March Madness live updates, scores, bracket: Texas vs. Tennessee; Hailey Van Lith lifts TCU over Notre Dame in NCAA tournament

Yahoo

29-03-2025

The March Madness slate continues Saturday with the final women's Sweet 16 games.
Plenty of stars will be in action, and Hailey Van Lith captured everybody's attention early in the day with a dominant outing to lift No. 2 TCU over No. 3 Notre Dame. Still to come: No. 2 UConn's Paige Bueckers, No. 1 Texas' Madison Booker and more.
And even though No. 1 USC is without injured star JuJu Watkins, the Trojans will continue their quest for a title against No. 5 Kansas State. Will the top seeds continue their dominance, or will a lower-seeded team pull off an upset to advance to the Elite Eight?
Here's what we'll be following for the day.
All times ET
No. 2 TCU 71, No. 3 Notre Dame 62
No. 1 Texas vs. No. 5 Tennessee (ABC)
5:30 p.m.: No. 2 UConn vs. No. 3 Oklahoma (ESPN)
8 p.m.: No. 1 USC vs. No. 5 Kansas State (ESPN)Tennessee held a sliver of control to start the quarter, but Texas snatched it back, stomping to a 21-13 lead to end the first quarter. The Longhorns looked dominant on a 13-0 run, as the Lady Vols' shooting went cold.
The Longhorns pull ahead to a 19-13 lead off a few great drives in transition and taking advantage of Tennessee's misses. That'll be the Lady Vols' main weakness in this unique system: Speeding up possessions only works if you score.
playin' fast 💨🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/JAHuMi0F62
— Texas Women's Basketball (@TexasWBB) March 29, 2025
Tennessee strikes first against Texas with a Talaysia Cooper three-pointer, but the Longhorns are keeping pace with the Lady Vols so far.
Tennessee's relentless, fast-paced play is already showing off: The Lady Vols attempted 11 shots in the first four minutes of play alone. Tennessee is now up by three points, after shooting twice as many shots as Texas so far in the first quarter. Lady Vols 11, Longhorns 8.
And we're off in Birmingham for the second Sweet 16 matchup of the day, as SEC foes Tennessee and Texas battle for a spot in the Elite Eight.
Hailey Van Lith is the only player to lead THREE different schools to the Elite Eight in NCAA history (men's or women's) 🔥 pic.twitter.com/tKhouDFt2v
— espnW (@espnW) March 29, 2025
"THIS IS WHY!"@haileyvanlith and @tcuwbb are heading to the ELITE 8!#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/zKpgmu624h
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) March 29, 2025
Quite a happy group of TCU players advancing to the Elite Eight for the first time pic.twitter.com/5JTfz4Llfm
— Andrea Adelson (@aadelsonESPN) March 29, 2025
What a game in Birmingham, as TCU pulled away from Notre Dame after a dominant fourth quarter. The Horned Frogs outscored the Fighting Irish 20-10 in the final quarter, behind 18 points from Hailey Van Lith.
Notre Dame, who at one point looked unstoppable, fell apart towards the end of the game as numerous shots fell flat. But Van Lith balled out, and powered TCU to its first Elite Eight in program history.
Another missed free throw from Hannah Hidalgo, who is 9-of-12 from the line today; two of those misses have come in the last few minutes.
Two more free throws from Sedona Prince, and TCU is up by nine with 23 seconds left.
Hailey Van Lith is balling out, getting a tricky contested layup to give TCU a nine-point lead.
HVL said LIGHTS OUT🫰 pic.twitter.com/T84SCZa3r7
— TCU Women's Basketball (@tcuwbb) March 29, 2025
Hannah Hidalgo, who has not had a very good fourth quarter, had a chance to get Notre Dame within seven points, but missed one of her free throws. TCU up eight with less than a minute left.
HVL's right knee is bleeding — possibly an injury she sustained while diving and grappling for the ball before TCU's last timeout. The game takes a brief pause to wrap up her knee and get the blood off the court, and then we're back in the thick of it.
That's only Hailey Van Lith's second three-pointer of the game, but they've both been some of the most crucial points in this matchup. She also just hit a major milestone, breaking TCU's single-season scoring record.
