2025 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament

The 2025 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament was a 68-team single-elimination tournament to determine the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 2024–25 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The 43rd edition of the tournament began on March 19, 2025, and concluded with the championship game on April 6, at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. The UConn Huskies won their 12th national championship by defeating the South Carolina Gamecocks.NCAA Women's Basketball Final Four Record Book 2026 ncaa.org, February 2026

Atlantic 10 champion George Mason, Big West champion UC San Diego, NEC champion Fairleigh Dickinson, Sun Belt champion Arkansas State, WAC champion Grand Canyon, and CAA champion William & Mary all made their NCAA tournament debuts. Additionally, SoCon champion UNC Greensboro made their first appearance since 1998 and second appearance overall. For the first time since 1987, Stanford did not qualify for the tournament.

For the first time in Women's March Madness history since expanding to 64-plus teams, no team successfully completed an official upset, defined by the NCAA as by five or more seeding lines, an occurrence which has never happened in the Men's tournament. The closest any team came to an upset was 13-seed Liberty, who lost in the Round of 64 to 4-seed Kentucky by 1 point in a 79–78 loss.

Tournament procedure

Out of 355 eligible Division I teams, 68 participated in the tournament. A total of 31 automatic bids are awarded to each program that win a conference tournament. The remaining 37 bids are issued "at-large", with selections extended by the NCAA Selection Committee on Selection Sunday, March 16. The Selection Committee will also seed the entire field from 1 to 68.

Eight teams (the four-lowest seeded automatic qualifiers and the four lowest-seeded at large-teams) play in the First Four. The winners of these games will advance to the main tournament bracket.

+First four outNETSchoolConferenceRecord47Virginia TechACC18–1253Saint Joseph'sA-1023–960James MadisonSun Belt28–549UNLVMWC25–7

Schedule and venues First Four March 19 and 20 Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, California (Host: University of California, Los Angeles) Purcell Pavilion, Notre Dame, Indiana (Host: University of Notre Dame) Moody Center, Austin, Texas (Host: University of Texas at Austin) Carmichael Arena, Chapel Hill, North Carolina (Host: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

Subregionals (First and Second Rounds) March 21 and 23 (Fri/Sun) Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, California (Host: University of California, Los Angeles) Foster Pavilion, Waco, Texas (Host: Baylor University) Memorial Coliseum, Lexington, Kentucky (Host: University of Kentucky) Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, South Carolina (Host: University of South Carolina) Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, North Carolina (Host: Duke University) Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio (Host: Ohio State University) Purcell Pavilion, Notre Dame, Indiana (Host: University of Notre Dame) Schollmaier Arena, Fort Worth, Texas (Host: Texas Christian University)

March 22 and 24 (Sat/Mon) Harry A. Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, Connecticut (Host: University of Connecticut) Pete Maravich Assembly Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (Host: Louisiana State University) Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, North Carolina (Host: North Carolina State University) Galen Center, Los Angeles, California (Host: University of Southern California) Lloyd Noble Center, Norman, Oklahoma (Host: University of Oklahoma) Xfinity Center, College Park, Maryland (Host: University of Maryland, College Park) Carmichael Arena, Chapel Hill, North Carolina (Host: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) Moody Center, Austin, Texas (Host: University of Texas at Austin)

Regional Semifinals and Finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) March 28–31 Birmingham Regional, Legacy Arena, Birmingham, Alabama (Hosts: Southeastern Conference) Spokane Regional, Spokane Arena, Spokane, Washington (Hosts: University of Idaho)

National Semifinals and Championship (Final Four and Championship) April 4 and April 6 Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida (Host: University of South Florida)

Tampa is scheduled to host the women's Final Four for the fourth time; the third was in 2019.

Qualification and selection of teams

The 68 teams came from 36 states.

