In eight days, the women’s NCAAW tournament field will be solidified, and fans can finally put pen to paper on their brackets. Until then, there’s still conference tournament hardware to be handed out. Seven conferences delivered bids to the Big Dance on Sunday, including the ACC, Big 10 and Big 12. Five more conferences played games ranging from the opening round to the semifinals.
While there were plenty of worthy performances to write home about on Sunday, these three stood out above the rest.
Paige Meyer, South Dakota State
NCAAW 2024-2025 Stats:
26 PTS, 5 REB, 9 AST, 57.1 FG%
Behind the numbers: The South Dakota State women’s basketball is one of the unsung dynasties in American sports. The Jackrabbits won their third Summit League conference title in a row on Sunday, making that 13 of the last 17. Why? Because of players like Paige Meyer.
Meyer earned her second straight tournament MVP on with 26 points and nine assists in the title game. Meyer only surpassed that scoring total one other time this season, last week in a 27-point outing against St. Thomas (MN). The Albany, MN native was effective from all three levels on Sunday, finishing 8-of-14 from the field overall while shooting 4-of-6 from 3-point range. Meyer also displayed her crafty driving ability and had some impressive finishes at the tin, as you can see for yourself below.
Paige Meyer COME ON.
— Jackrabbit WBB (@GoJacksWBB) March 9, 2025
📺 @CBSSportsCBB pic.twitter.com/j3syyIvMfR
Lauren Betts, UCLA
NCAAW 2024-2025 Stats:
17 PTS, 5 REB, 2 AST, 4 BLK, 4 STL, 70 FG%
Behind the numbers: Lauren Betts and the Bruins were on a mission Sunday, winning the Big 10 conference tournament and avenging two previous losses to USC with a 72-67 victory. UCLA trailed by 10 points at halftime but Betts scored 13 of her 17 points in the second half as the Bruins outscored USC 37-24 in the second half.
As much of a difference as Betts made offensively, she was even more of a force on the defensive end. Betts had four blocks total, three in the second half, and she completely shut down USC’s ability to score in the paint. She also had active hands, tallying a career-high four steals. Betts made 7-of-10 attempts from the field and helped hold USC’s starting front court to a combined 12 points and eight rebounds while JuJu Watkins shot 9-of-28 from the field. Talk about a balanced performance. You can once again consider UCLA as a legitimate national NCAAW championship threat.
Lauren Betts blocks Juju from behind 😤 pic.twitter.com/LH6Jz00Qvq
— Basketball Scout (@ShowCaseShabazz) March 9, 2025
Sarah Strong, UConn
NCAAW 2024-2025 Stats:
20 PTS, 16 REB, 4 AST, 2 BLK, 3 STL, 57.1 FG%
Behind the numbers: UConn still has to win Monday’s conference title game if it wants to clinch an 11th straight automatic bid to the NCAAW tournament, but Sarah Strong’s performance in the semifinal went a long way toward getting them there.
The AAC Freshman of the Year tallied 20 points and a career-high 16 rebounds to lead the Huskies to an 82-54 win over Villanova on Sunday. Strong had a balanced performance in both halves, tallying 10 points and nine rebounds in the first half and 10 points and seven rebounds in the second half. 5 of Strong’s rebounds came on the offensive end and she put back two of those rebounds for made field goals. Strong shot 8-of-14 from the field in total and made 4-of-6 attempts from the free throw line.
