{"id":901364,"date":"2026-04-25T00:24:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T05:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/25\/ncaa-womens-basketball-2026-how-to-watch-the-final-four-and-championship-games\/"},"modified":"2026-04-25T00:24:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T05:24:00","slug":"ncaa-womens-basketball-2026-how-to-watch-the-final-four-and-championship-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/25\/ncaa-womens-basketball-2026-how-to-watch-the-final-four-and-championship-games\/","title":{"rendered":"NCAA Women\u2019s Basketball 2026: How to Watch the Final Four and Championship Games"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Anyone else getting March Madness<\/a> d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu? All the NCAA women\u2019s basketball teams from last year\u2019s semifinals are returning for the 2026 Final Four.<\/p>\n

That means the UConn Huskies, UCLA Bruins, Texas Longhorns, and South Carolina Gamecocks will duke it out for a national championship ring once again. The question remains if the reigning champs at UConn will take home their second consecutive title or if one of the other top-seed teams can shut down their undefeated season.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a quiet confidence to this year\u2019s UConn team that will be hard for any opponent to shake, despite their loss of iconic alum Paige Bueckers<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s a more calming energy this year,\u201d UConn star senior Azzi Fudd<\/a> recently told Just Women\u2019s Sports<\/em><\/a>. \u201cNot in a sense of feeling complacent, but it\u2019s not as frantic as I feel like the energy was before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, they\u2019ll have to get through last year\u2019s runner-ups, the South Carolina Gamecocks, to progress to the final\u2014and that\u2019s no easy task, according to UConn coach Geno Auriemma. \u201cI refuse to watch any South Carolina tape, because it scares me how good they are,\u201d Auriemma said after his team\u2019s Elite Eight victory against Notre Dame, per CT Insider<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s rightfully worried about every<\/em> team in the 2026 Final Four. \u201cPeople say, \u2018Hey, did you watch the Texas game?\u2019 and I say, \u2018No. It is frightening watching them play with how big and how talented they are,\u2019\u201d he continued. \u201cUCLA has a lot of guys back from last year\u2019s team\u2026. It is supposed to be that way, right? The Final Four is supposed to be really, really hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clearly, women\u2019s basketball fans have a lot to look forward to this weekend. Here\u2019s how and when to watch the NCAA women\u2019s basketball Final Four and championship games taking place in Phoenix. Plus, which players to keep a close eye on during each game.<\/p>\n

Where is the NCAA Final Four and championship Weekend?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

All three games will take place at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix.<\/p>\n

When are the NCAA Final Four games, and how do I watch?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The NCAA semifinals take place on Friday, April 3.<\/strong> The games will kick off with a rematch between the UConn Huskies and last year\u2019s runner-ups, the South Carolina Gamecocks. Afterward, the UCLA Bruins will face the Texas Longhorns in game two.<\/p>\n

Game One:<\/strong> UConn (38-0) vs. South Carolina (35-3) at 7 p.m. ET.<\/p>\n

Game Two:<\/strong> UCLA (35-1) vs. Texas (35-3) at 9:30 p.m. ET.<\/p>\n

Both games air on ESPN. They\u2019re also available to stream on ESPN.com<\/a>, the ESPN app, and Fubo<\/a>, which offers a free trial for new subscribers.<\/p>\n

When is the Women\u2019s NCAA championship game, and how do I watch?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The winners of the semifinal games will battle it out on April 5 at 3:30 p.m. ET.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The championship game airs on ABC and will be available to stream on ESPN.com<\/a>, the ESPN app, and Fubo<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Which players on each team should I be keeping an eye on?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

UConn Huskies:<\/strong> Though there\u2019s been some debate, fifth-year senior Azzi Fudd is widely projected<\/a> to go number one in the WNBA draft thanks to her strong basketball IQ and scoring ability (she\u2019s averaged 17.5 points per game<\/a> this season). The team leader also has a lot of support from sophomore forward Sarah Strong, who leads UConn in points, rebounds, blocks, and<\/em> steals. It\u2019s no wonder Strong was named the 2026 Naismith Player of the Year<\/a>, the award given to the top women\u2019s basketball player in the country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – FEBRUARY 4: Sarah Strong #21 of the UConn Huskies and Azzi Fudd #35 of the UConn Huskies celebrate during the second half against the DePaul Blue Demons at Wintrust Arena on February 4, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Geoff Stellfox\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

<\/span>Geoff Stellfox\/Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

South Carolina Gamecocks:<\/strong> At the start of the season, it was unclear how the Gamecocks would fare without Chloe Kitts<\/a>, who had torn her ACL during practice before the season started. Luckily, they\u2019ve had sophomore forward Joyce Edwards, who is currently averaging 19.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game<\/a>. According to USA Today<\/em><\/a>,<\/em> Edwards is only six points away from scoring the most single-season points in Gamecocks history.<\/p>\n

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\"Image<\/picture><\/span><\/p>\n

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Joyce Edwards of the South Carolina Gamecocks on March 30, 2026<\/p>\n

<\/span>Jed Jacobsohn\/Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

UCLA Bruins:<\/strong> No Final Four team is quite as stacked with 2026 WNBA rookie prospects as UCLA. Not one but six<\/em> Bruins are expected to be drafted this year, which would be a first for the league<\/a>. With Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice, Gianna Kneepkens, Gabriela Jaquez, Charlisse Leger-Walker, and Angela Dugalic at the helm, UCLA has never had a better shot at its first-ever championship title.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Image<\/picture><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

UCLA Bruins celebrate after winning the Big Ten regular season championship against the Wisconsin Badgers at UCLA Pauley Pavilion on February 22, 2026, in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Melina Pizano\/Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

Texas Longhorns:<\/strong> Senior guard Rori Harmon is Texas\u2019s all-time<\/em> leader<\/a> in steals and assists. But when it comes to scoring, junior forward Madison Booker is leading the charge with points and rebounds, averaging 19.3 points per game and 6.7 rebounds<\/a> this season.<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n

Texas Longhorns guard Rori Harmon and forward Madison Booker on March 22, 2026<\/p>\n

<\/span>Icon Sportswire\/Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

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Emily Tannenbaum
Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Anyone else getting March Madness d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu? All the NCAA women\u2019s basketball teams from last year\u2019s semifinals are returning for the 2026 Final Four. That means the UConn Huskies, UCLA Bruins, Texas Longhorns, and South Carolina Gamecocks will duke it out for a national championship ring once again. The question remains if the reigning champs<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":901365,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3681,22131],"tags":[7690,5488],"class_list":{"0":"post-901364","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-basketball","8":"category-womens","9":"tag-basketball","10":"tag-womens"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/901364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=901364"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/901364\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/901365"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=901364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=901364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=901364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}