Automatic qualifiers Teams who won their conference championships automatically qualify. +Automatic qualifiers in the 2025 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournamentConferenceTeamAppearanceLast bidAmerica EastVermont8th2023AmericanSouth Florida10th2023Atlantic 10George Mason1stNeverACCDuke27th2024ASUNFlorida Gulf Coast11th2024Big 12TCU10th2010Big EastUConn36th2024Big SkyMontana State4th2022Big SouthHigh Point2nd2021Big TenUCLA20th2024Big West UC San Diego1stNeverCAAWilliam & Mary1stNeverCUSA Liberty18th2018Horizon Green Bay20th2024Ivy League Harvard7th2007MAAC Fairfield7th2024MACBall State2nd2009MEACNorfolk State4th2024Missouri ValleyMurray State2nd2008Mountain WestSan Diego State10th2012NECFairleigh Dickinson1stNeverOhio ValleyTennessee Tech12th2023PatriotLehigh5th2021SEC South Carolina21st2024SouthernUNC Greensboro2nd1998SouthlandStephen F. Austin21st2022SWAC Southern7th2023Summit League 13th2024Sun BeltArkansas State1stNeverWACGrand Canyon1stNeverWCCOregon State14th2024

Seeds

The tournament seeds and regions are determined through the NCAA basketball tournament selection process and were published by the selection committee after the brackets are released on March 16. +Spokane Regional 1 – Spokane Arena; Spokane, WASeedSchoolConferenceRecordOverall SeedBerth typeLast bid1UCLABig Ten30–21Automatic20242NC StateACC25–88At Large20243LSUSEC28–510At Large20244BaylorBig 1227–614At Large20245Ole MissSEC20–1017At Large20246Florida StateACC23–823At Large20247Michigan StateBig Ten21–925At Large20248RichmondAtlantic 1027–632At Large20249Georgia Tech ACC22–1035At Large202210HarvardIvy24–440Automatic200711George MasonAtlantic 1027–545AutomaticNever12Ball StateMid American27–750Automatic200913Grand CanyonWAC32–251AutomaticNever14 San Diego StateMountain West25–9 58Automatic201215VermontAmerica East21–1259Automatic202316*UC San DiegoBig West20–1565AutomaticNeverSouthernSWAC20–1466Automatic2023+Spokane Regional 4 – Spokane Arena; Spokane, WASeedSchoolConferenceRecordOverall SeedBerth typeLast bid1USCBig Ten28–34At-Large20242UConnBig East31–35Automatic20243OklahomaSEC25–711At Large20244KentuckySEC22–713At Large20225Kansas StateBig 1226–720At Large20246IowaBig Ten22–1021At Large20247Oklahoma StateBig 1225–627At Large20238CaliforniaACC25–829At Large20199Mississippi StateSEC21–1136At Large202310South Dakota StateSummit League29–337Automatic202411Murray StateMissouri Valley25–746Automatic200812FairfieldMAAC28–447Automatic202413LibertyCUSA26–654Automatic201814Florida Gulf CoastAtlantic Sun30–355Automatic202415Arkansas StateSun Belt21–1062AutomaticNever16UNC GreensboroSouthern25–664Automatic1998+ Birmingham Regional 2 – Legacy Arena; Birmingham, ALSeedSchoolConferenceRecordOverall SeedBerth typeLast bid1South CarolinaSEC30–32Automatic20242DukeACC26–77Automatic20243North CarolinaACC27–712At Large20244MarylandBig Ten23–716At Large20245AlabamaSEC23–818At Large20246West VirginiaBig 1224-724At Large20247VanderbiltSEC22–1028At Large20248UtahBig 1222–831At Large20249IndianaBig Ten19–1233At Large202410OregonBig Ten19–1139At Large202211*ColumbiaIvy23–641At Large2024WashingtonBig Ten19–1342At Large201712Green BayHorizon29–549Automatic202413Norfolk StateMEAC30–452Automatic202414Oregon StateWCC19–1557Automatic202415LehighPatriot27–660Automatic202116Tennessee TechOhio Valley26–563Automatic2023+ Birmingham Regional 3 – Legacy Arena; Birmingham, ALSeedSchoolConferenceRecordOverall SeedBerth typeLast bid1TexasSEC31–33At Large20242TCUBig 1231–36Automatic20103Notre DameACC26–59At Large20244Ohio StateBig Ten25–615At Large20245TennesseeSEC22–919At Large20246MichiganBig Ten22-1022At Large20247LouisvilleACC21–1026At Large20238IllinoisBig Ten21–930At Large20239CreightonBig East26–634At Large202410NebraskaBig Ten21–1138At Large202411*Iowa StateBig 1222–1143At Large2024PrincetonIvy21–744At Large202412South FloridaAAC23–1048Automatic202313Montana StateBig Sky30–353Automatic202214Stephen F. AustinSouthland29–556Automatic202215Fairleigh DickinsonNEC29–361AutomaticNever16*High PointBig South21–1167Automatic2021William & MaryCAA15–1868AutomaticNever *See First Four Source:

Tournament bracket All times are listed in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4).

