The 2025 women’s basketball NCAA tournament will officially kick off on Wednesday, with Iowa State and Princeton battling in the First Four at 7 p.m. ET, before full first round play begins on Friday afternoon.
Before this thrilling slate of hoops unfolds, however, NCAA.com women’s basketball correspondent Autumn Johnson has issued her official bracket predictions, discussing a couple of major upsets and potential breakout stars before we eventually see her pedigreed Final Four.
Check out Johnson’s complete predictions below:
2025 March Madness: Women’s NCAA tournament schedule, dates, times
Spokane 1 Region
Upsets
(10) Harvard over (7) Michigan State — One of three Ivy League teams to qualify for the NCAA tournament, Harvard has impressed Johnson both during its increasingly competitive conference slate and a non-conference schedule filled with power conference wins over St. John’s, Indiana, Boston College and Northwestern. Harmoni Turner is one of the most productive players in all of college basketball, averaging 22.5 points, 3.4 assists and 2.8 steals per game, and Harvard boasts the No. 21-ranked defense in all of America.
(3) LSU over (2) NC State — While it’s hard to beat a team twice, LSU had little trouble dispatching of NC State the first time around, when Aneesah Morrow scored 20 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in an 82-65 LSU win earlier this year. The Tigers stumbled down the stretch a bit, losing four of their last seven games and dropping to a three seed, but Kim Mulkey and company proved their Final Four caliber earlier this season.
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Players to watch
“We could see a very interesting matchup between LSU and NC State. With the guard play and the pace, I think Aneesah Morrow is going to be an X-factor. We have to watch out for injuries in this matchup with [NC State guard] Aziaha James, [LSU guard] Flau’jae Johnson, and also Morrow.” — Johnson
Regional final:
(1) UCLA over (3) LSU — Only one team has managed to take down UCLA in 32 games this year, with Southern Cal scoring a regular-season sweep over its crosstown rivals, and Johnson doesn’t expect that to change before the Final Four. UCLA is led by one of the nation’s most efficient volume scorers and double-double machine Lauren Betts, and the Bruins rank fifth in both offensive and defensive efficiency.
Birmingham 2 Region
Upsets
(13) Norfolk State over (4) Maryland — Comfortably the most surprising upset on Johnson’s bracket, a Norfolk State win would mark just the eighth ever No. 13 seed to win an NCAA tournament game and the first MEAC school to advance past the first round. However, the Spartans have already slain a pair of giants during the non-conference in Auburn and Missouri and feature power conference quality in former five-star recruit Diamond Johnson, who leads the team in scoring and anchors a top-60 defense with 3.7 steals per game.
🏆 HISTORY: Schools with the most DI women’s basketball national championships
Regional final:
(1) South Carolina over (2) Duke — While South Carolina has looked more vulnerable than in recent years against top competition, the Gamecocks had no trouble dispatching of Duke in a December 2024 meeting at Colonial Life Arena, where SC led by as much as 25 in the second half. Johnson expects more of the same in the Elite Eight, with South Carolina sporting a deep 10-woman rotation and the nation’s No. 1-ranked defense.
Spokane 4 Region
Upsets
(10) South Dakota St. over (7) Oklahoma St. — Aaron Johnston has transformed South Dakota State into one of the sport’s most consistent mid-major programs, now qualifying for the NCAA tournament in 13 of the past 16 seasons. In recent seasons, the Jackrabbits have reached the Round of 32 and the Sweet 16, and Johnson is expecting similar magic from this year’s team led by 6-foot-2 forward Brooklyn Meyer.
(6) Iowa over (3) Oklahoma — It’s been hard to picture Iowa as an underdog in recent years, but with the departure of college basketball’s leading scorer Caitlin Clark and longtime head coach Lisa Bluder this past offseason, the Hawkeyes sat at 2-6 in Big Ten play after a five-game losing streak. Since then, however, Iowa has finished the season 10-3 with wins over Southern Cal, Michigan and Michigan State.
Players to watch
“Now when we look at the Elite Eight, it could get interesting because we have Southern California vs. UConn, and that means Paige Bueckers vs. UConn.” — Johnson
Regional final: (2) UConn over (1) Southern Cal
“When we look at this matchup and the history UConn has, Paige Bueckers has been able to take her team to the Final Four and the championship stage every time she has played.” — Johnson
Birmingham 3 Region
Upsets
(3) Notre Dame over (2) TCU — This Sweet 16 victory would make Notre Dame the highest seed to make the Elite Eight in Johnson’s bracket, but the Fighting Irish’s star power is up there with anyone’s in March. Hannah Hidalgo is among the nation’s premier two-way players, averaging 24.2 points and 3.7 steals. At the same time, Olivia Miles is a walking triple-double threat with nearly six rebounds and assists per game.
Players to watch
“If we get Louisville against TCU, we could get an interesting storyline of Hailey Van Lith facing off against her former team.” — Johnson
Regional final:
(3) Notre Dame over (1) Texas — The first matchup between these two teams was as close as can be, with Notre Dame pulling away in overtime for a crucial non-conference victory in South Bend. The Longhorns have only lost twice since then, a pair of sizable setbacks against South Carolina, but Johnson expects Notre Dame to repeat its early-season supremacy in the Elite Eight.
Final Four
Semifinals
(1) UCLA over (2) UConn — “UCLA moving on to the championship stage paced by 6-foot-7 Lauren Betts. Sarah Strong will have that defensive assignment.” — Johnson
(1) South Carolina over (2) Notre Dame — “This was a blockbuster matchup in Paris last year that introduced us to MiLaysia Fulwiley and Hannah Hidalgo. I think South Carolina will get the best of this matchup.” — Johnson
National championship
(1) South Carolina over (1) UCLA — “This could be a possible rematch that we saw back in November when this team [South Carolina] was trying to figure out how to navigate life without Kamilla Cardoso. I think they’ve done that with Sania Feagin having a breakout year and also Chloe Kitts, the Most Outstanding Player in the SEC, has been the X-factor.” — Johnson
