Women’s March Madness Recap 3/24/23

Rounds one and two of the women’s March Madness tournament brought a number of upsets, some a close one or two-point game, while others had a bit more breathing room. We saw two number-one seeds go down thanks to tremendous performances by the stars on the underdog teams. 

In round one, we saw Mississippi State upset Creighton 81-66. Mississippi State started their tournament run by winning a First Four game against Illinois; they went on to play Notre Dame in the second round but saw their run come to an end with a 53-48 loss. 

Then we have Georgia, who upset Florida State 68-54 in the first round but came up short to Iowa in round two, losing 74-66. Miami (FL) upset Oklahoma State 62-61 in a nail-biter and then went on to pull up one of the biggest upsets of the tournament so far in the second round by taking down the Greenville 2 region number one seed Indiana 70-68. Their performance and the upcoming matchup will be highlighted later in the article. 

FGCU took on Washington State in the first round and won 74-63 and then were faced with the tough task of keeping Maddy Siegrist at bay in round two. They came up unsuccessful and lost 76-57 to Villanova. Princeton upset NC State in round one 64-63 and then faced Utah in round two but lost 63-56. Although it was an eight and nine-seed matchup in round one, South Dakota State upset USC 62-67 and moved on to round two but lost to Virginia Tech 72-60 to see their season end. Toledo took down the five-seed Iowa State of the Seattle 3 region 80-73, only to match up with Tennessee in round two and lose 94-47. 

Looking ahead to the Sweet Sixteen, we have some exciting matchups to look forward to. In the Greenville 1 region, we have the one seed versus the four seed of the region with South Carolina and UCLA. This season Aliyah Boston averages 13.1 points per game, and Zia Cooke averages 15.3 points per game. For UCLA, Charisma Osborne averages 15.9 points per game, and Kiki Rice averages 11.9 points per game. 

The second game of the Greenville 1 region is Maryland versus Notre Dame, the two and three seeds of this region. For Maryland, Diamond Miller averages 19.7 points per game, followed by Abby Meyers with 14.4 points per game, and Shyanne Sellers averages 13.8 points per game. For Notre Dame, Sonia Citron averages 14.7 points per game, followed by Olivia Miles, averaging 14.3 points per game. Both of these games will take place on Saturday.

For the Seattle 4 region, we have Louisville versus Ole Miss, being the five and eight seeds. For Louisville, Hailey Van Lith averages 19.5 points per game, followed by Chrislyn Carr, averaging 11.2 points per game. For Ole Miss, Angel Baker averages 14.9 points per game, followed by Madison Scott, averaging 11.8 points per game. 

The second game of this region is Iowa versus Colorado, the two and sixth seed of the region. For Iowa, of course, we have Caitlin Clark, who averages 26.8 points per game, followed by Monika Czinano, who averages 17.5 points per game. For Colorado, Quay Miller averages 13.1 points per game, followed by Aaronette Vonleh, who averages 12.1 points per game. Both of these games will take place Friday night. 

Greenville 2 region, we have the four seed of the region Villanova versus the nine seed of the region Miami (FL). For Villanova, Maddy Siegrist averages 29.2 points per game, followed by Lucy Olsen, averaging 12.5 points per game. For Miami, Haley Cavinder averages 12.6 points per game, followed by Destiny Harden, averaging 12.1 points per game. 

The next game of this region is Utah versus LSU, the second and third seeds of this region. For Utah, Alissa Pili averages 21.0 points per game, followed by Gianna Kneepkens, averaging 15.1 points per game. For LSU, Angel Reese averages 23.8 points per game, followed by Alexis Morris, averaging 14.7 points per game. Both of these games will take place on Friday. 

The last region is the Seattle 3 region, with the first game being Virginia Tech versus Tennessee, the first and fourth seeds of the region. For Virginia Tech, Elizabeth Kitley averages 18.2 points per game, followed by Georgia Amoore, averaging 15.7 points per game. For Tennessee, Rickea Jackson averages 19.3 points per game, followed by Jordan Horston, averaging 15.5 points per game. 

The second game of this region is UConn versus Ohio State, the second and third seeds of this region. For UConn, Aaliyah Edwards averages 17.0 points per game, followed by Lou Lopez Senechal, averaging 15.3 points per game. For Ohio State, Taylor Mikesell averages 17.2 points per game, followed by Cotie McMahon, averaging 14.8 points per game. Both of these games will take place on Saturday.