At the start of the NCAA Tournament, we began with 64 teams composed of 32 automatic qualifiers and 32 teams selected by the Division I Women’s Basketball Championship Sport Committee. The teams were bracketed into four Regions of 16 teams playing on a single-game elimination tournament.
After three rounds, only eight teams remain and the Elite Eight battled each other this weekend in the Regional Finals. On Sunday, the first set of Regional Finals took place and here are the results of the games:
In the first game, UConn withstood a late rally by top-seeded Louisville to advance to their 12 straight Final Four appearance and their 20th overall. Katie Lou Samuelson led the Huskies with 29 points while teammate Napheesa Collier was named as Regional MVP after scoring a total of 37 points and grabbing an aggregate of 23 rebounds in two games. The Huskies shot 14-26 from behind the three point arc.
In the nightcap, Oregon punched its first ever Final Four appearance in program history. The Ducks beat top-seeded Mississippi State in a thrilling showdown between the top two seeds of the Portland Regional. Sabrina Ionescu scored 31 points, including 14 in the final period to lead the Ducks.
So as of Sunday, March 31, 2019, #2 UConn and #2 Oregon are through to the Final Four awaiting their next assignments. Their opponents will be determined tomorrow, April 1, 2019, when the last two Regional Finals will be played. Below is the remaining Elite Eight schedule for the 2019 NCAA women’s basketball tournament:
The winner of Baylor vs Iowa will then square off against Oregon in the Final Four while the victor of Notre Dame vs Stanford will move on to face UConn in the other Final Four matchup. The Final Four games will be played on April 5, 2019 and the winners will meet two days later also in Tampa Bay to crown the NCAA Women’s National Champion.
Iowa Senior Megan Gustafson is scoring 27 points per game and putting up a double-double in Iowa’s first three postseason games. In Baylor, Gustafson will play against another impressive senior in Kalani Brown who’s been putting up 15.5 points per outing for the nation’s top team. Gustafson will have her hands full against Baylor’s outstanding defense.
Tara VanDerveer has been in charge of Stanford’s program since 1978 and she’s won two titles and made 12 Final Four appearances with the Cardinals. Last year, VanDerveer notched her 1,000th career win and is looking for more history against the defending champions who are looking to be the first team (other than UConn) to repeat as champions
Since Tennessee in 2007 and 2008. All five starters on the side of the Irish are posting double-digit scoring averages, making them a strong contender to defend their title.
According to the Westgate SuperBook, here are the odds to win 2019 NCAA women’s basketball title.
Before we go to the title game though, the Final Four games will have to come first and that’s why we’re here, to give you our predictions for the semifinal stage of the tournament.
An old basketball saying tells us that offense wins games but defense wins championships. If you believe that, then you should be picking Baylor to win it all. After suffering a brutal loss to Stanford last January, Baylor has been cruising into the postseason. The Lady Bears have outscored their opponents by an aggregate of 121 games in three tournament games played so far and they have allowed just an average of 56.33 points per game. During the regular season, Baylor led the nation in rebounds and blocks, thanks mainly to 6-7 Kalani Brown and 6-4 Lauren Cox.
I’m picking Baylor to beat Iowa and then face the Oregon Ducks in the Final four. Now there are seven teams in the history of the women’s NCAA basketball to go all the way after making their first Final Four appearance but there have been none since 2005. Oregon is making its first Final Four appearance behind junior Sabrina Ionescu who is averaging 19.5 points, 7.2 assists and 6.9 rebounds per game. Ionescu scored 31 in their Elite Eight win. I like how the Ducks have impressed so far but I think Baylor’s defense is just going to eat them up in a potential matchup. Prediction: Baylor Lady Bears
Next to Baylor, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the 2nd favorites to win the 2019 NCAA women’s basketball title. The Irish are the defending National Champions winning the title 17 years after their 68-66 win over Purdue in 2001. Last season, Arike Ogunbowale made the two biggest shots of the season to help the Irish win the title. This season, she is at the helm of Notre Dame’s attack, averaging 21 points per game and has averaged 26.67 points in Notre Dame’s first three postseason games. I expect her to lead the Irish over Stanford in the Elite Eight.
UConn beat Towson by 49 points in the first round, then proceeded to defeat Buffalo by 12 in round 2 and then toppled #1 Louisville 80-73 to reach the Final Four. Katie Lou Samuelson has come back strong after an injury which kept her out of the Conference Tournament. MVP Napheesa Collier has leveled-up and the senior is averaging 21 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. This isn’t the same dominant UConn team we’re used to saying but they’re genuine threats to win it all. However, I don’t think this current team is deep enough to match Norte Dame player for player. Prediction: Notre Dame Fighting Irish
The women’s Final Four odds aren’t out yet but we’re picking the Baylor Lady Bears and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to advance to the Final Four and beat their respective Final Four opponents on April 5, 2019.
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