More of a reason to be excited is a week filled with women's college basketball. Teams across the United States will compete within Championship Week for one of 31 bids to the 2025 women's NCAA tournament. Champ Week is starting Sunday March 16th, otherwise known as Selection Sunday, where we'll be able to see the teams that will punch their ticket to the bracket and battle for the upcoming March Madness title. With so many teams and conferences, the stakes are high. Who will secure a spot in the bracket? Who will bring it all the way? What could happen after Selection Sunday?
Numerous teams played in their own conference tournaments to see who would punch their way to madness among them all. One of those teams is Duke after a stellar second half comeback from NC State, winning that game 76-62. At first, the Wolfpack stood their ground with a 19-0 lead against the Blue Devils. But that didn't stop them from coming back in the game as their top scorers Ashlon Jackson and Oluchi Okananwa carried their team back. Both of them led with 22 total points during the game, while Jadyn Donovan and Toby Fournier combined for 15 rebounds. All of these highlights and drove their team to victory for the ACC, signing up their 27th appearance in NCAA tournament history, as well as being their third consecutive time to do so. With a second half comeback like that, we are hopeful to see more surprises from the Blue Devils.
This hasn't been the only team with many surprises up their sleeve, as the tournament gives lots of teams chances to play in all the madness for the first time.
Some teams are coming into the game with a first time appearance under their belt, like GCU Antelopes beating the UT Arlington Mavericks in a close score of 65-62. Player Trinity San Antonio scored 19 points, and Laura Erikstrup added 17 points to help the Lopes win the WAC tournament championship game. They have extended their nation's longest and WAC-record win streak to a solid 30 games which is huge for the team. Another team making headlines for a first time appearance is second-seeded George Mason winning the Atlantic 10 tournament championship against No. 4 Saint Joseph's 73-58. Key player Paula Suarez hit 23 points as Zahirah Walton added 19 points to the mix. With amazing luck from George Mason, it also seems the Atlantic 10 conference will be receiving two bids in the tournament this year, with possibilities of taking one from a major conference team.
Going back to some of the major conferences, there's still a lot to think about when it comes to the bracket decisions for the Division 1 women's basketball committee, even though some have already been made. That doesn’t mean though there isn’t more to think about after Selection Sunday: South Carolina, Texas, UCLA, and USC could be some big headliners when the bracket is announced, with UConn being right behind the number one seed. As the final decisions come down, we can't wait to see what all happens during this year's March Madness.
Edited by Elsa Olano
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