Major surprising victories are arguably among the most thrilling aspects of the March Madness competition, even though they can disrupt your pre-arranged predictions. However, such unexpected outcomes are uncommon in the women’s bracket.
Following a lack of unexpected results on Friday’s initial day, three on Saturday, and none on Sunday, Monday’s contests provided genuine excitement.
Tenth-seeded Virginia, having previously defeated seventh-seeded Georgia on Saturday, stunned second-seeded Iowa on their home turf in a contest that went to double overtime. Soon after, sixth-seeded Notre Dame decisively beat third-seeded Ohio State with less dramatic flair.
Here, we will detail all the surprising victories witnessed in the women’s competition:
Kentucky secured a slim, unexpected victory against West Virginia at their home venue, resisting a strong fourth-quarter comeback attempt by the Mountaineers to progress to the Sweet Sixteen. Kentucky had established a double-digit advantage by outscoring WVU in the third quarter, yet West Virginia persistently challenged until the very end.
With only moments left, West Virginia had an opportunity to seize the lead, but Gia Cooke’s shot from beyond the arc struck the hoop and failed to go in. Subsequently, the Mountaineers regained control of the ball, yet were left with just 0.2 seconds to inbound and execute a tip-in.
Kentucky will now proceed to compete against top-seeded Texas in the Sweet Sixteen round.
In Monday’s NCAA tournament matchup, Ohio State commenced their game against Notre Dame with an impressive 11-point scoring streak.
However, the Fighting Irish possessed a formidable asset that the Buckeyes proved unable to neutralize: Hannah Hidalgo.
Notre Dame rebounded from Ohio State’s initial offensive burst, leveling the score at 24. Following this, Hidalgo guided the Fighting Irish in both offense and defense, leading them to an unexpected 83-63 victory.
Securing this win, the sixth-seeded Irish progress to the Sweet 16. The tournament run for the third-seeded Buckeyes concludes sooner than anticipated.
UVA, seeded tenth in the Sacramento 4 bracket, eliminated second-seeded Iowa in what stands as the most significant shock of the NCAA women’s tournament thus far. The Cavaliers are now set to confront third-seeded TCU in the Sweet 16 – marking their inaugural Sweet 16 entry since the year 2000.
The contest proved to be captivating, progressing into a second overtime period, during which the Cavaliers widened their advantage with a late 9-0 scoring spree, culminating in a final score of 83-75. Kymora Johnson delivered an outstanding performance for the Cavaliers, recording her second successive tournament game with over 26 points.
USC remains in contention following one of the NCAA tournament’s most exciting encounters to date, overcoming eighth-seeded Clemson 71-67 in an extended play period to reach the second stage.
The main period concluded with high drama, as Mia Moore of Clemson launched what appeared to be a decisive three-point shot moments before the time expired. However, after officials reviewed the play, it was decided that Moore still possessed the ball when the buzzer sounded, resulting in a tied score and forcing the game into extra time.
Clemson initiated scoring in the overtime period, establishing a three-point lead following a foul shot and a layup by Rachael Rose. Yet, Jazzy Davidson, who had been visibly emotional minutes prior believing her team had been defeated, sank two crucial three-pointers within sixty seconds – initially to equalize, and then to claim the advantage.
A series of successful foul shots appeared to secure the win for USC, but the Tigers continued to battle. With a mere eight seconds remaining in overtime, Moore located Morgan Lee near the perimeter, who then converted a three-point shot, bringing Clemson within a single score.
Nevertheless, USC required just one additional foul shot from Malia Samuels, who earned the necessary point to finalize the four-point victory.
Amidst a March heat wave and without air conditioning, tenth-seeded Virginia and seventh-seeded Georgia engaged in a closely contested match at the scorching Carver-Hawkeye Arena on the University of Iowa campus.
Virginia concluded the initial quarter ahead 24-16, yet found themselves trailing 59-56 going into the final period. However, the Cavaliers staged a comeback to secure a 68-67 lead, subsequently scoring a bank-shot three-pointer courtesy of Romi Levy, equalizing the score at 71-71 with 1 minute and 28 seconds left in normal play.
Ultimately, that particular shot forced the game into an extended period, where Virginia emerged victorious with a score of 82-73, marking the tournament’s inaugural unexpected win.
This achievement occurred as the playing surface temperature ascended to 83 degrees, as reported by the ESPN broadcast. Virginia endured the challenging conditions to secure the overtime victory, even though they had been severely tested by Arizona State in a narrow 57-55 win merely two evenings prior during the First Four games.
Georgia, conversely, seemed more impacted by the environmental factors, managing only two points in the additional period. Consequently, their tournament journey has concluded. Virginia moves forward to compete against second-seeded Iowa, which had barely defeated fifteenth-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson later that Saturday.
Later on Saturday, in the day’s second instance of a 9-8 seeded team causing a surprise, Syracuse triumphed over Iowa State, successfully repelling a last-minute push from the Cyclones to clinch the victory.
The Orange held an advantage of up to 17 points in the latter half, significantly boosted by an exceptional second quarter. However, Iowa State subsequently intensified their offensive efforts, reducing the significant point difference – though ultimately not quite in time.
Iowa State’s defeat occurred notwithstanding another brilliant performance by their star center, Audi Crooks, who recorded 37 points. Nearly all of those points, specifically 34, were scored from inside the key, illustrating Crooks’ ongoing challenge to rival defensive strategies.
The Orange benefited from a more collective team contribution, with four athletes achieving double-digit scoring. First-year center Uche Izoje spearheaded the squad with 23 points and seven boards, propelling Syracuse into the subsequent round where they are slated to meet top-seeded UConn.
