Pac-12 Conference

UCLA Bruins

UCLA

Women’s Basketball

Big Ten

UCLA Bruins Women's Basketball team

UCLA Women's Basketball Legacy and Historic Season Recap | Big Ten Women's Basketball

UCLA Women's Basketball Legacy and Historic Season Recap | Big Ten Women's Basketball (aXbkymD6U9M)

Pure Joy; UCLA Super Seniors React to National Championship | Big Ten Women's Basketball

Pure Joy; UCLA Super Seniors React to National Championship | Big Ten Women's Basketball (UdonsQmHoTY)

UCLA's Journey to the Women's Basketball National Championship | Big Ten Women's Basketball

UCLA's Journey to the Women's Basketball National Championship | Big Ten Women's Basketball (Hj7P48_zxTY)

Big 12 Conference

Texas Longhorns

Texas

Texas Longhorns Women's Basketball team

UCLA's Defensive Dominance Key in Final Four Win vs. Texas | Big Ten Women's Basketball

UCLA's Defensive Dominance Key in Final Four Win vs. Texas | Big Ten Women's Basketball (siTpJXLqgZI)

Big Ten Conference

West

Northwestern Wildcats

Northwestern

Northwestern Wildcats Women's Basketball team

Carla Berube Introductory Press Conference | Northwestern Women's Basketball

Carla Berube Introductory Press Conference | Northwestern Women's Basketball (5bkkFNtBuDY)

Dawn Staley praises Cori Close's impact at UCLA | Big Ten Women's Basketball

Dawn Staley praises Cori Close's impact at UCLA | Big Ten Women's Basketball (WYGsadTOkqs)

Build Your All-Time Starting 5 | UCLA Women's Basketball

Build Your All-Time Starting 5 | UCLA Women's Basketball (-Jm2-pVoaLQ)

UCLA Bruins crowned national champs after dominant title win | Big Ten Women's Basketball

UCLA Bruins crowned national champs after dominant title win | Big Ten Women's Basketball (plyW3JKkcmw)

Southeastern Conference

South Carolina Gamecocks

South Carolina

South Carolina Gamecocks Women's Basketball team

UCLA's path to a National Championship vs. South Carolina | Big Ten Women's Basketball

UCLA's path to a National Championship vs. South Carolina | Big Ten Women's Basketball (X8nnAVVxT1E)

Defense was Everything in UCLA's Final Four Win | Big Ten Women's Basketball

Defense was Everything in UCLA's Final Four Win | Big Ten Women's Basketball (YVh1bV3i3Mo)

UCLA Women's Basketball

Another successful stop on the tour ✅🏆

Thanks for having us tonight @LAClippers 💙💛

#GoBruins https://t.co/y3raONWJ4A

Tweet 2042107093218685135

Tweet 2042107108007797049

Thank you Bruin nation for a special night in Pauley! 🐻🏆💙💛

We loved celebrating with you at home!

#GoBruins https://t.co/cYQX43Y0wM

Tweet 2042100701892087865

Tweet 2042100720040817053

Big Ten Women's Basketball

Your 2026 National Champions, @UCLAWBB 🤩 https://t.co/ZV8zg3dz6W

Tweet 2042080723734085830

Tāmaki Basketball Academy, all the way from New Zealand, performed a haka for fellow Kiwi Charlisse Leger-Walker at @UCLAWBB’s celebration tonight 🙌 https://t.co/4GpK71U6Cb

Tweet 2042075509664661842

They’re still dancing 💃 @UCLAWBB https://t.co/i2mnb3xklB

Tweet 2042078787848777939

"LA cares about women's basketball now." 🗣️

Cori Close on how the UCLA community helped change the atmosphere around women's basketball in LA.

📺: @BigTenNetwork https://t.co/t0hgPGVTcP

Tweet 2042056981007991090

Your 2026 NATTY CHAMPS 🎊 

#GoBruins https://t.co/xISmCWX45n

Tweet 2042056893183541578

Legend in the building!

Thanks for the kind words, Denise Curry.

