Women’s March Madness Elite Eight: Preview, Updates for UConn–Notre Dame, UCLA-Duke

The Elite Eight has arrived. Follow along as Sports Illustrated delivers live updates, scores and analysis during Sunday’s matchups from the women’s NCAA tournament.

Azzi Fudd and the Huskies will look to continue its undefeated season as they take on Notre Dame on Sunday. | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

The 2026 women’s NCAA tournament continues Sunday with the first two games of the Elite Eight. No. 1 overall seed UConn will take on Hannah Hidalgo and No. 6 Notre Dame at 1 p.m. ET, which will be followed by No. 1 UCLA taking on No. 3 Duke at 3 p.m. ET.

Sports Illustrated will have live updates throughout the games with analysis, highlights and more from around the bracket.

Sunday’s women’s Elite Eight matchups

No. 1 UConn vs. No. 6 Notre Dame, 1 p.m. ET (ABC)

Hannah Hidalgo is on a heater this NCAA tournament. She flirted with a quadruple-double in the opening round, blew by Jaloni Cambridge and the Buckeyes in the second round, then followed it up with a triple-double against Mikalya Blakes and Vanderbilt in the Sweet 16. UConn better have its pockets (and the ball) protected on Sunday because Hidalgo is stealing hearts and dreams. The junior guard has 26 steals so far in the tourney, and when she’s not forcing turnovers, she is grabbing rebounds, dishing passes or splitting defenses to drive toward the basket

UConn has figured out Hidalgo & Co. once already this season, though. The Huskies beat the Fighting Irish 85–47 back in January. Geno Auriemma’s squad didn’t look its best in its Sweet 16 win over North Carolina, but it seems unlikely that the Huskies would be slow out of the gate in back-to-back games. If they are, Hidalgo will capitalize and make them pay—picking straight from their pockets.

No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 3 Duke, 3 p.m. ET (ABC)

Duke has long been known for its staunch defense under coach Kara Lawson. But the Blue Devils displayed a more complete game in their Sweet 16 win over LSU. When up against one of the highest-scoring offenses in the country, Duke had no choice but to dig deep offensively. Sure, it was still a defensive slog at times, but shutting down the Tigers the way the Blue Devils did (with an iconic buzzer beater to boot) should give them quite a confidence boost heading into Sunday’s matchup.

UCLA, meanwhile, has started showing some life on the perimeter to complement what Lauren Betts does so consistently in the post. Much like she did when the Bruins faced Minnesota during the regular season, Kiki Rice took over in the Sweet 16 as the game’s leading scorer, notching 21 points. But it was forward Angela Dugalic who stepped up with 10 points off the bench in the first half against the Golden Gophers to keep the Bruins in the game early before they really took over in the second half. Duke will certainly want to rely on its tried and true defensive smothering to slow UCLA down, but will need to continue moving the ball well to keep up with the Bruins.

Live updates, analysis and highlights from Sunday’s games

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