Women’s college basketball conference tournaments live: Scores, highlights

March Madness is ramping up with women’s college basketball conference tournaments.

The 2026 NCAA Tournament begins on March 18 and the conference tournaments will go a long way in figuring who is in and who is out. Conference tournament winners get an automatic an bid. Every other team will have to sweat it out on Selection Sunday on March 15 to see if they received at-large bid.

South Carolina (SEC), UCLA (Big Ten), Duke (ACC) and TCU (Big 12) each earned No. 1 seeds and double-byes in their respective conferences and start play on Friday. All four teams won their conference tournament last season and are looking to repeat.

USA TODAY Sports is following along with the Power Four conference tournaments. Follow along for live updates, highlights and results here:

No. 9 BYU vs. No. 8 Utah | 2:30 p.m. (ESPN+)

BYU Cougars starting lineup

Head coach: Lee Cummard

Utah Utes starting lineup

Head coach: Gavin Petersen

Halftime: Oklahoma 40, Florida 38

Liv McGill has already piled up 19 points for the Gators as their NCAA Tournament hopes are on the line in this second-round matchup in the SEC Tournament in Greenville, South Carolina.

Aaliyah Chavez has 13 points for the Sooners.

The winner will face No. 4 LSU on Friday on ESPN.

Halftime: Notre Dame 37, Miami 23

Miami is playing with a ton of pace, but Notre Dame is matching it and causing a lot of problems defensively. Notre Dame has 12 points off 11 Miami turnovers. The Fighting Irish have switched between zone and man-to-man looks, and both have been successful. At the half, the Hurricanes are shooting 38% overall, after they shot just 18% in the second.

Notre Dame, which is shooting 50% from the field, is led by Hannah Hidalgo’s non-stop energy. The junior guard leads all scorers with 14 points, five rebounds and three steals. Cassandre Prosper is right behind Hildago with nine points and one block.

No. 13 Indiana vs. No. 5 Ohio State | 2:30 p.m. Big Ten Network

Indiana starting lineup

Head coach: Teri Moren

Shay Ciezki | G 5-7 Senior
Nevaeh Caffey G 5-10 Freshman
Lenee Beaumont | G 6-1 Sophomore
Maya Makalusky | F 6-3 Freshman
Edessa Noyan | F 6-3 Junior

Ohio State starting lineup

Head coach: Kevin McGuff

Final: Kansas State 58, Texas Tech 51

Texas Tech led by as many as 14 points in the fourth quarter, but Kansas State went on a 21-0 run to not only take their first lead of the game with 2:39 remaining, but defeat the Red Raiders 58-51 in the second round.

The Lady Raiders’ nearly eight-minute scoring drought and the Wildcats’ subsequent run was fueled by Texas Tech turnovers. Texas Tech finished with 16 turnovers, with three coming in the fourth quarter. Texas Tech was held to four points in the fourth quarter and finished the game shooting 29% from the field and 6-of-23 from the 3-point line.

Junior forward Nastja Claessens led the way for Kansas State with 14 points. Tess Heal scored eight of her 10 points in the second half, including a pair of clutch free throws to ice the game.

It marked Kansas States fifth straight victory over Texas Tech.

Texas Tech’s Snudda Collins finished with 14 points in the loss. She was the only Red Raider to reach double digits. Gemma Nuñez had nine points and Bailey Maupin had eight points.

Final: Washington 76, USC 64

Elle Ladine scored a game-high 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting to lead Washington over USC in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament.

Washington controlled the entire game, shooting 50% from the field as a team and finishing with four players in double figures.

USC shot 31% from the field (18-of-58).

Big Ten Freshman of the Year Jazzy Davidson scored eight points on 2-of-13 shooting for USC, but she was seemingly hampered by a right arm injury. She briefly went to the locker room holding her shoulder early in the first quarter and returned to the court, but she was shaking out her right arm after shots for the rest of the game.