#GoBruins https://t.co/Gj47XjbCSt

Tweet 2042053069962096834

UCLA WBB 3.png

B1G_News_Feed_Logo.svg

UCLA Women's Basketball Captures 2026 NCAA Championship

UCLA WBB-1.png

2025-26 UCLA Outlasts Texas, Advances to National Title Game

Jaloni Cambridge.jpg

East

Ohio State

2025-26 Ohio State's Jaloni Cambridge Honored with Dawn Staley Award

<div class="payload-richtext"><a href="https://bigten.org/wbb/">
 Big Ten Women's Basketball
 </a> | <a href="https://bigten.org/wbb/standings/">
 Big Ten Standings
 </a> | <a href="https://bigten.org/wbb/schedule/">
 Big Ten Schedule & Results
 </a> <a href="https://bigten.org/wbb/stats/">
 Big Ten Statistics
 </a> | <a href="https://stats.ncaa.org/rankings?sport_code=WBB&division=1">
 NCAA Statistics
 </a> <a href="https://stats.ncaa.org/selection_rankings/nitty_gritties/49189">
 NCAA NET Rankings
 </a> | <a href="https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/rankings">
 National Top 25 Polls (March 16-17)
 </a> <a href="https://img.boostsport.ai/boost-cms/Big%20Ten%20WBB%20Weekly%20Release%20040226-1.pdf">
 Big Ten Weekly Release - April 2
 </a> | <a href="https://bigten.org/wbb/article/59636/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">
 2026 Big Ten Women's Basketball Postseason Central
 </a><ul class="list-bullet"><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="1"
 >USC rookie Jazzy Davidson added to her collection on Wednesday after being named the 2026 WBCA NCAA Division I Freshman of the Year presented by Adidas, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association announced. Earlier this season, she was honored as the 2026 USBWA Tamika Catchings National Freshman Player of the Year and earned recognition as the National Freshman of the Year from The Athletic. Davidson became the second Trojan in program history to take home all three national newcomer of the year honors, joining teammate JuJu Watkins. She wrapped the season leading USC outright in every major statistical category including points (17.9), rebounds (5.6), assists (4.1), steals (2.0) and blocks per game (2.0), making her the only Division I player to accomplish that feat this year. The guard joined Watkins, Sarah Strong, Maya Moore, Cheryl Miller, and Candace Parker as the only freshmen in women's college basketball history to record 500+ points, 150+ rebounds, 100+ assists, 50+ steals and 50+ blocks. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="2"
 >The WBCA announced its All-America Team on Thursday, which featured 10 student-athletes from the Big Ten. UCLA’s Lauren Betts and Ohio State’s Jaloni Cambridge made the list, followed by honorable mention selections in Indiana’s Shay Ciezki, Iowa’s Ava Heiden and Hannah Stuelke, Maryland’s Oluchi Okananwa, Michigan’s Olivia Olson and Syla Swords, UCLA’s Kiki Rice and Washington’s Sayvia Sellers. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="3"
 >Senior Lauren Betts was tabbed as a finalist for the 2026 John R. Wooden Award presented by Principal, the Los Angeles Athletic Club announced Tuesday. The UCLA standout was also selected as one of 10 Wooden All-Americans. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="4"
 >The Big Ten Conference is making its return to college basketball’s final weekend for the fourth time in as many years with UCLA set to face Texas in the NCAA Women’s Final Four on Friday at approximately 9:30 p.m. ET live on ESPN from Mortgage Matchup Center. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="5"
 >UCLA advanced to the NCAA Final Four in back-to-back years for the first time in program history by taking down Duke, 70-58, in the Sacramento 2 Region Final. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="6"
 >A familiar foe awaits UCLA in the semifinals on Friday. The Longhorns are the only team to defeat the Bruins this season after walking away with a 76-65 win in November. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="7"
 >Texas holds an 8-7 edge in the all-time series with UCLA, but the teams are tied at 2-2 when they’ve faced off in the NCAA Tournament. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="8"
 >Current Big Ten programs have advanced to the NCAA Women’s Final Four 24 times and have won four national championships (USC – 1983, 1984; Purdue – 1999; Maryland – 2006). </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="9"
 >UCLA’s Lauren Betts was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Sacramento 2 Regional and was joined on the All-Regional Team by teammate Angela Dugalić. Michigan’s Olivia Olson and Syla Swords were on the Fort Worth 3 All-Regional Team, the first time in program history that two Wolverines made a regional team. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="10"
 >For the fifth time in the last six years, the Big Ten has collected double-digit wins in the NCAA Tournament. A pair of conference records were set with 15 victories through the first two rounds (11 in 2004; 10 in 2005; 13 in 2023 and 2025) and 18 wins through the Elite Eight, eclipsing the previous standard (16) from a season ago.</li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="11"
 >The Big Ten set a conference record by having a team reach the Elite Eight in seven consecutive tournaments, with seven different schools accounting for a combined 11 appearances (Michigan and UCLA – 2026; UCLA and USC – 2025; Iowa – 2024; Iowa, Maryland and Ohio State – 2023; Michigan – 2022; Indiana – 2021; Iowa – 2019). </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="12"
 >For the sixth consecutive year, the Big Ten Conference sent at least two teams to the NCAA Sweet 16 as Michigan, Minnesota and UCLA took part this year. The Big Ten tied a conference record with four Sweet 16 participants in 2021 and 2022 and has sent at least three teams to the third round on nine occasions (2003, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025 and 2026).</li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="13"
 >The Big Ten set a new conference record after 11 teams reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The previous record (10) was set last season. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="14"