There it is!The greatest offensive season in program history 👏 pic.twitter.com/UXrb6BOBnX
— TCU Women's Basketball (@tcuwbb) March 29, 2025
The Horned Frogs are up by 9 points — their largest lead of the game, and tied for the largest lead overall. It's a lead that is quickly starting to feel insurmountable for Notre Dame.
A shot attempt by Olivia Miles that hung in the balance before bouncing out. Missed layups. Bad day offensively from Hannah. Another bounced out shot from Sonia. Feels like it might start piling up here in the final five minutes for Notre Dame. The five-point lead feels like 10.
TCU pulls to a six-point lead off of a beautiful three-pointer from Hailey Van Lith. The Horned Frogs are on a 11-2 run; Notre Dame takes a timeout.
‼️‼️‼️@haileyvanlith puts the Frogs up six 🏹 pic.twitter.com/gFH7WJjSfg
— TCU Women's Basketball (@tcuwbb) March 29, 2025
Well that's problematic for Notre Dame. Westbeld draws a fourth foul guarding Prince on what looked from here like a bad call, or at minimum a ticky-tacky one. She has to hit the bench. HVL draws a third foul on Citron on the very next possession. If it works, it works.
More frustration for Hannah coming back after that missed open 3 near the end of the third quarter. She grabs her face exasperated. Sonia Citron also not getting what she wants offensively. She's 0-3 from deep. Team is 3-14 (21.4%).
TCU came out more aggressive to make it to the free throw line. They hit all 10 after going 6-of-8 in the entire first half.
To monitor: Notre Dame's Westbeld and Prosper, and TCU's Prince and Emma-Nnopu all have three fouls each.
Hailey Van Lith wanted to take the lead back for TCU to close out the third quarter. She drew a foul and knocked down both free throws to do so.
However, Liatu King got one last shot under the basket to put Notre Dame back on top as time expired, 52-51.
Both Van Lith and King have 14 points for their respective teams. Sedona Prince leads all scorers with 15 for TCU.
TCU ripped off eight consecutive points, four of them from Hailey Van Lith, to cut Notre Dame's lead to 46-45. Two free throws by Cassandre Prosper stopped the run, but the Horned Frogs are making their push as the third quarter nears its end.
Hidalgo runs into an HVL brick wall driving to the basket on the other end and stands proud afteward. This is the Saturday afternoon we all deserve.
Hannah was positively giddy to draw that jump ball on Donovyn Hunter near the sideline. Notre Dame is winning in hustle plays. A few minutes ago, Cassandre Prosper dove feet in front of her to tip a ball.
Tennessee held a sliver of control to start the quarter, but Texas snatched it back, stomping to a 21-13 lead to end the first quarter. The Longhorns looked dominant on a 13-0 run, as the Lady Vols' shooting went cold.
The Longhorns pull ahead to a 19-13 lead off a few great drives in transition and taking advantage of Tennessee's misses. That'll be the Lady Vols' main weakness in this unique system: Speeding up possessions only works if you score.
playin' fast 💨🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/JAHuMi0F62
— Texas Women's Basketball (@TexasWBB) March 29, 2025
Tennessee strikes first against Texas with a Talaysia Cooper three-pointer, but the Longhorns are keeping pace with the Lady Vols so far.
Tennessee's relentless, fast-paced play is already showing off: The Lady Vols attempted 11 shots in the first four minutes of play alone. Tennessee is now up by three points, after shooting twice as many shots as Texas so far in the first quarter. Lady Vols 11, Longhorns 8.
And we're off in Birmingham for the second Sweet 16 matchup of the day, as SEC foes Tennessee and Texas battle for a spot in the Elite Eight.
Hailey Van Lith is the only player to lead THREE different schools to the Elite Eight in NCAA history (men's or women's) 🔥 pic.twitter.com/tKhouDFt2v
— espnW (@espnW) March 29, 2025
"THIS IS WHY!"@haileyvanlith and @tcuwbb are heading to the ELITE 8!#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/zKpgmu624h
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) March 29, 2025
Quite a happy group of TCU players advancing to the Elite Eight for the first time pic.twitter.com/5JTfz4Llfm
— Andrea Adelson (@aadelsonESPN) March 29, 2025
What a game in Birmingham, as TCU pulled away from Notre Dame after a dominant fourth quarter. The Horned Frogs outscored the Fighting Irish 20-10 in the final quarter, behind 18 points from Hailey Van Lith.
