LSU and Iowa met in one of the most thrilling national championships in recent memory a season ago, and we are set for Part II on Monday night thanks to wins by both teams on Saturday.
Flau'jae Johnson went off for 24 points and 12 rebounds to lead LSU to a hard-fought Sweet 16 win over UCLA. The Tigers trailed with under three minutes to go, but Johnson and Co. finished the game on a 14-2 run to send Lauren Betts and the Bruins home. Betts was incredible in a losing effort, recording 14 points, 17 rebounds and four blocks while playing tough defense on Angel Reese. It was yet another inefficient scoring outing for Reese (16 points on 5-of-12 shooting), but she made a huge impact elsewhere by tallying 11 rebounds, two blocks and four steals.
Shorty after, Iowa punched its ticket to the Elite Eight with another strong showing from superstar Caitlin Clark. The Hawkeyes rolled past Colorado in a runaway thanks to 29 points and 15 assists from the projected No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming WNBA Draft. The win sets up one of the biggest matchups of the tournament with Iowa vs. LSU locked in for Monday night. It's a rematch of the 2023 national championship game where the Tigers romped past the Hawkeyes to claim the program's first title. Now, they square off with a berth in the Final Four at stake.
Out west, No. 1 seed USC held off a late run from No. 5 seed Baylor to advance to its first Elite Eight since 1994. Star freshman Juju Watkins led the way for the Trojans with 30 points on 8-for-28 from the field. It was her late free-throw shooting that sealed the deal and she was nearly perfect from the line going 12-of-13. Sarah Andrews led the Bears with 17 points, including 5-of-13 from behind the arc.
In the final game of the day, UConn hung on for a 53-45 win over Duke. The Huskies held the Blue Devils to just 13 points in the first half, led by as much as 20 in the second half and forced 23 turnovers, but seemed to run out of gas down the stretch. They had just enough to hold off the Blue Devils' furious comeback attempt, however, to get back to the Elite Eight, where they'll meet USC. Paige Bueckers led the way with 24 points and five rebounds.
You can catch up on all the action from a wild Saturday below. Thanks for stopping by and come back on Sunday for more coverage of the Elite Eight.
2024 NCAA Women's Tournament Sweet 16 scores
All times Eastern | NCAA Tournament schedule | LIVE bracket