 >For the 25th consecutive season (not counting the 2019-20 campaign that ended prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic), the Big Ten sent at least eight of its women's basketball programs into postseason play. Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington were selected for the NCAA Tournament. Wisconsin has been representing the conference in the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT).</li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="15"
 >For the second time in conference history, 12 programs earned their way into the NCAA Tournament, led by No. 2 overall seed UCLA. The 12 berths were the top mark among all Division I conferences, followed by the SEC (10), ACC (9) and Big 12 (8).</li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="16"
 >The 12 selections tied the conference record for most teams chosen in one season, which was set during the 2025 NCAA Tournament. It is the 21st time in the past 25 years and 28th time in Big Ten history that at least six current conference members have been selected to compete in the NCAA Tournament. The Big Ten has had at least four of its schools selected for NCAA Tournament action every year since 1986.</li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="17"
 >Northwestern named Carla Berube as its head women’s basketball coach on March 25. Berube spent seven years at Princeton, where she led the Tigers to 147 wins, five Ivy League championships and five NCAA Tournament appearances. The 26-year coaching veteran and seventh head coach in program history was recognized as the 2026 Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year by Her Hoop Stats.</li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="18"
 >Penn State welcomed back four-year letterwinner Tanisha Wright as the seventh head coach of the Lady Lion basketball program. Wright returns to Happy Valley following a five-year stint coaching in the WNBA, including three seasons as the head coach for the Atlanta Dream. This will be the first NCAA head coaching role for the 19-year WNBA veteran. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="19"
 >Rutgers hired Gary Redus II to lead the Scarlet Knights’ women’s basketball program. Redus is stepping into his first head coaching position after serving as an assistant coach at LSU for the past four seasons, which included the program’s first national championship in 2023. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="20"
 >Top-seeded UCLA won its second straight Big Ten Conference Tournament title with a 96-45 victory over second-seeded Iowa. For the first time in program history, the Bruins won back-to-back conference tournament crowns after earning their first Big Ten Tournament Championship a season ago. The 51-point margin of victory broke the record for the largest in a Big Ten Tournament Final as the previous record was Iowa’s 33-point victory over Ohio State in 2023. The Bruins shot 63.5 percent (40-for-63), the highest field goal percentage by a team in any Big Ten Tournament game. UCLA also set the record for assists in any Big Ten Tournament game with 34 helpers and tied the record for most steals in the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game with 15. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="21"
 >UCLA’s Kiki Rice was named the Jim and Kitty Delany Most Outstanding Player of the 2026 Allstate Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament after averaging 16.6 points and 5.3 assists over three games. Rice was joined on the Big Ten All-Tournament Team by teammate Lauren Betts, Ohio State’s Chance Gray and Iowa’s Ava Heiden and Hannah Stuelke. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="22"
 >UCLA captured the 2025-26 Big Ten Women’s Basketball Championship outright for the first time in program history. The Bruins finished the regular season undefeated on their home court for the first time since their 2016-17 campaign and wrapped up their conference slate with a perfect 18-0 record. UCLA was just the fourth team in Big Ten history to go undefeated in conference play – Ohio State (1985), Purdue (1999) and Maryland (2015). </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="23"
 >HISTORY. MADE. The Big Ten is the first conference to ever have nine teams ranked in three different Associated Press (AP) polls in a single season – Dec. 8, Dec. 15 and Jan. 5. The Big Ten has had nine programs ranked in the AP poll four times, first achieved on Dec. 2, 2024, and is the only conference to have nine ranked teams since 1996. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="24"
 >The Big Ten had a 170-33 (.837) combined record in non-conference play this season, which ranked second behind the SEC (197-24, .891) and ahead of the Big 12 (156-39, .800) and ACC (144-72, .667). </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="25"
 >Big Ten Conference Deputy Commissioner and Michigan women’s basketball great Diane Dietz was honored Jan. 11 with the lifting of her No. 21 jersey into the rafters at the Crisler Center. Dietz, who competed in Maize and Blue from 1979-82, was the program’s first 2,000-point scorer, a record that stood for more than 30 years. She still ranks fourth all-time in scoring with 2,076 points, a feat she achieved before the addition of the three-point line to the women’s game. Dietz is also second all-time in 30-point games (11) and in field goals made (940) and is only one of two players with at least 900 makes. She graduated as the Wolverines’ all-time leader in steals (229), a mark that currently ranks fourth in program history. Dietz was also a standout in the classroom and is one of only two Michigan student-athletes to have been inducted into the Academic All-America Hall of Fame (2009). The three-time Academic All-American was the first female recipient of the Big Ten Medal of Honor in 1982, which is considered the most prestigious honor a Big Ten student-athlete can receive. Dietz was inducted into the Michigan Athletics Hall of Fame in 1996 and is a member of the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame after her induction in 2019.</li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="26"
 >The 2025-26 season was the final ride for storied Northwestern head coach Joe McKeown, who announced on March 24, 2025, that he intended to retire at the conclusion of the season. McKeown is the longest-tenured and winningest head women’s basketball coach in Northwestern history. This was his 18th season in Evanston and his 40th season overall as a head coach. </li></ul></div>