Washington will advance to play top-seeded UCLA on Friday at noon.

Hannah Hidalgo is cashing in early against Miami

Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo is the first player in the game to score in double figures. At the 4:46 mark of the second quarter, she has 11 points on 50% shooting, four rebounds and two steals.

ACC teams make NCAA Tournament cases

Following Clemson’s 63-50 win over Virginia, both head coaches made cases for their teams to make the NCAA Tournament.

‘Super, super proud of this group. I thought that was a gritty, hard-fought, tough win. In my opinion, that’s an NCAA Tournament game with two NCAA Tournament teams,’ Clemson coach Shawn Poppie said.

‘We kind of took this as our season is on the line. We felt like a win today would get us in the NCAA Tournament no matter what happens the rest of the way out. That’s how they focused and fought and competed. But ultimately that’s just basketball. How you start and how you finish quarters.’

Before Thursday’s win, Clemson was on the bubble, but still needed help to get in the Big Dance. Now, the victory over Virginia all but guarantees the Tigers will go dancing.

For Virginia, the loss to Clemson makes their NCAA Tournament bid a bit more unclear. The Cavaliers will likely be nervous come Selection Sunday, now all but assuredly on the bubble. Virginia head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton also made a case for the NCAA tournament.

‘We’ve got to take ownership of our part today. We didn’t compete. We weren’t urgent for 40 minutes. We didn’t stick to the gameplan. We didn’t do the things we could do to control the outcome of that game,’ Agugua-Hamilton said.

‘But if you’re talking about the course of the season, there’s been a lot of ups and downs due to some adversity. I do think that we’ll be ready to go, come NCAA Tournament. We’ve got a little bit of a break where we can get better and get more connected and be on the same page.’

Agugua-Hamilton also added she wasn’t ready to throw in the towel on the season, given all that Virginia has accomplished, including 11 wins in the ACC regular season for the first time in 26 years.

‘There’s so many highlights of the season, but to me, it can’t be done yet,’ Agugua-Hamilton said. −Meghan L. Hall

Kansas State goes on 11-0 run vs. Texas Tech

Not so fast. After trailing by as many as 14 points in the fourth quarter, Kansas State went on a 11-0 run to cut their deficit to three points with 5:22 remaining. Texas Tech has not scored in over two minutes.

Texas Tech takes double-digit lead vs. Kansas State

Texas Tech women’s basketball took a commanding 14-point lead over Kansas State with 7:42 remaining in the game after Snudda Collins made a wide-open layup. Collins leads all scorers with 14 points off the bench. Can Kansas State muster a comeback? The Wildcats have struggled to find any offensive rhythm and are shooting 31% from the field and 5-of-24 from the 3-point line, one day removed from setting a Big 12 Tournament record with 17 made 3-pointers in their win over Cincinnati on Wednesday.

No. 12 Florida vs. No. 5 Oklahoma, 1:30 p.m. ET | SEC Network

Florida Gators starting lineup

Head coach: Kelly Rae Finley

Oklahoma Sooners starting lineup

Head coach: Jennie Baranczyk

Halftime: Washington 32, USC 20

USC survived an injury scare when Big Ten Freshman Jazzy Davidson briefly went back to the locker room with an apparent shoulder injury, but returned to the court just a minute of game time later.

The Trojans still have some work to do if they want to extend their stay in Indianapolis.

USC shot just 25% (6-of-24) from the field and 20% (2-of-10) from 3-point range in the first half.

Washington is dominating the boards, pulling down 24 compared to USC’s nine. The Huskies have 10 offensive rebounds alone, with six second-chance points.

Elle Ladine is leading Washington with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting, while Avery Howell has 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting. Davidson and Kennedy Smith are leading the Trojans with five points each.

