Lower seeds shake up the March Madness bracket

Nailed it, coach.

Lower seeds shake up March Madness bracket

March Madness lived up to its name yesterday, as two major NCAA upsets sent some Cinderella teams careening toward this weekend’s Sweet 16.

• The first-ever women’s team to advance from the First Four to the third round, No. 10 seed Virginia took down No. 2 Iowa 83-75 in double OT behind junior Kymora Johnson’s 28 points — reaching its first Sweet 16 since 2000.

• “We just believed that we were going to win this game before it even started,” said head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton. “Every time they punched, we punched back.” (Watch full highlights)

Building steam: Monday’s elite guard showdown delivered, as No. 6 Notre Dame ousted No. 3 Ohio State 83-73 behind Hannah Hidalgo’s 26 points, 13 rebounds, and eight steals.

• “We have really fought through the adversity this season, and really the last several weeks have become more tough,” said Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey, after her squad forced 21 turnovers to overcome OSU guard Jaloni Cambridge’s 41 points.

• “I don’t ever really know my stats,” Hidalgo said postgame. “I’m just out there hooping.” (Watch full highlights)

Up next: The Madness returns this weekend, as Notre Dame takes on No. 2 Vanderbilt on Friday at 2:30 PM ET, before Virginia faces No. 3 TCU on Saturday at 7:30 PM ET, live on ESPN.

No. 1 seeds stake Sweet 16 claims

All four No. 1 seeds remain locked in, advancing to the NCAA tournament’s third round with a lot of daylight between the title contenders and their challengers.

• No. 1 UConn blew out No. 9 Syracuse 98-45 on Monday, before No. 1 South Carolina handled No. 9 USC 101-61, and No. 1 UCLA dominated No. 8 Oklahoma State 87-68 — joining No. 1 Texas in the Sweet 16.

• “After being in this business for 37 years, to have to be in this particular bracket every freakin’ year is unacceptable,” said Syracuse head coach Felisha Legette-Jack, after the Huskies secured their 15th 50-point NCAA tournament win. (Watch full highlights)

Swan songs: Seniors stole the show on Monday, as graduating talents said goodbye to home crowds before moving to the third round’s neutral-site courts.

• UCLA’s Lauren Betts scored a career-high 35 points in her last game at Pauley Pavilion, while UConn’s Azzi Fudd dropped 34 points to tie her career high in Storrs.

• “It’s kind of what Azzi does — not miss," said fellow Husky Sarah Strong. “I’m happy to see her at her most confident self.”

Up next: The top seeds return Friday, as UConn takes on No. 4 UNC at 5 PM ET before UCLA faces the No. 4 Minnesota Golden Gophers at 7:30 PM ET, live on ESPN.

Shorthanded UWCL quarterfinals kick off in London

The Champions League quarterfinals have arrived, as Chelsea and Arsenal prepare to kick off today’s historic London derby’s first leg shorthanded after waning midseason availability.

• Chelsea is without Australians Sam Kerr and Ellie Carpenter as they return from the 2026 Asian Cup, while fellow Matildas Caitlin Foord, Steph Catley, and Kyra Cooney-Cross sit out for Arsenal.

• The Blues’ concerns go even deeper, also missing recent departures Guro Reiten and Catarina Macario while Aggie Beever-Jones remains questionable and Millie Bright, Nathalie Björn, Mayra Ramírez, and Niamh Charles are all sidelined with injury.

• “I still think we have a lot of quality and coming into the game tomorrow, we will have some strengths to use,” assured Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor.

Setting the field: The competition’s other matchups should bring more star power, as Wolfsburg takes on OL Lyonnes, Barcelona opens its El Clásico against Real Madrid, and Manchester United battles Bayern Munich.

• “You know it’s going to be competitive — nobody’s going to give anything away for free,” said Barcelona forward Caroline Graham Hansen.

Tune in: The UWCL quarterfinals kick off today at 1:45 PM ET, live on Paramount+.

Going to the Women’s Final Four? We’ll see you there.

• On April 2nd, Lisa Leslie and Just Women’s Sports are taking over Phoenix for a live taping of Between the Lines presented by Intuit TurboTax.

• Expect special guests, real conversations, and championship-level energy in the room.

• Tickets to the event include complimentary drinks, free Culver’s Fresh Frozen Custard, and early access to our Hall of Champions exhibit presented by Culver’s.

Don’t miss it: Learn more and get your tickets today via Eventbrite.

North American stars show off in Miami

North America’s stars are shining in Florida, with every Miami Open quarterfinal match featuring at least one US or Canadian athlete ahead of the Sunshine Double finale.

• World No. 4 Coco Gauff (US), No. 5 Jessica Pegula (US), No. 45 Hailey Baptiste (US), and No. 10 Victoria Mboko (Canada) all advanced to this year’s final eight.

• Baptiste qualified for her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal with a Round of 16 win over No. 25 Jeļena Ostapenko — hot off the prior round’s Top 10 win over No. 9 Elina Svitolina.

• “I’ve been here for a while, everybody pretty much knows what I can do and it’s time for me to show it,” Baptiste said after the victory. (Watch full highlights)

Big boss loading: Baptiste will next face No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, with No. 3 Elena Rybakina, No. 12 Belinda Bencic, and No. 13 Karolína Muchová rounding out the field.

• “I’ve been watching her game,” Sabalenka said ahead of the pair’s first-ever meeting. “She’s playing really great tennis — great serving, great variety — and it’s going to be a great battle.”

Tune in: The Miami Open quarterfinals start today at 2 PM ET, live on The Tennis Channel.

Cleveland WNBA team expands ownership group

Cleveland is already stacking its WNBA roster, as the upcoming expansion team adds the women’s sports-focused investment firm Monarch Collective alongside business leaders with Ohio ties to its growing ownership group.

• Monarch Collective leads the pack with its first WNBA team investment, joined by minority owners Liz Yee, Ted Coons, Lauren Spilman, Steve Demetriou, Michael Petras, John Morikis, Chris Hyland, and AJ Murphy. (See full release)

Big demand: The league’s 16th franchise has already secured more than 8,000 initial season ticket deposits ahead of its planned 2028 debut.

• “We believe in the present and future of women’s sports,” said Rock Entertainment Group chairman and majority owner Dan Gilbert. “The ownership group we have assembled will help propel this franchise forward and support its mission to become a force for good in our community and across the sport.”

Quote of the day

Minnesota coach Dawn Plitzuweit
on the Amaya Battle buzzer-beater that lifted the Minnesota Golden Gophers — accidentally identified as “the Badgers” in Monday’s JWS newsletter — over Ole Miss on Sunday.