First Four The First Four games involve eight teams: the four lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers and the four lowest-seeded at-large teams.

Spokane regional 1 – Spokane, WA

Spokane regional 1 final

Spokane regional 1 all-tournament team Lauren Betts (UCLA) Gabriela Jaquez (UCLA) Flau'jae Johnson (LSU) Aneesah Morrow (LSU) Kiki Rice (UCLA)

Spokane regional 4 – Spokane, WA

Spokane 4 regional final

Spokane 4 regional all-tournament team Paige Bueckers - UConn (Most Outstanding Player) Rayah Marshall – USC Kennedy Smith – USC Serena Sundell - Kansas State Sarah Strong – UConn

Birmingham regional 2 – Birmingham, Alabama

Birmingham regional 2 final

Birmingham regional 2 all-tournament team Chloe Kitts (MOP) - South Carolina Sania Feagin - South Carolina MiLaysia Fulwiley - South Carolina Toby Fournier - Duke Ashlon Jackson - Duke

Birmingham regional 3 – Birmingham, Alabama

Birmingham regional 3 final

Birmingham regional 3 all-tournament team Madison Booker (MOP) - Texas Rori Harmon - Texas Liatu King - Notre Dame Hailey Van Lith - TCU Sedona Prince - TCU

Final Four – Tampa, Florida

National semifinals

National championship

Final Four all-tournament team Azzi Fudd (MOP) – UConn Paige Bueckers – UConn Sarah Strong – UConn Joyce Edwards – South Carolina Lauren Betts – UCLA

Record by conference +Overview of conference performance in the 2025 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournamentConferenceBidsRecordWin %FFR64R32S16E8F4CGNCBig East 2 6–1 .857 – 2 1 1 1 1 1 1SEC 10 21-10 .677 – 10 9 6 3 2 1 –ACC 8 11–8 .579 – 8 6 4 1 - - -Big Ten 12 16–12 .571 1 11 10 3 2 1 – –Big 12 7 8–7 .533 1 7 4 2 1 – – –Atlantic 10 2 1–2 .333 – 2 1 – – – – –Summit 1 1–1 .500 – 1 1 – – – – –Ivy League 3 1–3 .250 2 2 – – – – – –CAA 1 1–1 .500 1 1 – – – – – –SWAC 1 1–1 .500 1 1 – – – – – –American East 1 0–1 .000 – 1 – – – – – –American 1 0–1 .000 – 1 – – – – – –ASUN 1 0–1 .000 – 1 – – – – – –Big Sky 1 0–1 .000 – 1 – – – – – –CUSA 1 0–1 .000 – 1 – – – – – –Horizon 1 0–1 .000 – 1 – – – – – –MAAC 1 0–1 .000 – 1 – – – – – –MAC 1 0–1 .000 – 1 – – – – – –MEAC 1 0–1 .000 – 1 – – – – – –Missouri Valley 1 0–1 .000 – 1 – – – – – –Mountain West 1 0–1 .000 – 1 – – – – – –NEC 1 0–1 .000 – 1 – – – – – –Ohio Valley 1 0–1 .000 – 1 – – – – – –Patriot 1 0–1 .000 – 1 – – – – – –Southern 1 0–1 .000 – 1 – – – – – –Southland 1 0–1 .000 – 1 – – – – – –Sun Belt 1 0–1 .000 – 1 – – – – – –WAC 1 0–1 .000 – 1 – – – – – –WCC 1 0–1 .000 – 1 – – – – – –Big South 1 0–1 .000 1 – – – – – – –Big West 1 0–1 .000 1 – – – – – – –

The FF, R64, R32, S16, E8, F4, CG, and NC columns indicate how many teams from each conference were in the first four, round of 64 (first round), round of 32 (second round), Sweet 16, Elite Eight, Final Four, championship game, and national champion, respectively.

Game summaries and tournament notes

The seeds of the teams who qualified for the Elite Eight was the same in both the men’s and women’s tournaments. In both tournaments, there were four #1 seeds, three #2 seeds, and one #3 seed.

Tournament upsets Per the NCAA, an upset occurs "when the losing team in an NCAA tournament game was seeded at least five seed lines better than the winning team."