Miami vs. No. 5 Notre Dame, 1:30 p.m. | ACC Network

Notre Dame Fighting Irish starting lineup

Head coach: Niele Ivey

Miami Hurricanes starting lineup

Head coach: Tricia Cullop

Final: Kentucky 76, Georgia 61

Clara Strack scored a career-high-tying 33 points to power the Wildcats to a second straight victory at the SEC Tournament in Greenville, South Carolina, on Thursday afternoon.

Strack, a 6-foot-5 junior, made a career-best five 3-pointers in the victory for Kentucky (23-9) and collected eight rebounds, three blocks and two assists. The Wildcats also got 14 points and 12 boards from Teonni Key, and 14 points and seven assists from Tonie Morgan.

Morgan’s final assist came on a 3-pointer to Amelia Hassett, which highlighted a 14-2 fourth quarter run for the Wildcats.

Dani Carnegie led Georgia (22-9) with 18 points in the loss.

Kentucky will face top-seeded South Carolina on Friday at 12 p.m. ET on ESPN. The Wildcats and Gamecocks met in the regular season finale for both teams last Sunday, with South Carolina winning by four points. −Mitchell Northam

Final: Clemson 63, Virginia 50

After a grind-it-out matchup, the Clemson Tigers move on to the third round of the ACC Tournament. Clemson will play No. 1 seed Duke on Friday. Tigers guard Mia Moore had a game-high 20 points on 87.5% shooting in 22 minutes of play. Unsurprisingly, the Tigers also finished the matchup shooting 50% from deep with 10 triples.Paris Clark led the Cavaliers with 15 points, while Kymora Johnson added 12. Clemson’s defense overwhelmed Virginia down the stretch, holding the Cavaliers to 33% shooting as the game wound down. Additionally, Virginia finished with 11 bench points to Clemson’s 25. −Meghan L. Hall

Halftime: Texas Tech 34, Kansas State 29

Texas Tech scored 11 points off eight Kansas State turnovers in the first half of a defensive battle. The Red Raiders are also leading the battle of the boards, outrebounding the Wildcats, 14-11.

Snudda Collins is leading Texas Tech with 10 points off the bench. Gemma Nuñez has nine points and five rebounds.

Clemson extends lead over Virginia

In the third quarter, Virginia scored 10 straight points to bring a bit closer to the Tigers, but since the 2:15 mark of the third, it’s been all Clemson. The Tigers built their lead to as high as 12 with 3:38 to go in the fourth. With the lead at 12, the Clemson faithful cheered even louder.

Jazzy Davidson leaves game briefly with apparent shoulder injury

Big Ten Freshman of the Year Jazzy Davidson briefly went back to the locker room holding her right shoulder in the first quarter of No. 9 USC’s game against No. 8 Washington, but quickly checked back in after one minute of game time and two reviews.

Davidson was running up the court on offense when she was hit in the backcourt. The play was reviewed for a potential upgrade, but officials deemed the contact incidental.

Davidson, who looked to be in pain, was surrounded by coaches and medical staff on the USC bench. She briefly went back to the locker room with a trainer, but returned to the bench then checked back in after a quick chat with USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb.

Officials reviewed a separate play off of a USC challenge while Davidson was in the locker room. USC lost that challenge. −Chloe Peterson

No. 12 Kansas State vs. No. 5 Texas Tech, 12 p.m. | ESPN+

Kansas State starting lineup

Head coach: Krista Gerlich

Texas Tech starting lineup

Head coach: Jeff Mittie

Clemson hot from the 3-point line vs. Virginia

The Clemson Tigers are red hot from beyond the arc. As a team, the Tigers are shooting 44% from deep and have seven triples.

Halftime: Georgia 36, Kentucky 35

Trinity Turner has 12 points and Dani Carnegie has scored 10 as the Bulldogs lead Wildcats at the break in the second round of the SEC Tournament on Thursday in Greenville, South Carolina.

Clara Strack is powering Kentucky with 18 points, but Georgia is winning the rebounding margin by three and has made one more free throw.

