Stars on display in women's March Madness on TSN
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The second round of the women's March Madness tournament rolls on, with a trio of superstars set to lead their teams through to the Sweet 16 on TSN on Monday.
You can watch all of women's March Madness on TSN and streaming on TSN+. Check the linear broadcast schedule here, and check here to subscribe to TSN+ to see all of the games streaming there.
Aaliyah Edwards of the University of Connecticut, Caitlin Clark of Iowa and Yvonne Ejim out of Gonzaga are three of the top names in the tournament.
(3) UConn vs. (6) Syracuse
The action on Monday starts with the Canadian Edwards and her No. 3 Huskies taking on the No. 6 Syracuse Orange.
Edwards, 21, from Kingston, Ont., was a finalist for the Katrina McClain Award, which recognizes the nation's best power forward each year on the women's side.
She averaged 17.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game in this, her senior year. The Huskies crushed Jackson State in their opening-round game, where Edwards chipped in 20 points and 10 rebounds in an 86-64 final.
UConn is among the storied programs in NCAA basketball, on both the men's and women's side. Led by Geno Auriemma, who recently surpassed Mike Krzyzewski for the second-most wins by a coach in NCAA Division 1 history (men's or women's), the program has claimed 11 March Madness titles, but haven't won the tournament since 2015-16.
Edwards, who has one year of eligibility left at UConn, declared before the tournament started that she would be entering the WNBA Draft, in a post on social media. "Let's have one last dance," she said in her post. "In addition to one last dance, I will be officially declaring for the 2024 WNBA draft. I'm prepared, but more importantly I'm ready for the next chapter."
(8) West Virginia vs. (1) Iowa
The electrifying Clark leads her top-seeded Iowa Hawkeyes against No. 8 West Virginia Mountaineers in game two of the tripleheader.
Clark, 22, also declared for the WNBA Draft ahead of the tournament. The Des Moines, Iowa native led the Hawkeyes to their best finish in program history last season, when they lost in the final to South Carolina.
Iowa got their tournament off to a strong start, trouncing Holy Cross 91-65. Clark scored 27 points with 10 assists and eight rebounds to follow up her brilliant regular season.
Clark set the NCAA women's Division 1 scoring record on Feb 15, and became the NCAA scoring record holder between men's and women's divisions on March 3, when she surpassed Pete Maravich.
Iowa and West Virginia are meeting for the sixth time, and the Hawkeyes have historically controlled the matchup - winning four of the first five. But Clark is expecting a tough challenge nonetheless in their second-round matchup.
"Our group knows better than anybody this is a game that is going to be close," Clark said of facing the Big 12's Mountaineers. "Doesn't really matter what number is next to your name. That's what makes this tournament so fun. You've got to come ready to play. Georgia gave us a great battle [last year]. It just shows how important singular possessions are in these types of games."
(5) Utah vs. (4) Gonzaga
Canada's Ejim, a senior, looks to cap off her strong season by leading the No. 4 Gonzaga Bulldogs to uncharted territory.
Gonzaga's women's program has not experienced success like the men's side, which has finished runner-up twice in the last seven years. The best finish for the women's side was in 2011, when they lost in the Elite Eight.
Ejim, 21, of Calgary, AB, had a strong regular season, where she finished with 20.0 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game and was a Becky Hammon Player of the Year award finalist.
She scored 25 points and collected 14 rebounds in the 75-56 stomp of the No. 13 UC Irvine Anteaters in the opening round of the tournament. It was the first game Gonzaga hosted in the March Madness tournament since 2013, and they'll play host again against Utah.
“I think especially when we went on our runs, we felt the energy, especially when we come back on defense," Ejim told reporters after their opening-round victory. "Everyone is cheering, everyone is clapping, not only around us but on our team, too, and I think that really fed into the intensity that we kept up throughout the game.”