Notre Dame, who at one point looked unstoppable, fell apart towards the end of the game as numerous shots fell flat. But Van Lith balled out, and powered TCU to its first Elite Eight in program history.
Another missed free throw from Hannah Hidalgo, who is 9-of-12 from the line today; two of those misses have come in the last few minutes.
Two more free throws from Sedona Prince, and TCU is up by nine with 23 seconds left.
Hailey Van Lith is balling out, getting a tricky contested layup to give TCU a nine-point lead.
HVL said LIGHTS OUT🫰 pic.twitter.com/T84SCZa3r7
— TCU Women's Basketball (@tcuwbb) March 29, 2025
Hannah Hidalgo, who has not had a very good fourth quarter, had a chance to get Notre Dame within seven points, but missed one of her free throws. TCU up eight with less than a minute left.
HVL's right knee is bleeding — possibly an injury she sustained while diving and grappling for the ball before TCU's last timeout. The game takes a brief pause to wrap up her knee and get the blood off the court, and then we're back in the thick of it.
That's only Hailey Van Lith's second three-pointer of the game, but they've both been some of the most crucial points in this matchup. She also just hit a major milestone, breaking TCU's single-season scoring record.
There it is!The greatest offensive season in program history 👏 pic.twitter.com/UXrb6BOBnX
— TCU Women's Basketball (@tcuwbb) March 29, 2025
The Horned Frogs are up by 9 points — their largest lead of the game, and tied for the largest lead overall. It's a lead that is quickly starting to feel insurmountable for Notre Dame.
A shot attempt by Olivia Miles that hung in the balance before bouncing out. Missed layups. Bad day offensively from Hannah. Another bounced out shot from Sonia. Feels like it might start piling up here in the final five minutes for Notre Dame. The five-point lead feels like 10.
TCU pulls to a six-point lead off of a beautiful three-pointer from Hailey Van Lith. The Horned Frogs are on a 11-2 run; Notre Dame takes a timeout.
‼️‼️‼️@haileyvanlith puts the Frogs up six 🏹 pic.twitter.com/gFH7WJjSfg
— TCU Women's Basketball (@tcuwbb) March 29, 2025
Well that's problematic for Notre Dame. Westbeld draws a fourth foul guarding Prince on what looked from here like a bad call, or at minimum a ticky-tacky one. She has to hit the bench. HVL draws a third foul on Citron on the very next possession. If it works, it works.
More frustration for Hannah coming back after that missed open 3 near the end of the third quarter. She grabs her face exasperated. Sonia Citron also not getting what she wants offensively. She's 0-3 from deep. Team is 3-14 (21.4%).
TCU came out more aggressive to make it to the free throw line. They hit all 10 after going 6-of-8 in the entire first half.
To monitor: Notre Dame's Westbeld and Prosper, and TCU's Prince and Emma-Nnopu all have three fouls each.
Hailey Van Lith wanted to take the lead back for TCU to close out the third quarter. She drew a foul and knocked down both free throws to do so.
However, Liatu King got one last shot under the basket to put Notre Dame back on top as time expired, 52-51.
Both Van Lith and King have 14 points for their respective teams. Sedona Prince leads all scorers with 15 for TCU.
TCU ripped off eight consecutive points, four of them from Hailey Van Lith, to cut Notre Dame's lead to 46-45. Two free throws by Cassandre Prosper stopped the run, but the Horned Frogs are making their push as the third quarter nears its end.
Hidalgo runs into an HVL brick wall driving to the basket on the other end and stands proud afteward. This is the Saturday afternoon we all deserve.
Hannah was positively giddy to draw that jump ball on Donovyn Hunter near the sideline. Notre Dame is winning in hustle plays. A few minutes ago, Cassandre Prosper dove feet in front of her to tip a ball.