WBB Postseason Central.png

2025-26 Big Ten Weekly Women's Basketball Central - April 2

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Southern California

USC's Jazzy Davidson Named WBCA NCAA Division I Freshman of the Year

UCLA WBB.png

No. 1-Seed UCLA Advances to Second Consecutive Final Four

2026 Big Ten Women's Basketball Postseason Central

NU Head Coach.png

Carla Berube Named Northwestern Head Women’s Basketball Coach

<div class="payload-richtext"><a href="https://bigten.org/wbb/">
 Big Ten Women's Basketball
 </a> | <a href="https://bigten.org/wbb/standings/">
 Big Ten Standings
 </a> | <a href="https://bigten.org/wbb/schedule/">
 Big Ten Schedule & Results
 </a> <a href="https://bigten.org/wbb/stats/">
 Big Ten Statistics
 </a> | <a href="https://stats.ncaa.org/rankings?sport_code=WBB&division=1">
 NCAA Statistics
 </a> <a href="https://stats.ncaa.org/selection_rankings/nitty_gritties/49189">
 NCAA NET Rankings
 </a> | <a href="https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/rankings">
 National Top 25 Polls (March 16-17)
 </a> <a href="https://img.boostsport.ai/boost-cms/Big%20Ten%20WBB%20Weekly%20Release%20032526.pdf">
 Big Ten Weekly Release - March 25
 </a> | <a href="https://bigten.org/wbb/article/59636/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">
 2026 Big Ten Women's Basketball Postseason Central
 </a> Big Ten. Big News.<ul class="list-bullet"><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="1"
 >Four Big Ten Conference programs are still in the midst of postseason play as the second week tips off Thursday with Wisconsin hosting Harvard in the quarterfinals of the WBIT at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="2"
 >Wisconsin is on its first appearance in the WBIT, which is in its third year. The 32-team postseason single-elimination tournament has been dominated the Big Ten since its inception. Illinois won the inaugural event in 2024 for its first-ever postseason crown with a 71-57 victory over Villanova and Minnesota defeated Belmont, 75-63, to take home the title in 2025.</li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="3"
 >For the sixth consecutive year, the Big Ten Conference has sent at least two teams to the NCAA Sweet 16 as Michigan, Minnesota and UCLA are set to take part this year. The Big Ten tied a conference record with four Sweet 16 participants in 2021 and 2022 and has sent at least three teams to the third round on nine occasions (2003, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025 and 2026).</li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="4"
 >The Big Ten set a new conference record with 11 teams reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The previous record (10) was set last season. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="5"
 >For the fifth time in the last six years, the Big Ten has collected double-digit wins in the NCAA Tournament and has set a conference record with 15 victories through the first two rounds (11 in 2004; 10 in 2005; 13 in 2023 and 2025). </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="6"
 >Michigan is back in the Sweet 16 for the third time in program history under the guidance of head coach Kim Barnes Arico. The Wolverines, the No. 2 seed in the Fort Worth 3 Region, hosted the first two rounds at Crisler Center and topped Holy Cross and NC State. Michigan is seeking its first Elite Eight appearance since 2022. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="7"
 >Minnesota is headed to the Sweet 16 for the first time in 21 years and fourth time in program history. As the No. 4 seed in the Sacramento 2 Region, the Gophers earned the right to play at home in first two rounds and battled past Green Bay and Ole Miss at Williams Arena. Minnesota has only made one trip to the Elite Eight back in 2004. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="8"
 >UCLA is on its fourth consecutive trip to the Sweet 16 and seventh overall under head coach Cori Close. The Bruins, who earned a No. 1 seed, played host to the first two rounds at Pauley Pavilion as part of the Sacramento 2 Region and defeated Cal Baptist and Oklahoma State. A victory would push UCLA through to the Elite Eight in back-to-back seasons. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="9"
 >USC rookie Jazzy Davidson won the 2026 Tamika Catchings National Freshman Player of the Year Award on Wednesday, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association announced. She is the second Trojan in program history to earn the honor, joining teammate JuJu Watkins (2024). Davidson wrapped the season leading USC outright in every major statistical category including points (17.9), rebounds (5.6), assists (4.1), steals (2.0) and blocks per game (2.0), making her the only Division I player to accomplish that feat this year. The guard joins Watkins, Sarah Strong, Maya Moore, Cheryl Miller, and Candace Parker as the only freshmen in women's college basketball history to record 500+ points, 150+ rebounds, 100+ assists, 50+ steals and 50+ blocks. Davidson was also chosen as The Athletic’s National Freshman of the Year on March 6.</li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="10"
 >UCLA’s Lauren Betts was named as a finalist for the 2026 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Women’s Player of the Year and 2026 Naismith Women’s Defensive Player of the Year Awards, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced Wednesday. Betts repeated as an Associated Press First Team All-American, the first Bruin to earn the honor in consecutive seasons, and is averaging 16.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="11"
 >Bruin head coach Cori Close was selected as a finalist for the 2026 Werner Ladder Naismith Coach of the Year Award on Wednesday. The 2026 Big Ten Coach of the Year has guided UCLA to the Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Close, who received the award in 2025, led the Bruins to a perfect 18-0 record in conference play as the fourth team in Big Ten history to go unbeaten in league action. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="12"
 >Penn State welcomed back four-year letterwinner Tanisha Wright as the seventh head coach of the Lady Lion basketball program. Wright returns to Happy Valley following a five-year stint coaching in the WNBA, including three seasons as the head coach for the Atlanta Dream. This will be the first NCAA head coaching role for the 19-year WNBA veteran. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="13"
 >Rutgers hired Gary Redus II to lead the Scarlet Knights’ women’s basketball program. Redus is stepping into his first head coaching position after serving as an assistant coach at LSU for the past four seasons, which included the program’s first national championship in 2023. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="14"
 >For the 25th consecutive season (not counting the 2019-20 campaign that ended prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic), the Big Ten sent at least eight of its women's basketball programs into postseason play. Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington were selected for the NCAA Tournament. Wisconsin has been representing the conference in the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT).</li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="15"
 >For the second time in conference history, 12 programs earned their way into the NCAA Tournament, led by No. 2 overall seed UCLA. The 12 berths were the top mark among all Division I conferences, followed by the SEC (10), ACC (9) and Big 12 (8).</li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="16"
 >The 12 selections tied the conference record for most teams chosen in one season, which was set during the 2025 NCAA Tournament. It is the 21st time in the past 25 years and 28th time in Big Ten history that at least six current conference members have been selected to compete in the NCAA Tournament.</li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="17"
 >The Big Ten has now had at least four of its schools selected for NCAA Tournament action every year since 1986. Current Big Ten programs have advanced to the NCAA Women’s Final Four 23 times (most recently by UCLA in 2025) and have won four national championships (USC – 1983, 1984; Purdue – 1999; Maryland – 2006).</li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="18"
 >Top-seeded UCLA won its second straight Big Ten Conference Tournament title with a 96-45 victory over second-seeded Iowa. For the first time in program history, the Bruins won back-to-back conference tournament crowns after earning their first Big Ten Tournament Championship a season ago. The 51-point margin of victory broke the record for the largest in a Big Ten Tournament Final as the previous record was Iowa’s 33-point victory over Ohio State in 2023. The Bruins shot 63.5 percent (40-for-63), the highest field goal percentage by a team in any Big Ten Tournament game. UCLA also set the record for assists in any Big Ten Tournament game with 34 helpers and tied the record for most steals in the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game with 15. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="19"
 >UCLA’s Kiki Rice was named the Jim and Kitty Delany Most Outstanding Player of the 2026 Allstate Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament after averaging 16.6 points and 5.3 assists over three games. Rice was joined on the Big Ten All-Tournament Team by teammate Lauren Betts, Ohio State’s Chance Gray and Iowa’s Ava Heiden and Hannah Stuelke. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="20"
 >UCLA captured the 2025-26 Big Ten Women’s Basketball Championship outright for the first time in program history. The Bruins finished the regular season undefeated on their home court for the first time since their 2016-17 campaign and wrapped up their conference slate with a perfect 18-0 record. UCLA was just the fourth team in Big Ten history to go undefeated in conference play – Ohio State (1985), Purdue (1999) and Maryland (2015). </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="21"
 >HISTORY. MADE. The Big Ten is the first conference to ever have nine teams ranked in three different Associated Press (AP) polls in a single season – Dec. 8, Dec. 15 and Jan. 5. The Big Ten has had nine programs ranked in the AP poll four times, first achieved on Dec. 2, 2024, and is the only conference to have nine ranked teams since 1996. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="22"
 >The Big Ten had a 170-33 (.837) combined record in non-conference play this season, which ranked second behind the SEC (197-24, .891) and ahead of the Big 12 (156-39, .800) and ACC (144-72, .667). </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="23"
 >Big Ten Conference Deputy Commissioner and Michigan women’s basketball great Diane Dietz was honored Jan. 11 with the lifting of her No. 21 jersey into the rafters at the Crisler Center. Dietz, who competed in Maize and Blue from 1979-82, was the program’s first 2,000-point scorer, a record that stood for more than 30 years. She still ranks fourth all-time in scoring with 2,076 points, a feat she achieved before the addition of the three-point line to the women’s game. Dietz is also second all-time in 30-point games (11) and in field goals made (940) and is only one of two players with at least 900 makes. She graduated as the Wolverines’ all-time leader in steals (229), a mark that currently ranks fourth in program history. Dietz was also a standout in the classroom and is one of only two Michigan student-athletes to have been inducted into the Academic All-America Hall of Fame (2009). The three-time Academic All-American was the first female recipient of the Big Ten Medal of Honor in 1982, which is considered the most prestigious honor a Big Ten student-athlete can receive. Dietz was inducted into the Michigan Athletics Hall of Fame in 1996 and is a member of the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame after her induction in 2019.</li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="24"
 >The 2025-26 season was the final ride for storied Northwestern head coach Joe McKeown, who announced on March 24, 2025, that he intended to retire at the conclusion of the season. McKeown is the longest-tenured and winningest head women’s basketball coach in Northwestern history. This was his 18th season in Evanston and his 40th season overall as a head coach. </li></ul></div>

