The first round of the NCAA women’s tournament tips off Friday, as the South Carolina Gamecocks look to win their second national championship in a row, and third in four seasons.
The top teams in the bracket are loaded with talent, however, which means the Gamecocks’ path to repeat won’t be easy. With so many big names in the sport who can make an impact over the next few weeks, here the players you should keep an eye on as teams battle for a spot in the Final Four in Tampa.
JuJu Watkins, guard, Southern California Trojans
Watkins is only a sophomore but is arguably the best player in the sport. A certified bucket-getter, Watkins is a multi-level scorer. She finished second in points per game in the regular season, averaging 24.6 points a night. Watkins shoots 6.1 3-pointers per game and is also adept at getting to the free-throw line. Her 8.3 free throws per game were tied for second-most in the country.
Last season as a freshman, Watkins led the Trojans all the way to the Elite Eight, where they were bounced out of the tournament by the Connecticut Huskies. Watkins will certainly be motivated to make her first Final Four, and with the Huskies in USC’s region, she could have a chance to earn some revenge as well.
Paige Bueckers, guard, Connecticut Huskies
Bueckers is the presumed No. 1 pick in the upcoming WNBA Draft. For now, though, she has unfinished business with the Huskies.
After missing an entire year due to a torn ACL, Bueckers returned to the floor last season and averaged a career-best 21.9 points per game, leading UConn all the way to the Final Four. This season, Bueckers has sacrificed a tiny bit of scoring to become more of a playmaker, dishing out 4.9 assists a night, her most since her freshman campaign.
This is Bueckers’s last shot at returning the Huskies to glory. The storied program hasn’t won a championship since reeling off four straight from 2013 to 2016. Bueckers will have to lead a young squad if she hopes to get the job done this year.
Hannah Hidalgo, guard, Notre Dame Fighting Irish
A two-way wrecking ball, Hannah Hidalgo improved her efficiency this year after a splashy freshman season. Hidalgo upped her scoring average, field-goal percentage and 3-point field-goal percentage as a sophomore, becoming a formidable combo with senior forward Olivia Miles.
While Hidalgo can score with the best of them (she finished fourth in points per game with 24.2), her defense may be even more fun to watch. After averaging a preposterous 4.6 steals per game a season ago, Hidalgo wreaked havoc again this year to the tune of 3.7 takeaways a night.
Madison Booker, forward, Texas Longhorns
Booker led the Longhorns to the Elite Eight as a sophomore, and remains a great floor raiser for Texas. While Booker may not be as consistent a scorer as some of the other players on this list, she can fill it up once she gets hot.
It will also be interesting to see if Booker can overcome her most recent performance, when she was held to only 10 points and no assists in the SEC tournament final by South Carolina. How a player of Booker’s caliber tries to overcome defenses geared to hound her every second she’s on the floor should be one of the more intriguing subplots of the tournament.
Lauren Betts, center, UCLA Bruins
The woman in the middle, Betts is in her second season with the Bruins after beginning her collegiate career at Stanford. She was a capital-P Problem this year, averaging career bests in points (19.6), rebounds (9.7), and assists (2.8) per game.
Standing tall at 6-foot-7, Betts knows how to leverage her size on both ends of the floor. She shoots a high percentage and stays close to the basket offensively, while scaring players away from the rim defensively. Her 2.9 blocks a night were fifth-best in the nation in the regular season.