NCAAW: Battle’s game-winner sends Minnesota to the Sweet 16

Eight of 16 tickets to the second weekend of the 2026 NCAA Tournament were punched on Sunday.

No. 1-seed Texas, No. 2-seed Michigan, No. 2-seed LSU, No. 3-seed Duke, No. 3-seed TCU, No. 4-seed North Carolina, No. 4-seed Minnesota and No. 4-seed Oklahoma are bound for the Sweet 16.

Although winning a tournament game is never easy, several teams made it look that way on Sunday.

Up by just three points at the half, Michigan mauled No. 7-seed NC State over the final 20 minutes. LSU lapped No. 7-seed Texas Tech, hitting the century mark yet again. Duke’s defense made No. 6-seed Baylor’s afternoon miserable. Madison Booker authored a 40-point masterpiece, scoring the most points in a game in this year’s tournament to lead Texas’ dismantling of No. 8-seed Oregon.

These four games, however, involved the ups, downs and drama often required to survive and advance on the tournament stage.

Missed 3s, FTs doom Maryland against North Carolina

Considering they shot 3-for-23, or just 13 percent, from 3 and went 17-for-33, or only 55 percent, from the free throw line, it’s miraculous that No. 5-seed Maryland stayed in contact with No. 4-seed North Carolina until the final moments, when the Tar Heels sealed the 74-66 win to advance to their second-straight Sweet 16.

The result remained in question for much of the afternoon because Terrapins made sure that the Tar Heels felt them, grabbing 21 offensive boards and generating 12 steals, which helped them put up 14 more shots than UNC.

But winning the possession battle is not enough when the shots refuse to fall.

Only Addi Mack made a 3-pointer for Maryland, going a strong 3-for-5 from behind the arc. It 0-for-everyone else, with Saylor Poeffenbarger’s 10 deep misses being particularly painful. From the foul line, Oluchi Okananwa was the main culprit, with her 3-for-11 effort staining an otherwise outstanding game. Even Yarden Garzon, a near 93 percent free throw shooter for the season, missed two critical ones late.

For the victorious Tar Heels, it was Elina Aarinsalo at the start and Lanie Grant for the finish.

The two sophomore guards combined for 41 points. Down the stretch, Grant was giving Washington Kelsey Plum vibes, hitting a crucial triple and taking her defender off the bounce and to the basket, with the braid to boot.

Off to Forth Worth, No. 1-overall UConn is the highly-likely opponent for UNC.

Minnesota wins the Battle over Ole Miss

A baseline jumper from Amaya Battle is sending No. 4-seed Minnesota to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2005.

Battle buried the bucket with 0.8 seconds on the clock, with the game-winner giving the Gophers a 65-63 win over No. 5-seed Ole Miss as a moon-ball 3-pointer from Tianna Thompson missed at the buzzer.

The Ole Miss faithful will depart Minneapolis with plenty of frustration, as foul trouble beset their best players.

In particular, the fifth foul that eliminated Cotie McMahon with more than four minutes remaining, when Ole Miss was leading by five points, 59-54, proved pivotal. Limited to just 21 minutes, McMahon was impactful when she was on the court, going 5-for-6 from the field and 4-for-4 from the line as she scored 15 points. Once she was sidelined down the stretch, the Rebels struggled to generate good offense, managing just four more points.

Minnesota, however, earned the win.

They not only put more defensive pressure on Ole Miss in the game’s final minutes, buoyed by the full house that packed The Barn, but their offensive versatility also was valuable. The Gophers could throw the ball to Sophie Hart for a bucket on the block and look for Maura Braun to drain a 3. Braun’s 17 points led the Gophers.

In addition to the game-winner Battle grabbed a game-best 11 boards to go with her 14 points.

Most likely, No. 1-seed UCLA is next for Minnesota. In mid-January, the Bruins won in Minneapolis, 76-58.

The Sooners secure a 2nd-straight Sweet 16

Oklahoma-Michigan State was a classic No. 4-vs.-No. 5 matchup, with 12 lead changes, eight ties and the Sooners overcoming a six-point halftime deficit to get back to the Sweet 16, prevailing 77-71.

The Sooners survived the Spartans’ superior 3-point shooting, as well as their own turnovers, by dominating the glass, as Oklahoma outrebounded MSU by nine boards, 45-36. Raegan Beers grabbed 14 boards, with her 18 points giving her a double-double. Aaliyah Chavez matched her with 18 points, plus six assists and five boards.

The win sends the Sooners to Sacramento, where a rematch with No. 1-seed South Carolina likely awaits. And with another win over the Gamecocks, the city of Norman will be celebrating OU’s first trip to the Elite Eight since 2010.

Taken to the brink by UW, TCU survives in OT

Yesterday, Zack Ward asked if this tournament could be Olivia Miles’.

On Sunday night in Forth Worth, it seemed like Miles was feeling the pressure of such a possibility.

The super senior point guard, admittedly, was “crashing out multiple times” as No. 6-seed Washington pushed No. 3-seed TCU to the limit, with Horned Frogs ultimately surviving for the 62-59 overtime win.

Miles missed a 3 at the buzzer that could have erased all the struggles and strife that the Huskies put Miles and the Horned Frogs through for 40 minutes. TCU scored just six points in the second quarter and trailed by as many as 10 points. Yet, the buzzer-beater missed, one of Miles’ five missed 3-pointers.

The five extra minutes, however, allowed Miles and TCU’s tournament to continue.

The Horned Frogs scored the first seven points in overtime, but the Huskies did not roll over, trailing by three points after Sayvia Sellers drilled a jumper with about 40 seconds to go. After Miles missed what could have been the game-sealing jumper, Sellers had another shot to send the game to a second OT. Her triple missed, and TCU dances into their second-straight Sweet 16.

Miles still finished the game with a near triple-double of 18 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. After the game, she showered appreciation on her teammates, sharing:

I owe it all to my teammates, to be honest. I was crashing out multiple times. I was angry, I was feeling all the emotions because I didn’t want to go home. I don’t want them to let my team down.

It’d be a disservice for me not to be resilient for them, and for myself.

Sacramento, now, becomes the stage for Miles to continue her tournament showcase, with a Sweet 16 date with No. 2-seed Iowa or No. 10-seed Virginia up next.