2025-26 Big Ten Weekly Women's Basketball Central - March 25

Jazzy Davidson-2.jpg

USC's Jazzy Davidson Named USBWA Tamika Catchings National Freshman Player of the Year

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Penn State

Alumna Tanisha Wright Named Lady Lion Basketball Coach

<div class="payload-richtext"><a href="https://bigten.org/wbb/">
 Big Ten Women's Basketball
 </a> | <a href="https://bigten.org/wbb/standings/">
 Big Ten Standings
 </a> | <a href="https://bigten.org/wbb/schedule/">
 Big Ten Schedule & Results
 </a> <a href="https://bigten.org/wbb/stats/">
 Big Ten Statistics
 </a> | <a href="https://stats.ncaa.org/rankings?sport_code=WBB&division=1">
 NCAA Statistics
 </a> <a href="https://stats.ncaa.org/selection_rankings/nitty_gritties/49189">
 NCAA NET Rankings
 </a> | <a href="https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/rankings">
 National Top 25 Polls (March 16-17)
 </a> <a href="https://img.boostsport.ai/boost-cms/Big_Ten_WBB_Weekly_Release_031826.pdf">
 Big Ten Weekly Release - March 18
 </a> | <a href="https://bigten.org/wbb/article/59636/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">
 2026 Big Ten Women's Basketball Postseason Central
 </a> Big Ten. Big News.<ul class="list-bullet"><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="1"
 >For the 25th consecutive season (not counting the 2019-20 campaign that ended prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic), the Big Ten is sending at least eight of its women's basketball programs to postseason play. Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington will compete in the NCAA Tournament. Wisconsin will represent the conference in the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT).</li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="2"
 >For the second time in conference history, 12 programs earned their way into the NCAA Tournament, led by No. 2 overall seed UCLA. The 12 berths were the top mark among all Division I conferences, followed by the SEC (10), ACC (9) and Big 12 (8).</li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="3"
 >This marks the fifth time a Big Ten program has garnered a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament in the last four years. UCLA was the overall No. 1 seed a season ago and reached the program’s first-ever NCAA Final Four. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="4"
 >The 12 selections tied the conference record for most teams chosen in one season, which was set during the 2025 NCAA Tournament. It is the 21st time in the past 25 years and 28th time in Big Ten history that at least six current conference members have been selected to compete in the NCAA Tournament.</li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="5"
 >The Big Ten has now had at least four of its schools selected for NCAA Tournament action every year since 1986. Current Big Ten programs have advanced to the NCAA Women’s Final Four 23 times (most recently by UCLA in 2025) and have won four national championships (USC – 1983, 1984; Purdue – 1999; Maryland – 2006).</li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="6"
 >Maryland leads all current Big Ten schools in NCAA Tournament appearances, with the Terrapins competing for the 33rd time this year. They are followed by Iowa (32nd appearance this year), while Ohio State earned its 30th NCAA bid this year, good for third-most among conference members.</li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="7"
 >Minnesota is headed back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018 and will be hosting its first games since 2005.</li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="8"
 >Wisconsin is making its first appearance in the WBIT, which is in its third year. The 32-team postseason single-elimination tournament has been dominated the Big Ten since its inception. Illinois won the inaugural event in 2024 for its first-ever postseason crown with a 71-57 victory over Villanova and Minnesota defeated Belmont, 75-63, to take home the title in 2025.</li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="9"
 >The Associated Press (AP) and the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) unveiled their All-America Teams. UCLA’s Lauren Betts received first-team honors and Ohio State’s Jaloni Cambridge made the second team. Michigan’s Olivia Olson and UCLA’s Kiki Rice earned spots on the third team. Indiana’s Shay Ciezki, USC’s Jazzy Davidson and Iowa’s Ava Heiden were honorable mentions for the USBWA, while Davidson, Heiden, UCLA’s Gianna Kneepkens and Maryland’s Oluchi Okananwa were honorable mentions by the AP. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="10"
 >Ohio State guard Jaloni Cambridge was tabbed as one of five finalists for the Dawn Staley Award (March 12). The award is given to a player that exemplifies the skills that Staley possessed throughout her career, ball handling, scoring, her ability to distribute the basketball and her will to win.</li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="11"
 >USC rookie Jazzy Davidson was named National Freshman of the Year by The Athletic on March 6, just the second Trojan to earn the award (JuJu Watkins, 2024). She wrapped the regular season leading USC outright in every major statistical category including points (17.9), rebounds (5.9), assists (4.3), steals (2.0) and blocks per game (2.1), making her the only Division I player to accomplish that feat this year.</li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="12"
 >The Big Ten Conference has multiple finalists for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame positional awards. UCLA’s Gianna Kneepkens is a finalist for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Award, while teammate Lauren Betts is in the running for the Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Award. Michigan’s Olivia Olson and UCLA’s Gabriela Jaquez are both finalists for the Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Award. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="13"
 >The Athletic (March 5) and ESPN (March 11) announced their All-America Teams, which featured the same trio of athletes from the Big Ten. UCLA’s Lauren Betts was a first team selection, while Michigan’s Olivia Olson and Ohio State’s Jaloni Cambridge were second team honorees for both outlets.</li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="14"
 >Top-seeded UCLA won its second straight Big Ten Conference Tournament title with a 96-45 victory over second-seeded Iowa. For the first time in program history, the Bruins won back-to-back conference tournament crowns after earning their first Big Ten Tournament Championship a season ago. The 51-point margin of victory broke the record for the largest in a Big Ten Tournament Final as the previous record was Iowa’s 33-point victory over Ohio State in 2023. The Bruins shot 63.5 percent (40-for-63), the highest field goal percentage by a team in any Big Ten Tournament game. UCLA also set the record for assists in any Big Ten Tournament game with 34 helpers and tied the record for most steals in the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game with 15. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="15"
 >UCLA’s Kiki Rice was named the Jim and Kitty Delany Most Outstanding Player of the 2026 Allstate Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament after averaging 16.6 points and 5.3 assists over three games. Rice was joined on the Big Ten All-Tournament Team by teammate Lauren Betts, Ohio State’s Chance Gray and Iowa’s Ava Heiden and Hannah Stuelke. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="16"
 >This week’s Associated Press (AP) poll featured seven teams from the Big Ten. UCLA held steady at No. 2 and was joined by No. 7 Iowa, No. 9 Michigan, No. 12 Ohio State, No. 17 Maryland, No. 18 Minnesota and No. 20 Michigan State. Oregon and Illinois received votes. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="17"
 >The same seven programs made an appearance in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA)/USA Today Top 25 poll – No. 2 UCLA, No. 7 Iowa, No. 8 Michigan, No. 11 Ohio State, No. 16 Maryland, No. 18 Michigan State and No. 19 Minnesota. Illinois garnered votes. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="18"
 >UCLA captured the 2025-26 Big Ten Women’s Basketball Championship outright for the first time in program history. The Bruins finished the regular season undefeated on their home court for the first time since their 2016-17 campaign and wrapped up their conference slate with a perfect 18-0 record. UCLA was just the fourth team in Big Ten history to go undefeated in conference play – Ohio State (1985), Purdue (1999) and Maryland (2015). </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="19"
 >HISTORY. MADE. The Big Ten is the first conference to ever have nine teams ranked in three different Associated Press (AP) polls in a single season – Dec. 8, Dec. 15 and Jan. 5. The Big Ten has had nine programs ranked in the AP poll four times, first achieved on Dec. 2, 2024, and is the only conference to have nine ranked teams since 1996. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="20"
 >The Big Ten had a 170-33 (.837) combined record in non-conference play this season, which ranked second behind the SEC (197-24, .891) and ahead of the Big 12 (156-39, .800) and ACC (144-72, .667). </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="21"
 >Big Ten Conference Deputy Commissioner and Michigan women’s basketball great Diane Dietz was honored Jan. 11 with the lifting of her No. 21 jersey into the rafters at the Crisler Center. Dietz, who competed in Maize and Blue from 1979-82, was the program’s first 2,000-point scorer, a record that stood for more than 30 years. She still ranks fourth all-time in scoring with 2,076 points, a feat she achieved before the addition of the three-point line to the women’s game. Dietz is also second all-time in 30-point games (11) and in field goals made (940) and is only one of two players with at least 900 makes. She graduated as the Wolverines’ all-time leader in steals (229), a mark that currently ranks fourth in program history. Dietz was also a standout in the classroom and is one of only two Michigan student-athletes to have been inducted into the Academic All-America Hall of Fame (2009). The three-time Academic All-American was the first female recipient of the Big Ten Medal of Honor in 1982, which is considered the most prestigious honor a Big Ten student-athlete can receive. Dietz was inducted into the Michigan Athletics Hall of Fame in 1996 and is a member of the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame after her induction in 2019.</li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="22"
 >The 2025-26 season was the final ride for storied Northwestern head coach Joe McKeown, who announced on March 24, 2025, that he intended to retire at the conclusion of the season. McKeown is the longest-tenured and winningest head women’s basketball coach in Northwestern history. This was his 18th season in Evanston and his 40th season overall as a head coach. </li></ul></div>

