After an exciting weekend of first- and second-round games, coverage of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship continues on ESPN and ESPN2 with the regional semifinals and finals. The action tips off Friday, March 24, at 7 p.m. ET with the Lexington and Oklahoma City regional semifinals, and continues with the Bridgeport and Stockton regional semifinals on Saturday, March 25 at 11:30 a.m. Regional finals will be played on Sunday, March 26 (noon & 7:30 p.m., ESPN), and Monday, March 27 (7 p.m. & 9 p.m., ESPN). The remaining 15 games of the women’s championship will be full national telecasts, airing on ESPN or ESPN2, and will be also available on the ESPN app and WatchESPN.
Coverage Highlights
Commentator Highlights
espnW
FiveThirtyEight
Tournament Challenge
Schedule
- Notre Dame, the top seed in the Lexington region, will face Kelsey Mitchell and No. 5 Ohio State in the first regional matchup of the weekend on Friday, March 24 (7 p.m., ESPN)
- After setting the NCAA single-season record, Kelsey Plum and the Washington Huskies will play No. 2 Mississippi State on Friday, March 24 (7 p.m., ESPN2); following this matchup, No. 4 Louisville against No. 1 Baylor (9 p.m.)
- 12-seed Quinnipiac makes their first Sweet Sixteen appearance in school history; will face No. 1 South Carolina on Saturday, March 25 (4 p.m., ESPN) from Stockton
- UConn’s undefeated season continues as they look to make their 10th consecutive Final Four appearance; will face No. 4 UCLA in the Bridgeport region on Saturday (1:30 p.m., ESPN)
- Pac-12 champion No. 2 Stanford will take on No. 3 Texas on Friday (9 p.m., ESPN) from Lexington
- After defeating Missouri to advance to the Sweet Sixteen, No. 4 Florida State will face No. 2 Oregon State on Saturday, March 25 (6 p.m., ESPN) from Stockton
- Oregon knocked No. 2 seed Duke out of the championship to advance; will take on No. 3 Maryland on Saturday (11:30 a.m., ESPN) from Bridgeport
- Features on UConn’s continued success, as well as Maryland, Notre Dame, South Carolina, Texas, Washington and others
- Rebecca Lobo analyzes individual players and their game in “Study Ball”
- Dave O’Brien, Doris Burke, Kara Lawson and Holly Roweto call games in the Bridgeport region, as well as the semifinals and championship game
- After serving as a game analyst for the NCAA Division I Men’s Tournament, Deb Antonelli will serve as the analyst for the Lexington Regional alongside Beth Mowins and Allison Williams
- LaChina Robinson, who has served as a sideline reporter for championship coverage in years prior, will work as a game analyst; will call Stockton Regionals with play by play commentator Dave Pasch
- Reporters Molly McGrath and Kaylee Hartung make their women’s championship debut
- McGrath will work alongside Pasch and Robinson for Stockton Regionals
- Oklahoma City Regionals will see Hartung with Pam Ward and Gail Goestenkors
- Taylor, Lobo and Landers will provide studio coverage leading up to and including the Women’s Final Four
espnW
espnW will provide coast-to-coast coverage including news, analysis, video highlights and commentary throughout the women’s NCAA tournament. Highlights:
- Mechelle Voepel (Oklahoma City), Graham Hays (Lexington), Michelle Smith (Stockton) and Sean Hurd (Bridgeport) will be live on site at the regionals
- espnW’s Charlie Creme will provide additional coverage
- Women’s Tournament Challengeis where fans and experts alike can pick their brackets and earn points throughout the tournament
- .com staff and a handful of ESPN analysts and WNBA players will face off in anWomen’s Tournament Challenge group
- Visit .com, and follow espnW on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for news and updates
FiveThirtyEight
FiveThirtyEight will once again feature a live interactive bracket calculating the probabilistic projections for the NCAA Women’s Championship. In addition, the site has a UConn Perfection Tracker, previewing each of the team’s games as they push towards a perfect record and a fifth-straight championship.
Tournament Challenge
ESPN’s Tournament Challenge game returns for its 20th season and will again be free for entrants to submit up to 25 entries each for the Men’s and Women’s tournament at ESPN.com/bracket or the ESPN Tournament Challenge App for iOS and Android. New features in the ESPN TC App include the ability to pre-fill brackets before selection Sunday, Group enhancements to make play with friends and family easier, an all-new News tab, advanced Bracketcast design and functionality, better ESPN Insider integrations, and improved push notifications for up-to-the-second bracket, news and video updates.