The two teams are even in many statistical categories at halftime, which could make for a closely contested second half and an exciting finish. There have been six lead changes so far. The winner will face top-seeded South Carolina on Friday morning. − Mitchell Northam

Halftime: Clemson 28, Virginia 26

Thursday’s matchup between the Tigers and Cavaliers is a defensive battle at halftime. Clemson has three steals, but Virginia has three blocks in a virtual tug-of-war that left both teams shooting under 30% in the first quarter. During the second quarter, Clemson found itself in a slump, shooting as low as 16%, but its defense helped the Tigers stay in it, and scoring from seven players has them out in front.

On Virginia’s side, the Cavaliers are shooting 33% and have given up the ball eight times. Still, their shooting keeps them within an arm’s length of Clemson. The Cavaliers have 10 points in the paint and scoring from seven players.Virginia’s Paris Clark leads all scorers with seven points. Rusne Augustinaite leads Clemson with six points. −Meghan L. Hall

No. 8 Washington vs. No. 9 USC, 12 p.m. ET | BTN

Washington Huskies starting lineup

Head coach: Tina Langley

USC Trojans starting lineup

Head coach: Lindsay Gottlieb

Wake Forest expected to retain head coach Megan Gebbia

Wake Forest’s regular season came to an end on Wednesday in Duluth, Georgia, when it lost 75-52 to Cal in the opening round of the ACC Tournament.

Despite this being the third consecutive losing season for the Demon Deacons under coach Megan Gebbia, multiple sources told USA Today Sports that Wake is expected to retain its head coach for at least one more season. Gebbia is 47-79 in four seasons in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Formerly the coach at American where she won five Patriot League titles and went to three NCAA Tournaments, Gebbia was hired in May 2022 after athletic director John Currie fired longtime head coach — and Wake alum — Jennifer Hoover at the ACC’s spring meetings. Wake has only been to the NCAA Tournament twice, and Hoover was a player on one of those teams and head coach for the other. Hoover is now an assistant coach at Virginia Tech.

Wake had an up-and-down season, opening it with a nine-game win streak, but also suffering eight straight losses in ACC play between January and February. Because Wake Forest is a private school, it’s unclear what Gebbia’s contract length is. She signed an extension after a 17-17 season in 2023. − Mitchell Northam

Clemon’s leading scorer in foul trouble

Clemson’s leading scorer, Mia Moore, already has two fouls at the 5:49 mark of the first quarter. Moore has played just four minutes. Head coach Shawn Poppie was not happy over the second foul and gave a nearby official an earful. −Meghan L. Hall

UConn sweep Big East awards

UConn sophomore forward Sarah Strong was named the 2025-26 Big East Player and Defensive Player of the Year. Strong leads the top-ranked Huskies in points, rebounds, blocks and steals this season. She ranks seventh nationally in steals (97), 15th in assist-turnover ratio (2.37) and 15th in field goal percentage (59.5). Strong is averaging 18.6 points per game on a .595/.407/.881 shooting split.

Forward Blanca Quiñonez was named the conference’s Freshman and Sixth Woman of the Year. Strong and graduate student guard Azzi Fudd were unanimously selected first-team All-Big East. Junior guard KK Arnold joined thema on the first team.

Head coach Geno Auriemma was selected as the Big East Coach of the Year. −Heather Burns

No. 9 Kentucky vs No. 8 Georgia, 11 a.m. ET | SEC Network

Kentucky Wildcats starting lineup

Head coach: Kenny Brooks

Georgia Bulldogs starting lineup

Head coach: Katie Abrahamson-Henderson

Texas A&M has NCAA Tournament hopes, but would play in WBIT

Despite losing to Auburn in the first round of the SEC Tournament on Wednesday night, Texas A&M still believes it is a team worthy of inclusion in the NCAA Tournament. Before losing to the Tigers, the Aggies had won five games in a row.