2025-26 Big Ten Weekly Women's Basketball Central - March 18

<div class="payload-richtext">ROSEMONT, Ill. - The Big Ten Conference recognized a total of 1,127 students on winter sports rosters who have been named to the <a href="https://img.boostsport.ai/boost-cms/Winter2026AcademicAllBigTenFINAL.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">
 Academic All-Big Ten Team
 </a> Wednesday. The list of honorees includes 83 men’s and 119 women’s basketball students, 98 men’s ice hockey students, 59 men’s and 146 women’s gymnastics students, 154 men’s and 251 women’s swim and dive students, and 217 wrestling students. To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten selection, students must be on a varsity team (as verified by being on the official squad list as of March 1 for fall sports), have been enrolled full time at the institution for a minimum of 12 months and carry a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher. Among the winter Academic All-Big Ten honorees, 30 had unblemished GPAs: Men’s Basketball  Jacob Koch, Iowa, Sophomore, Business Direct Administration, Iowa City, Iowa Women’s Basketball  Emma Shumate, Michigan State, Senior, Sustainable Parks, Recreation & Tourism, Dresden Ohio  Sammy White, Northwestern, Graduate Student, Sports Communication Cert, Timonium, Md.  Men’s Gymnastics  Jax Washburn, Illinois, Sophomore, Community Health, Portland, Ore.  Kellen Ryan, Penn State, Graduate Student, Engineering, Janesville, Wis.  Women’s Gymnastics  Chloe Cho, Illinois, Sophomore, Interdisciplinary Health Sciences, Santa Clarita, Calif.   Aurelie Tran, Iowa, Sophomore, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Repentigny, Quebec, Canada  Kaia Vanney, Iowa, Senior, Interdepartmental Studies, Redondo Beach, Calif.  Eva Volpe, Iowa, Junior, Public Health, Pearland, Texas  Sarah Moraw, Minnesota, Graduate Student, Human Rsrc/Indus Rel M H R I R, Holland, Mich.   Megan Steensland, Minnesota, Graduate Student, Sport Management M Ed, Chaska, Minn.  Mika Webster-Longin, UCLA, Sophomore, History, Richmond, Calif. Men’s Swim and Dive  Taye Ghadiali, Michigan, Graduate Student, Social Work, Warren, Mich.  Joe Polyak, Minnesota, Junior, Biochemistry B S, Iowa City, Iowa Women’s Swim and Dive  Mary Kate Cavanaugh, Indiana, Sophomore, Finance, Longmont, Colo.  Brady kendall, Michigan, Graduate Student, Pharmacy PharmD, Canton, Mich.  Letitia Sim, Michigan, Senior, Applied Exercise Science, Spanish Fort, Ala.  Jade Roghair, Minnesota, Senior, Neuroscience B S, Iowa City, Iowa  Rachel Bockrath, Ohio State, Sophomore, Biology, Wilmington, Del.   Delia Lloyd, Ohio State, Sophomore, Biology, Toronto, Canada  Caroline Frazier, Purdue, Sophomore, Environmental & Ecological Engineering, Spring, Texas  Elena Dry, UCLA, Junior, Molecular, Cell and Development Biology, Raleigh, N.C. Wrestling  Dylan Connell, Illinois, Graduate, MS: Management, Marengo, Ill.  Charlie Fifield, Illinois, Graduate, MS: Management, Rolling Meadows, Ill.  Taye Ghadiali, Michigan, Graduate Student, Social Work, Warren, Mich.  Andy Hampton, Michigan State, RS-Senior, Media Analytics, Rochester, Mich.  Drew Roberts, Minnesota, RS-Senior, Non Degree, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho  Lucas Cochran, Penn State, Graduate Student, Real Estate Law & Valuation, Perry, Utah  Patrick Adams, Rutgers, Graduate Student, Labor Studies and Employment Relations, Old Bridge, N.J.  Cale Anderson, Wisconsin, Graduate Student, M.S. Kinesiology, Viroqua, Wis.  </div>

Winter Academic All-Big Ten 2026

Washington

Oregon

Wisconsin

Rutgers

Purdue

Nebraska

Minnesota

Michigan State

Michigan

Maryland

Iowa

Indiana

Illinois

Men’s Hockey

Men’s Basketball

Men’s Swimming & Diving

Women’s Swimming & Diving

Men’s Gymnastics

Women’s Gymnastics

Wrestling

Big Ten Recognizes Winter Academic All-Big Ten Honorees 

<div class="payload-richtext">ROSEMONT, Ill. – Wisconsin will represent the Big Ten Conference after being selected to participate in the 32-team Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT), which is in its third year. The Badgers are making their first appearance in the event and earned a No. 3 seed.Wisconsin is unable to host due to facility conflicts and will travel to face Oregon State on Thursday. The selection marks the Badgers’ first postseason appearance since the 2023-24 campaign when they competed in the WNIT.The Big Ten Conference has dominated the WBIT, having claimed every championship title. Illinois won the inaugural event in 2024 for its first-ever postseason crown with a 71-57 victory over Villanova. Minnesota defeated Belmont, 75-63, to take home the title in 2025.WBIT games will be played March 19 (first round), March 22 (second round) and March 26 (quarterfinals), with the highest-seeded teams hosting games. The WBIT semifinals and championship game will be played March 30 and April 1 at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kan. ESPN will broadcast all WBIT games, with the preliminary rounds held on ESPN+. The semifinals will air on ESPNU and the championship game will air on ESPN2 at 7 p.m. ET.Game times will be announced at a later date.</div>

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Wisconsin Chosen for 2026 WBIT Field

<div class="payload-richtext">ROSEMONT, Ill. – For the second year in a row, a record-tying 12 Big Ten Conference schools received berths into the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship, the NCAA announced Sunday night.For the second time in conference history, 12 programs earned their way into the NCAA Tournament, led by No. 2 overall seed UCLA. The 12 berths were the top mark among all Division I conferences, followed by the SEC (10), ACC (9) and Big 12 (8).This marks the fifth time a Big Ten program has garnered a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament in the last four years. UCLA was the overall No. 1 seed a season ago and reached the program’s first-ever NCAA Final Four.  The 12 selections tied the conference record for most teams chosen in one season, which was set during the 2025 NCAA Tournament. It is the 21st time in the past 25 years and 28th time in Big Ten history that at least six current conference members have been selected to compete in the NCAA Tournament.The First Four will be played Wednesday-Thursday (March 18-19) at four of the top 16 host sites, with the first-and second-round games being played on the campuses of the top 16 seeds from March 20-23. Tournament play then shifts to two eight-team regional sites in Fort Worth, Texas and Sacramento, Calif., from March 27-30. The four regional winners will advance to the NCAA Final Four, which will take place April 3 at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Ariz., before the NCAA Championship Game on Sunday, April 5.The 2026 NCAA Tournament will be televised live on the ESPN family of networks and can also be seen on the ESPN app.For second time in as many years, UCLA is the Big Ten’s automatic qualifier into the NCAA Tournament after the Bruins won their second straight Big Ten Tournament title. UCLA is a No. 1 seed and earned a spot in the Sacramento 2 Region. The Bruins will take on No. 16 seed Cal Baptist inside Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles on Saturday. UCLA, which made it to the NCAA Final Four for the first time in program history last year, is making its 21st entry into the NCAA Tournament and owns a 29-20 record in the postseason event.Iowa will play host to the first and second rounds for the fourth time in the last five years. The Hawkeyes, who gained entry into their 32nd NCAA Tournament, secured the No. 2 seed in the Sacramento 4 Region. Iowa will host No. 15 seed Fairleigh Dickinson in the first round Saturday.For the second time in program history, Michigan will host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The Wolverines garnered the No. 2 seed in the Fort Worth 3 Region as they embark on their 14th appearance. Michigan is slated to play No. 15 seed Holy Cross on Friday and has a 12-13 mark in the tournament.Ohio State is making its 30th NCAA Tournament appearance after claiming the No. 3 seed in the Fort Worth 1 Region. The Buckeyes are set to host at the Schottenstein Center and challenge No. 14 seed Howard in the first round. With a win, Ohio State would take on No. 6 Notre Dame or No. 11 Fairfield. The Buckeyes have a 33-29 postseason record.Minnesota is headed back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018 and will be hosting its first games since 2005. The Golden Gophers are making their 11th venture in the NCAA Tournament and has a 12-10 record. Minnesota earned the No. 4 seed in the Sacramento 2 Region and will prepare to welcome No. 13 seed Green Bay on Friday.Maryland earned the No. 5 seed in the Fort Worth 1 Region and is heading into its 33rd overall and 16th straight NCAA Tournament appearance. The Terrapins will travel to Chapel Hill, N.C., and take on No. 12 seed Murray State on Friday.  Michigan State will make its way to Norman, Okla., as the No. 5 seed in the Sacramento 4 Region to meet No. 12 seed Colorado State. The Spartans are looking to improve on their 20-20 record as they embark on their 21st overall appearance.Washington is making back-to-back showings in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since it made three straight trips from 2015-2017. The sixth-seeded Huskies, in their 21st appearance, are set to clash with No. 11 seed South Dakota State in Fort Worth, Texas. Washington is hoping to improve its 21-20 record and is part of the Sacramento 4 Region.Illinois, the No. 7 seed in the Fort Worth 1 Region, begins its journey against No. 10 seed Colorado in Nashville, Tenn. The Fighting Illini are back in the NCAA Tournament for the 11th time and hold a 9-10 record in the event.Oregon is in the NCAA Tournament for the 19th time in program history. The eighth-seeded Ducks will open action in Austin, Texas, in the Fort Worth 3 Region against No. 9 seed Virginia Tech. Oregon is 18-18 in tournament play.USC claimed the No. 9 seed in the Sacramento 4 Region and will face No. 8 seed Clemson in Columbia, S.C. The Trojans are headed to their 20th NCAA Tournament and advanced to the Elite Eight the past two seasons with a 35-17 mark in tournament action.Nebraska is heading to its 18th NCAA Tournament after notching the No. 11 seed in the Sacramento 2 Region as part of the First Four. The Huskers will see fellow No. 11 seed Richmond in Durham, N.C., on Wednesday as they look to build on their 9-17 tournament mark. Game times will be announced in the coming days.</div>

