The 2025 Women’s Final Four in Tampa, Fla. featured the same quartet of UConn, South Carolina, Texas and UCLA. With all four running it back in 2026 it marks just the fifth time in NCAA tournament history that all four No. 1 seeds reached the semifinal and just the second group of four in NCAA tournament history — men’s or women’s — to make back-to-back Final Fours.
Let’s take a look at how things went down last season with these four programs.
UConn dominated UCLA in semifinal
UConn opened the national semifinals with a commanding 85-51 win over UCLA. The Huskies never trailed, using a second quarter run to build a 20-point lead and control the game throughout.
Sarah Strong led the way with 22 points, while Azzi Fudd added 19 and Paige Bueckers scored 16. UCLA, in its first Final Four appearance, was led by Lauren Betts’ 26 points but could not overcome UConn’s depth and efficiency.
South Carolina advanced to title game
South Carolina secured the other spot in the championship by beating Texas 74-57, continuing a dominant stretch under head coach Dawn Staley. The then-reigning champions used their defense and physicality to carry them back to the title game as they pursued another championship in an already historic run.
Joyce Edwards excelled with 13 points and 11 rebounds in her Final Four debut.
UConn wins 12th national championship
In the championship game, UConn defeated South Carolina 82-59 to claim its 12th national title and first since 2016.
Fudd was named Most Outstanding Player after scoring 24 points, while Strong added 24 points and 15 rebounds. Bueckers finished with 17 points in her final collegiate game, capping off an illustrious career.
Head coach Geno Auriemma became the oldest coach to win a major college basketball title, as the Huskies ended a nine-year championship drought.
Some context for the defending champs: Undefeated teams rarely finish the job. Since undefeated UConn and Notre Dame met in the 2014 title game, seven teams have entered March Madness unbeaten, but only two — 2016 UConn and 2024 South Carolina — went on to win the championship. This year’s Huskies team would be the third.
