March Madness: USC, UCLA, South Carolina and more all potential 1 seeds for women's NCAA Tournament

For the first time in a long time, there are at least a half-dozen teams across the country that could legitimately win the women's NCAA Tournament.

Defending champion South Carolina leads the way once again in March Madness. Unlike last season, when the Gamecocks finished off an undefeated season with a national title, this group has three losses heading into the NCAAs. One came early in the year to UCLA, which only lost twice this season — both to crosstown rival Southern California and star guard JuJu Watkins in the regular season. UCLA topped the Trojans for the Big Ten title.

Notre Dame, Texas and UConn also have a good shot at winning the national championship. South Carolina is a slight favorite over UConn to repeat, according to BetMGM Sportsbook going into the weekend.

All six teams' chances could come down to where they fall in the bracket that the NCAA will reveal Sunday night.

The path for all won't be easy: This year there’s more parity in the sport. This NCAA Tournament will be only the second one in the past 19 years to have no teams entering March Madness with zero or one loss. The other time was in 2022.

For the first time in NCAA history, there will be a financial incentive for women's teams. They will finally paid for playing games in the NCAA Tournament just like the men have for years.

So-called performance units, which represent revenue, will be given to women’s teams for each win they get. A team that reaches the Final Four could bring its conference roughly $1.26 million over the next three years in financial performance rewards.

This comes a year after the women's championship game that saw South Carolina beat Caitlin Clark and Iowa do better TV ratings then the men's title game.

The top 16 seeds in the 68-team field will host first- and second-round games, with the regional rounds being played at two neutral sites for the third straight year. Spokane, Washington, will host half of the Sweet 16 and Birmingham, Alabama, will host the other eight teams.

The Final Four will be played in Tampa, Florida, on April 4, and the championship game is two days later.

One team that wasn't expected to make the field is Stanford, which would end the Cardinal's 36-year streak of playing in the NCAA Tournament. It would be the first time since 1987 that Stanford hasn't played in the NCAAs.

While that streak is likely to end, Tennessee will continue its NCAA Tournament run of appearing every year in the field since the first NCAA Tournament in 1982.

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball

Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo (3) gathers a loose ball ahead of Duke's Vanessa de Jesus (2) and Jordan Wood (13) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Greensboro, N.C., Saturday, March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Luka Doncic had 33 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, and the Los Angeles Lakers snapped their four-game losing streak with a 107-96 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday.

Austin Reaves scored 28 points and Jaxson Hayes matched his season high with 19 for the Lakers, who returned from an 0-4 road trip to extend their home winning streak to seven games.

Kevin Durant scored 21 points and Devin Booker had 19 for the 11th-place Suns, who missed a chance to gain ground on Dallas for the West's final play-in spot after the Mavericks lost at Philadelphia. Phoenix remained 1 1/2 games behind Dallas with a game in hand.

LeBron James (left groin strain) missed his fourth straight game, but coach JJ Redick said the top scorer in NBA history is “ramping up” toward a return.

Lakers starter Rui Hachimura (knee) also missed his ninth straight game, but Doncic (ankle) returned after sitting out Friday's loss in Denver, as did Hayes, Dorian Finney-Smith and Gabe Vincent.

Suns: A rough shooting game and their usual unimpressive defense were a bad combo. Durant and coach Mike Budenholzer also had another animated huddle exchange, this time while Phoenix was falling behind by 20 in the first quarter.

Lakers: They fell three spots in the West during their road trip, and their current stretch is brutal with seven games in 10 days, including five at home in seven days. With Doncic and Reaves healthy, they can compete until James returns.

Phoenix trimmed its deficit to 100-92 with less than two minutes left, but Finney-Smith buried a 3-pointer to seal it.

Durant, Booker and Bradley Beal went a combined 2 of 12 on 3-point attempts. Phoenix was 9 of 41 overall.

Both teams finish a back-to-back Monday. The Suns host the Raptors, and the Lakers host the Spurs.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) tries to guard Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)

Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) gets a pass off in front of Los Angeles Lakers center Jaxson Hayes (11) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)

Phoenix Suns' Kevin Durant (35) drives against Los Angeles Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt (2) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)

Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) celebrates with guard Gabe Vincent (7) and center Christian Koloko (10) after a three-point basket against the Phoenix Suns during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)