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Big Ten Conference Ties Record with 12 Programs Headed to the 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament

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Rutgers Tabs Gary Redus II To Lead Women’s Basketball Program

<div class="payload-richtext">INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Top-seeded UCLA won its second straight Big Ten Conference Tournament title with a 96-45 victory over second-seeded Iowa on Sunday afternoon inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. For the first time in program history, the Bruins won back-to-back conference tournament crowns after earning their first Big Ten Tournament Championship a season ago. UCLA also eclipsed 30 wins for the second consecutive season (31-1).The 51-point margin of victory broke the record for the largest in a Big Ten Tournament Final. The previous record was Iowa’s 33-point victory over Ohio State in 2023. The Bruins shot 63.5 percent (40-for-63), the highest field goal percentage by a team in any Big Ten Tournament game. UCLA also set the record for assists in any Big Ten Tournament game with 34 helpers and tied the record for most steals in the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game with 15. With Sunday’s win, the Bruins clinched the Big Ten’s automatic berth into the 2026 NCAA Tournament. The full 68-team field for this year’s tournament will be announced Sunday, March 15 at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.It was an all-around effort for UCLA as six players finished in double figures. Graduate student Gianna Kneepkens paced the Bruins with 19 points, followed by senior Kiki Rice with 15 points and a team-high eight assists. Rookie Sienna Betts chipped in 14 points while shooting a near perfect 7-for-8 from the floor and added seven rebounds.Ava Heiden led the Hawkeyes with 15 points and four rebounds. Teammate Addie Deal tallied 11 points and three assists in the game.For the second year in a row, the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds met in the championship game. UCLA is the first top-seeded team to win the Big Ten Tournament since 2021.Rice was chosen by the media as the tournament’s Jim and Kitty Delany Most Outstanding Player. Rice and Heiden were joined by UCLA’s Lauren Betts, Iowa’s Hannah Stuelke and Ohio State’s Chance Gray on the Big Ten’s All-Tournament Team.</div>

UCLA WBBT Champs.jpg

UCLA Wins 2026 Allstate Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament Crown

2025-26 Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament 

Jazzy Davidson.jpg

2025-26 The Athletic Selects USC’s Jazzy Davidson As National Freshman of the Year

