March Madness shuts out mid-majors as none reach 2nd round of women's NCAA Tournament for 1st time

For the first time since the women’s NCAA Tournament expanded to a 64-team field in 1994, the opening weekend produced a clean sweep for the sport’s power brokers: every program that survived to the second round hails from a major conference, leaving the mid-major ranks empty-handed when the bracket trimmed to 32. The historic shutout marks a stark departure from past tournaments that periodically featured Cinderella runs by smaller-conference representatives and underscores the widening competitive gap in women’s college basketball’s showcase event.