Women’s College Basketball March Madness Coming in Fast

Take a moment to catch your breath, calm your heart, and lower your blood pressure because we are about to turn up for March Madness.

Women’s College Basketball has had an amazing, entertaining first half of March with exciting conference tournament games, champions crowned, WNBA declarations, and a dust-up with two of the most recognizable teams in the game.  

I’ll catch you up: In the SEC Championship Game LSU and SEC POY Angel Reese lost to SEC Coach of the Year Dawn Staley’s South Carolina Gamecocks. Late in that game there was pushing, shoving, and a sibling coming out of the stands as a reaction to the action.

American Athletic Conference defense person of the year and rookie of the year Hanna Hidalgo led Notre Dame to the conference championship. Proving everything is bigger in Texas, CO-POY and FOY Madison Booker secured the Big 12 championship trophy for Texas. Over in the Big East, Conference POY Paige Bueckers led the UCONN Huskies to another championship. Caitlin Clark added to her resume with a third straight conference POY and third straight conference championship. Yes, the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer also has three conference championships and three conference POY’s. Oh, and she’s headed to the WNBA after this season.

Out west, in the Pac-12, JuJu Watkins’ phenomenal Freshman year continues with USC into March Madness with a FOY award and conference championship. Pac-12 POY and DPOY, Cameron Brink declared for the WNBA draft and will likely be a top 3 pick. 

The 2024 Women’s College Basketball Tournament will further advance the notoriety of some, the emergence of others, and solidify the greatness of a few. It will also serve a hard lesson on life’s try-and-fail mandate to plenty. Those stories, along with the spectacle of the game, energy of the crowds, and the daytime hours spent watching basketball (instead of working) will contribute to the madness of March.

Will Utah’s Alissa Pili get to bang in the post with Iowa State’s Audi Crooks? Will South Carolina’s Milaysia Fulwiley get to dance with LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson again? Can Hanna Hidalgo lock up Paige Bueckers? Does Elizabeth Kitley get the best of Lauren Betts? Will JuJu Watkins get the opportunity against Caitlin Clark to show the country that the Women’s game is in great hands? The matchup possibilities during Women’s March Madness are part of what makes this time of year so thrilling. From Portland, OR to Albany, NY Women’s hoops will blanket the country and occupy our attention. 

We’ll all block time on our work schedules Monday to complete our brackets online. We’ll kill more time printing out brackets to pin up in our cubicles and talking to coworkers about picks. We’ll no doubt spend a long lunch identifying a few days during the tournament to log in from home over the next few weeks. There’s wings to consume, beer, and Women’s March Madness! 

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Mark Patton is an owner of too many sneakers, a passionate and persistent advocate for public school students experiencing homelessness and a big sports fan with immaculate taste in Hip-hop music.