“I think we have done everything that we can do to put ourselves in this position to be a NCAA Tournament team, considering the conference that we’re playing in,” Texas A&M coach Joni Taylor said. “There should be 12 teams in the NCAA Tournament from the SEC.”

The Aggies are 33rd in WAB, a perfect 5-0 in Quad 2 games and have the fourth-best strength-of-schedule in the country, based on the average NET ranking of their opponents. But Texas A&M is also just 2-9 in Quad 1 games and has a NET ranking of 61. The reality is that getting into the field of 68 this year is a longshot for Taylor’s team.

However, should Texas A&M be excluded from the NCAA Tournament field, Taylor says they would still entertain an invitation from a lower-tier tournament, like the WBIT.

“Absolutely, we’re going to play postseason basketball,” Taylor said. “This team deserves that. They’ve earned the right to do that.” − Mitchell Northam

No. 8 Clemson vs. No. 9 Virginia, 11:00 a.m. | ACC Network

Clemson Tigers starting lineup

Head coach: Shawn Poppie

Virginia Cavaliers starting lineup

Head coach: Amaka Agugua-Hamilton

SEC Tournament schedule, bracket, scores

Wednesday, March 4 – First round

#9 Kentucky 94, #16 Arkansas 64
#12 Florida 86, #13 Mississippi State 68
#15 Auburn 50, #10 Texas A&M 49
#11 Alabama 65, #14 Missouri 48

Thursday, March 5 – Second round

Friday, March 6 – Quarterfinals

Saturday, March 7 – Semifinals

Sunday, March 8 – Championship

Game 15 | G13 winner vs. G14 winner | 3 p.m. ET | ESPN

ACC Tournament schedule, bracket, scores

March 4

First round

Game 1: No. 12 Miami 83 vs. No. 13 Stanford 76
Game 2: No. 10 Cal 75 vs. No. 15 Wake Forest 52
Game 3: No. 11 Georgia Tech 72 vs. No. 14 Florida State 60

March 5

Second round

Game 4 No. 9 Clemson vs. No. 8 Virginia (11:00 a.m.; ACCN)
Game 5: Miami vs. No. 5 Notre Dame (1:30 p.m.; ACCN)
Game 6: Cal vs. No. 7 Syracuse (5:00 p.m.; ACCN)
Game 7: Georgia Tech vs. No. 6 Virginia Tech (7:30 p.m.; ACCN)

March 6

Quarterfinals

Game 8: Winner Game 4 vs. No. 1 Duke (11:00 a.m.; ESPN2)
Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. No. 4 NC State (1:30 p.m.; ACCN)
Game 10: Winner Game 6 vs. No. 2 Louisville (5:00 p.m.; ESPN2)
Game 11: Winner Game 7 vs. No. 3 UNC (7:30 p.m.; ACCN)

March 7

Semifinals

Game 12: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 8 (Noon ET; ESPN2)
Game 13: Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 10 (2:30 p.m. ET; ESPN2)

March 8

Championship: Winner Game 12 vs. Winner Game 13 (1:00 p.m. ET; ESPN)

Big Ten Tournament schedule, bracket, scores

The 2026 Big Ten women’s basketball tournament unfolds over five days during March, with all games played in Indianapolis.

Here’s the daily schedule:

Wednesday, March 4 – First round

#13 Indiana 72, #12 Nebraska 69
#10 Illinois 82, #15 Wisconsin 70
#11 Oregon 71, #14 Purdue 65

Thursday, March 5 – Second round

Friday, March 6 – Quarterfinals

Saturday, March 7 – Semifinals

Sunday, March 8 – Championship

Game 14 | G12 winner vs. G13 winner | 2:15 p.m. ET | CBS

Big 12 Tournament schedule, bracket, scores

All times Eastern

March 4

First Round

Game 1: No. 12 Kansas State 91, No. 13 Cincinnati 66
Game 2:No. 9 BYU 76, No. 16 Houston 66
Game 3: No. 10 Arizona State 54, No. 15 Arizona 51
Game 4: No. 11 Kansas 56, No. 14 UCF 35

