Sandra Clark 
March Madness, the 2024 NCAA Women’s Tournament is on with a round of The Sweet 16.
The NCAA women’s championship first two rounds have been completed successfully and we have 16 teams left for the race to the NCAA women’s championship.
The Sweet 16 round will have a total of 8 games divided into two days with four games on each day. There are a total of six rounds in the tournament.
Today is day 1 of The Sweet 16 round and four matches were planned for Friday, March 29.
The first match of the round of The Sweet 16 was between 2nd-seeded Notre Dame and 3rd-seeded Oregon State.
Oregon State beat Notre Dame 70-65 in the opening match of The Sweet 16 round.
Notre Dame’s star performer was not up to the mark today, Hidalgo finished with only 10 points which is her season-low point.
Moreover, NCAA officials requested Hannah Hidalgo to remove a node ring in the middle of the second quarter during Friday’s game and she must go out of the game to remove it, in between Oregon State extended their lead.
This was a surprising request from NCAA officials as Hidalgo had worn the nose ring since the start of the NCAA championship.
Why did Hannah Hidalgo remove the nose ring?
As per the NCAA rules, any type of jewelry is prohibited during the match. Officials need to inspect and approve player’s uniforms. It must be overlooked by officials at the start of the match or earlier matches.
The second match of the day was between No. 1 South Carolina and No. 4 Indiana. The Gamecocks survived the scare today and beat 79-75 to enter the next round of The Elite Right.
This was one of the closest games for South Carolina. The Gamecocks started well in the match and had a 17-point lead at halftime. However, they lost all first-half lead to the brilliant comeback from the Hoosiers, who covered all the lead that South Carlina had but that was not enough for Indiana to beat The Gamecocks.
Kamilla Cardoso was the player for tonight for South Carolina. She scored 22 points, which helped her team reach the Elite Eight round. What a day she chose to score her best in this tournament.
The Gamecocks will face the first match winner Oregon State on Sunday, March 31 for The Elite Eight round game.
The match between No.3 NC State and No.2 Sandford was an upset for Stanford. The NC State won 77-67 and ended Stanford’s race to the championship.
Both teams started cautiously but Stanford gained a double-digit lead in the first half, however, Aziaha James, contributed 29 points and turned it for NC State. The win gives the Wolfpack its second Elite Eight in three years and third overall.
The last match of the Sweet 16 round day 1 of the NCAA Women was between No. 1 Texas and No. 4 Gonzaga.
Texas won this match and beat Gonzaga 69-47. This was the easiest match out of all matches today.
Texas got the 19-point halftime lead; however, Gonzaga found some rhythm after half time but it was not enough, and Texas cruised through to the next round of The Elite Eight.
March 29 Results
Please look at the below table for the March Madness NCAA Women’s Championship The Sweet 16 Round Day 1 March 29 Results.
The Sweet 16 Round Day 2 March 30 Schedule
Please look at the below table for the March Madness NCAA Women’s Championship the Sweet 16 Round Day 2 schedule for March 30.
