With the super rookie, Paige Bueckers, I was pretty confident that this year would be UConn’s year. They struggled a little bit against No. 2 seed Baylor in Elite Eight, but they still made it to the women’s basketball final four.

When the final four teams were No. 1 seed Stanford, No. 1 seed South Carolina, No. 1 seed UConn, and No. 3 seed Arizona, I predicted that it would be the battle between Stanford and UConn.

I rarely saw a lower seed team beating No. 1 seed in the tournament, so when Indiana knocked out North Carolina State in a Sweet 16 game, I was shocked. The Big Ten women’s basketball teams definitely did better than the Big Ten men’s basketball teams this year.

However, No. 3 Arizona showed that they could do as well as any No. 1 seed team and knocked out UConn by 10 points in the Final Four game and pushed Stanford to one point in the championship game. Even though Arizona lost, they are the highlight of March Madness.

Stanford is another highlight of the tournament after beating No.1 South Carolina in the Final Four and No. 3 Arizona in the championship game. They say a win is a win, and I cannot imagine how thrilled the whole team is after winning the last two games by one point each.

I am certain that UConn will bring another strong performance next year, as will Baylor, Notre Dame, South Carolina and so on. It is good to see a fresh name, Arizona this year, and I hope to see them again next year (and a few Big Ten teams).