<div class="payload-richtext"><a href="https://bigten.org/wbb/">
 Big Ten Women's Basketball
 </a> | <a href="https://bigten.org/wbb/standings/">
 Big Ten Standings
 </a> | <a href="https://bigten.org/wbb/schedule/">
 Big Ten Schedule & Results
 </a> <a href="https://bigten.org/wbb/stats/">
 Big Ten Statistics
 </a> | <a href="https://stats.ncaa.org/rankings?sport_code=WBB&division=1">
 NCAA Statistics
 </a> | <a href="https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/rankings">
 National Top 25 Polls (March 2-3)
 </a><a href="https://img.boostsport.ai/boost-cms/Big_Ten_WBB_Weekly_Release_030426.pdf">
 Big Ten Weekly Release - March 4
 </a>Big Ten. Big News.<ul class="list-bullet"><li
 class=""
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 >The Big Ten Conference announced the full bracket for the 2026 Allstate Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament, which will take place March 4-8 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="2"
 >Single-session tickets are still on sale and available for $23.50 to $54.45, depending on the session (prices are inclusive of all Ticketmaster and facility fees). All seating is reserved for the 2026 Allstate Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament. Fans are encouraged to visit the official Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament website (bigten.org/WBBT) and follow Big Ten Women’s Basketball on X (@B1GWBBall) for more information on the 2026 Allstate Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament.</li><li
 class=""
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 value="3"
 >All 14 games of this year’s Big Ten Tournament will be broadcast live to a national audience, starting with the opening round being streamed on Peacock. The Big Ten Network (and the FOX Sports app) will broadcast the second round through semifinal games from Thursday to Saturday. The championship game on Sunday, March 8 will tip off at 2:15 p.m. ET on CBS and will be the third time the network has carried the title game.</li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="4"
 >UCLA captured the 2025-26 Big Ten Women’s Basketball Championship outright for the first time in program history after defeating Wisconsin, 80-60. The Bruins finished the regular season undefeated on their home court for the first time since their 2016-17 campaign.</li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="5"
 >UCLA finished its conference slate with a perfect 18-0 record to lock in the No. 1 seed for the Big Ten Tournament. The Bruins are just the fourth team in Big Ten history to go undefeated in conference play – Ohio State (1985), Purdue (1999) and Maryland (2015). </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="6"
 >The NCAA had its final top 16 reveal on Sunday, which included seven Big Ten teams. UCLA was tabbed as the overall No. 2 seed, while No. 6 Iowa and No. 8 Michigan rounded out the top 10. Maryland came in at No. 13, followed by No. 14 Michigan State, No. 15 Minnesota and No. 16 Ohio State. The Hawkeyes and Wolverines are projected to be 2-seeds, while the Terrapins, Spartans, Golden Gophers and Buckeyes are projected 4-seeds. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="7"
 >The Big Ten Conference announced its 2025-26 women’s basketball all-conference teams and individual award recipients Tuesday live on the Big Ten Network’s “B1G Today” show. UCLA senior center Lauren Betts pulled double duty after being selected as the Big Ten Player of the Year and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year by both the conference coaches and a select panel of Big Ten media members. USC guard Jazzy Davidson was voted Big Ten Freshman of the Year, while UCLA graduate forward Angela Dugalić garnered Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year laurels. UCLA’s Cori Close was tabbed as the Big Ten Coach of the Year.</li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="8"
 >This week’s Associated Press (AP) poll featured seven teams from the Big Ten. UCLA held steady at No. 2 and was joined by No. 8 Michigan, No. 9 Iowa, No. 11 Ohio State, No. 14 Maryland, No. 18 Michigan State and No. 19 Minnesota. Washington and Illinois received votes. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="9"
 >The same seven programs made an appearance in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA)/USA Today Top 25 poll – No. 2 UCLA, No. 7 Michigan, No. 9 Iowa, No. 11 Ohio State, No. 13 Maryland, No. 17 Michigan State and No. 20 Minnesota. Washington garnered votes. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="10"
 >The Big Ten currently leads all Division I conferences in assists (16.6 apg), field goal percentage (.454), three-point field goal percentage (.344) and free throw percentage (.740), while ranking second in scoring (75.4 ppg). </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="11"
 >Through games on March 2, the Big Ten boasts nine teams in the top 25 and 12 in the top 50 of the NCAA’s NET Rankings, the top marks among all conferences. UCLA paces the Big Ten contingent at No. 2, followed by No. 6 Michigan, No. 8 Minnesota, No. 9 Iowa, No. 14 Maryland, No. 15 Michigan State, No. 17 Ohio State, No. 22 USC, No. 25 Nebraska, No. 26 Oregon, No. 28 Washington and No. 32 Illinois. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="12"
 >Through Tuesday’s contests, Big Ten teams have combined to win 74 Quad 1 games, the most among Division I conferences, with 12 teams posting at least two Quad 1 wins. UCLA leads the country with 14 Quad 1 victories and the Big Ten is the only conference that has seven teams with at least five Quad 1 wins. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="13"
 >Every day is a battle as the Big Ten has 14 teams in the top 25 for NET strength of schedule – UCLA (1st), USC (2nd), Michigan (5th), Iowa (6th), Penn State (8th), Ohio State (11th), Wisconsin (12th), Northwestern (13th), Michigan State (15th), Rutgers (16th), Nebraska (17th), Washington (19th), Purdue (21st) and Minnesota (25th).</li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="14"
 >Illinois leads the country shooting 81.6 percent from the free throw line. UCLA ranks second in assist/turnover ratio (1.72), assists per game (22.1), field goal percentage (.510) and rebound margin (15.8). </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="15"
 >Offensive production continues to be the calling card of the Big Ten Conference. The league has eight teams ranked in the top 25 in field goal percentage – UCLA (2nd – .510), Iowa (6th – .498), Michigan State (11th – .482), Nebraska (12th – .478), Michigan (14th – .477), Indiana (15th – .474), Ohio State (23rd – .462) and Penn State (24th – .461).</li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="16"
 >Sharing the rock comes naturally for the Big Ten with seven teams featured in the top 25 rankings for assists per game, including five in the top 15 – UCLA (2nd – 22.1), Iowa (3rd – 21.2), Michigan State (10th – 18.4), Nebraska (12th – 18.3), Ohio State (13th – 18.1), Michigan (17th – 17.6) and Northwestern (19th – 17.5). </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="17"
 >The Big Ten has consistently ranked among the top three conferences in women’s basketball attendance for the past three decades and that trend has continued into the 2025-26 season. Currently, 15 Big Ten schools rank among the top 40 in the nation in average attendance, including 10 in the top 25, with both figures leading all Division I conferences. Iowa is second nationally in attendance (14,998 fans per game), followed by Indiana (9th – 7,866), Maryland (10th – 7,213), Ohio State (12th – 5,930), Illinois (14th – 5,766), Nebraska (15th – 5,701), UCLA (18th – 5,320), Purdue (20th – 5,125), Oregon (22nd – 5,066) and USC (23rd – 4,750).</li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="18"
 >HISTORY. MADE. The Big Ten is the first conference to ever have nine teams ranked in three different Associated Press (AP) polls in a single season – Dec. 8, Dec. 15 and Jan. 5. The Big Ten has had nine programs ranked in the AP poll four times, first achieved on Dec. 2, 2024, and is the only conference to have nine ranked teams since 1996. </li><li
 class=""
 style=""
 value="19"
 >The Big Ten had a 170-33 (.837) combined record in non-conference play this season, which ranked second behind the SEC (197-24, .891) and ahead of the Big 12 (156-39, .800) and ACC (144-72, .667). </li><li
 class=""
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 value="20"
 >Big Ten Conference Deputy Commissioner and Michigan women’s basketball great Diane Dietz was honored Jan. 11 with the lifting of her No. 21 jersey into the rafters at the Crisler Center. Dietz, who competed in Maize and Blue from 1979-82, was the program’s first 2,000-point scorer, a record that stood for more than 30 years. She still ranks fourth all-time in scoring with 2,076 points, a feat she achieved before the addition of the three-point line to the women’s game. Dietz is also second all-time in 30-point games (11) and in field goals made (940) and is only one of two players with at least 900 makes. She graduated as the Wolverines’ all-time leader in steals (229), a mark that currently ranks fourth in program history. Dietz was also a standout in the classroom and is one of only two Michigan student-athletes to have been inducted into the Academic All-America Hall of Fame (2009). The three-time Academic All-American was the first female recipient of the Big Ten Medal of Honor in 1982, which is considered the most prestigious honor a Big Ten student-athlete can receive. Dietz was inducted into the Michigan Athletics Hall of Fame in 1996 and is a member of the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame after her induction in 2019.</li><li
 class=""
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 >The 2025-26 season will be the final ride for storied Northwestern head coach Joe McKeown, who announced on March 24 that he intends to retire at the conclusion of season. McKeown is the longest-tenured and winningest head women’s basketball coach in Northwestern history. This is his 18th season in Evanston and his 40th season overall as a head coach. </li><li
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 >Each Big Ten institution played an 18-game conference schedule for the seventh time in eight seasons. During the conference season, each program played one school both home and away, while facing 16 teams once. Of the single-play opponents, institutions faced eight at home and eight on the road.</li></ul></div>

Big Ten Women’s Basketball News

Headlines

UCLA Women's Basketball Captures 2026 NCAA Championship

UCLA Outlasts Texas, Advances to National Title Game

Ohio State's Jaloni Cambridge Honored with Dawn Staley Award

Big Ten Weekly Women's Basketball Central - April 2

USC's Jazzy Davidson Named WBCA NCAA Division I Freshman of the Year

No. 1-Seed UCLA Advances to Second Consecutive Final Four

2026 Big Ten Women's Basketball Postseason Central

Carla Berube Named Northwestern Head Women’s Basketball Coach

Big Ten Weekly Women's Basketball Central - March 25

USC's Jazzy Davidson Named USBWA Tamika Catchings National Freshman Player of the Year

Alumna Tanisha Wright Named Lady Lion Basketball Coach

Big Ten Weekly Women's Basketball Central - March 18

Big Ten Recognizes Winter Academic All-Big Ten Honorees

Wisconsin Chosen for 2026 WBIT Field

Big Ten Conference Ties Record with 12 Programs Headed to the 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament

Rutgers Tabs Gary Redus II To Lead Women’s Basketball Program

UCLA Wins 2026 Allstate Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament Crown

The Athletic Selects USC’s Jazzy Davidson as National Freshman of the Year

2026 Allstate Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament Tips Off Wednesday

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