March 5

Second Round

Game 5: No. 12 Kansas State vs. No. 5 Texas Tech | noon (ESPN+)
Game 6: No. 9 BYU vs. No. 8 Utah | 2:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Game 7: No. 10 Arizona State vs. No. 7 Iowa State | 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Game 8: No. 11 Kansas vs. No. 6 Colorado | 9 p.m. (ESPN+)

March 6

Quarterfinals

Game 9: Winner of Game 5 vs. No. 4 Oklahoma State | noon (ESPNU)
Game 10: Winner of Game 6 vs. No. 1 TCU | 2:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Game 11: Winner of Game 7 vs. No. 2 West Virginia | 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Game 12: Winner of Game 8 vs. No. 3 Baylor | 9 p.m. (ESPN+)

March 7

Semifinals

Game 13: Winner of Game 9 vs. Winner of Game 10 | 4:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Game 14: Winner of Game 11 vs. Winner of Game 12 | 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)

March 8

Championship: Winner of Game 13 vs. Winner of Game 14 | 5:00 p.m. (ESPN+)

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

Women’s college basketball conference tournaments live: Scores, highlights

No. 9 BYU vs. No. 8 Utah | 2:30 p.m. (ESPN+)

BYU Cougars starting lineup

Utah Utes starting lineup

Halftime: Oklahoma 40, Florida 38

Halftime: Notre Dame 37, Miami 23

No. 13 Indiana vs. No. 5 Ohio State | 2:30 p.m. Big Ten Network

Indiana starting lineup

Ohio State starting lineup

Final: Kansas State 58, Texas Tech 51

Final: Washington 76, USC 64

Hannah Hidalgo is cashing in early against Miami

ACC teams make NCAA Tournament cases

Kansas State goes on 11-0 run vs. Texas Tech

Texas Tech takes double-digit lead vs. Kansas State

No. 12 Florida vs. No. 5 Oklahoma, 1:30 p.m. ET | SEC Network

Florida Gators starting lineup

Oklahoma Sooners starting lineup

Halftime: Washington 32, USC 20

Miami vs. No. 5 Notre Dame, 1:30 p.m. | ACC Network

Notre Dame Fighting Irish starting lineup

Miami Hurricanes starting lineup

Final: Kentucky 76, Georgia 61

Final: Clemson 63, Virginia 50

Halftime: Texas Tech 34, Kansas State 29

Clemson extends lead over Virginia

Jazzy Davidson leaves game briefly with apparent shoulder injury

No. 12 Kansas State vs. No. 5 Texas Tech, 12 p.m. | ESPN+

Kansas State starting lineup

Texas Tech starting lineup

Clemson hot from the 3-point line vs. Virginia

Halftime: Georgia 36, Kentucky 35

Halftime: Clemson 28, Virginia 26

No. 8 Washington vs. No. 9 USC, 12 p.m. ET | BTN

Washington Huskies starting lineup

USC Trojans starting lineup

Wake Forest expected to retain head coach Megan Gebbia

Clemon’s leading scorer in foul trouble

UConn sweep Big East awards

No. 9 Kentucky vs No. 8 Georgia, 11 a.m. ET | SEC Network

Kentucky Wildcats starting lineup

Georgia Bulldogs starting lineup

Texas A&M has NCAA Tournament hopes, but would play in WBIT

No. 8 Clemson vs. No. 9 Virginia, 11:00 a.m. | ACC Network

Clemson Tigers starting lineup

Virginia Cavaliers starting lineup

SEC Tournament schedule, bracket, scores

ACC Tournament schedule, bracket, scores

March 4

March 5

March 6

March 7

March 8

Big Ten Tournament schedule, bracket, scores

Big 12 Tournament schedule, bracket, scores

March 4

March 5

March 6

March 7

March 8

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