On one of the most impactful afternoons of the women's college basketball season, seven teams officially punched their automatic tickets to the NCAA tournament, including four Power 5 conference tournament champions in Iowa, Notre Dame, South Carolina and Southern Cal.
Here's a closer look at how the Big Ten, ACC and SEC and Pac-12 conference tournaments went down:
Iowa wins third-straight Big Ten Tournament in OT thriller
Nebraska was right on the brink of ending Iowa’s reign as Big Ten Tournament champions, sullying Caitlin Clark’s final appearance in the tournament. But Clark, as usual, had different plans, as the Hawkeyes secured the overtime win, 94-89, in a sold-out Target Center.
Nebraska led 75-67 with 2:33 remaining in the fourth quarter, and the Cornhuskers were primed to take down Iowa for the second time this season. However, as women's basketball fans have seen over the past three seasons, Iowa is never out of a game. Clark drilled a step-back 3-pointer with 2:09 remaining in regulation to bring Iowa within five. Exactly one minute later, Clark drove to the basket, forcing the Cornhusker’s defense to collapse, before dishing out to Kate Martin for the wide-open corner three, cutting the deficit to just two, 77-75. Clark later blitzed toward the rim, finishing a layup through contact with 29 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, tying the game at 77 apiece.
Trophy szn. #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/h4Dog1CPga
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) March 10, 2024
The Hawkeyes jumped out to an 82-77 lead one minute into overtime, but in a game defined by scoring runs, Nebraska fought back, taking the lead 84-82 with 2:33 remaining behind a 3-pointer from Nissley. With 1:07 remaining, Nissley buried another 3-pointer, giving the Cornhuskers an 87-86 lead. However, the all-time Division I points leader responded yet again, drilling another step-back 3-pointer to give the Hawkeyes an 89-87 lead with 51 seconds remaining, Nebraska tried a skip-pass with 40 seconds left looking for an open three, but Clark intercepted it before drawing a foul, sending her to the line for two free throws to put the game away.
The Cornhuskers led 46-35 at halftime, holding Clark to just four points on 2-13 from the field. But Clark exploded in the second half and overtime, scoring 30 on 10-16 shooting. Iowa completed its quest for a three-peat, and Clark is headed into her final NCAA tournament a Big Ten Tournament Champion once again.
Notre Dame downs NC State for ACC crown
Notre Dame and NC State offered a fitting final showcase for a gritty, defensive-minded ACC tournament as Notre Dame shut down NC State 56-51, securing the Irish their sixth conference tournament crown since joining the conference in 2013.
On an afternoon where both offenses hissed and sputtered, the transcendent Hannah Hidalgo provided sorely needed firepower, scoring 20 points and dishing out eight assists, contributing directly to 67 percent of ND's made field goals. Hidalgo and back-court mate Sonia Citron contributed to a free-flowing start — ND and VT combined to hit seven of their first 10 field goals — that quickly proved a false dawn. The Wolfpack would manage just two makes in the next 11 minutes of play bridging the first and second quarters, and a late surge from Hidalgo and KK Bransford gave the Irish a 28-22 lead at half.
River Baldwin nearly willed the Wolfpack to victory with a dominant third quarter, scoring eight points to restore NC State's advantage, and her squad would lead by as much as six early in the final period of play. But Hidalgo's music began to blare with the score level at 49 and crunch time nigh, as the freshman superstar scored on consecutive possessions to give ND a late lead they wouldn't relinquish.
South Carolina stays perfect with win over LSU
A rematch of college basketball's most viewed game in 2024 not featuring Caitlin Clark, South Carolina and LSU lived up to their lofty billing on the SEC's grandest stage Sunday as the Gamecocks outlasted LSU 79-72 to win a third conference tournament title in four seasons.
South Carolina cruised to an undefeated 29-0 regular-season mark, but maintaining perfection in the SEC tournament proved far more difficult, needing a miracle buzzer-beater to sneak past Tennessee in the SEC semifinals and struggling to create separation against the Tigers. Flau'jae Johnson, who starred early with 11 first-half points, glided to the rim to give LSU an early 13-7 lead, and Hailey Van Lith drilled a jumper before the halftime horn to bring the Tigers within just four.
But the Gamecocks' embarrassment of riches continued to shine as star freshman MiLaysia Fulwiley built on an excellent first half to lead all scorers with 24 points. Fulwiley was a perfect 4-4 in the third quarter alone, including a layup late to give South Carolina a game-high 13-point lead, and USC looked in control entering the final 10 minutes. A late charge from LSU pulled the Tigers within one, but an immediate 8-0 response etched South Carolina's name in history once again.
Forbes lifts Southern Cal past Stanford
Through the 31st game of Southern Cal's historic season, the Trojans ran into a novel problem: freshman phenom JuJu Watkins couldn't score. Watkins had hit double figures in every game thus far and totaled 51 when she faced the Cardinal in February, but shot just 2/15 from the floor Sunday, a dynamic you'd expect to spell doom for the Trojans. But back-court mate McKenzie Forbes delivered a career night with 26 points and the Trojans dominated Stanford's revered front-court on the glass, securing a 74-61 upset and a second-ever conference title for the program.
Forbes teased her breakout evening from the opening tip, drilling one of her four threes on the night during USC's very first possession, and would connect on back-to-back buckets late in the quarter to stretch the Trojans' early lead out to eight. Stanford stars Cameron Brink and Kiki Iriafen have been among the best interior duos in college basketball, combining for 37 points Saturday, and Iriafen found her partner at the rim to level the score at 22 shortly after the first intermission.
Kayla Williams emerged as another unlikely hero for the Trojans, however, exploding for a sudden eight-point scoring spurt to push USC's lead back to double-figures. Watkins would finally manage her first points of the line at the half and her squad entered the locker room ahead by nine. Domination on the glass — USC outrebounded Stanford by 20, including an 18-6 margin on the offensive boards — allowed the Trojans to maintain a double-digit lead through most of the second half and coast to a Pac-12 crown.