In the Women’s Tournament Challenge, entries finishing in the top 1 percent will be entered in a random drawing for a $3,000 Amazon Gift Card. The Women’s Tournament Challenge will accept registration until just prior to tip-off of the first game on Friday, March 17.
When fans log in to fill out their brackets and throughout the tournaments, they will have the ability to donate to the V Foundation and enter for a chance to win an all-expense paid trip to the 2017 Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden, which fields top-caliber matchups, pitting UConn versus Syracuse and Gonzaga against Villanova, in a doubleheader on December 5. The prize package includes two tickets, airfare, accommodations, a signed basketball from all four coaches, and a $400 gift card. To enter the sweepstakes, visit: www.v.org/win. No donation is necessary to win.
NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship Schedule (subject to change)
| Regional Semifinals | |||
| Date | Time (ET) | Matchup/Commentators | Network |
| Fri, Mar 24 | 7 p.m. | Lexington Regional Semifinal #1 No. 5 Ohio State vs. No. 1 Notre Dame Beth Mowins, Deb Antonelli, Allison Williams |
ESPN / WatchESPN |
| Oklahoma City Regional Semifinal #1 No. 3 Washington vs. No. 2 Mississippi State Pam Ward, Gail Goestenkors, Kaylee Hartung |
ESPN2 / WatchESPN | ||
| 9 p.m. | Lexington Regional Semifinal #2 No. 3 Texas vs. No. 2 Stanford Beth Mowins, Deb Antonelli, Allison Williams |
ESPN / WatchESPN | |
| Oklahoma City Regional Semifinal #2 No. 4 Louisville vs. No. 1 Baylor Pam Ward, Gail Goestenkors, Kaylee Hartung |
ESPN2 / WatchESPN | ||
| Sat, Mar 25 | 11:30 a.m. | Bridgeport Regional Semifinal #1 No. 10 Oregon vs. No. 3 Maryland Dave O’Brien, Doris Burke/Kara Lawson, Holly Rowe |
ESPN / WatchESPN |
| 1:30 p.m. | Bridgeport Regional Semifinal #2 No. 4 UCLA vs. No. 1 UConn Dave O’Brien, Doris Burke/Kara Lawson, Holly Rowe |
ESPN / WatchESPN | |
| 4 p.m. | Stockton Regional Semifinal #1 No. 12 Quinnipiac vs. No. 1 South Carolina Dave Pasch, LaChina Robinson, Molly McGrath |
ESPN / WatchESPN | |
| 6 p.m. | Stockton Regional Semifinal #2 No. 3 Florida State vs. No. 2 Oregon State Dave Pasch, LaChina Robinson, Molly McGrath |
ESPN / WatchESPN | |
| Regional Finals | |||
| Sun, Mar 26 | Noon | Lexington Regional Final Beth Mowins, Deb Antonelli, Allison Williams |
ESPN / WatchESPN |
| 7:30 p.m. | Oklahoma City Regional Final Pam Ward, Gail Goestenkors, Kaylee Hartung |
ESPN / WatchESPN | |
| Mon, Mar 27 | 7 p.m. | Bridgeport Regional Final Dave O’Brien, Doris Burke/Kara Lawson, Holly Rowe |
ESPN / WatchESPN |
| 9 p.m. | Stockton Regional Final Dave Pasch, LaChina Robinson, Molly McGrath |
ESPN / WatchESPN | |
| Women’s Final Four | |||
| Fri, Mar 31 | 7:30 p.m. | Semifinal #1 (Dallas, Texas) Dave O’Brien, Doris Burke, Kara Lawson, Holly Rowe |
ESPN2 / WatchESPN |
| 9:30 p.m. | Semifinal #2 (Dallas, Texas) Dave O’Brien, Doris Burke, Kara Lawson, Holly Rowe |
ESPN2 / WatchESPN | |
| Sun, Apr 2 | 4 p.m. | College Basketball Live: NCAA Women’s Championship Preview | ESPNU / WatchESPN |
| 5 p.m. | NCAA Women’s Championship Special Presented by Capital One Maria Taylor, Rebecca Lobo, Andy Landers |
ESPN / WatchESPN | |
| 6 p.m. | National Championship Game (Dallas, Texas) Dave O’Brien, Doris Burke, Kara Lawson, Holly Rowe |
ESPN / WatchESPN | |
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