It’s rare that fans of women’s college basketball get to experience the madness of tournament time like those who watch the men’s tournament. Usually, in the NCAA women’s tournament, the higher seed wins; there aren’t too many shocking upsets. Well this year, the women have started to make up for lost time. The upsets have come early and often and we’ve loved every minute of it. It all started when no. 10 seed St. Bonaventure sent no. 7 seed Oklahoma State home in the first round. Round 2 gave us more of the same when no. 6 DePaul shocked everyone by beating no. 3 Louisville. And the underdogs only picked up steam from there. In round 2, no. 7 Washington left us flabbergasted with their win over no. 2 Maryland, a team many predicted to make it to the Final Four. Washington continued to bust brackets when they sent no. 3 Kentucky and no. 4 Stanford home in the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight, respectively. Not to be outdone, Tennessee’s no. 7 Lady Vols wreaked some madness of their own when they went from barely making the tournament to knocking off no. 2 Arizona State and no. 3 Ohio State on their way to the Elite Eight. This year also saw some no. 4 seeds end the Final Four hopes of no. 1 seeds when Syracuse beat South Carolina and Stanford beat Notre Dame in the Sweet Sixteen. It has been true madness at its finest.
While these kinds of upsets and runs are nothing new for men’s basketball, it’s something that many fans of women’s basketball have been waiting for for some time. We’re finally getting a glimpse of parity in women’s college basketball. This year’s tournament has been a sign that women’s basketball is elevating. There’s more depth across the board and more quality teams coming to play. That means more girls are developing their talents earlier and pursuing their sports farther into life. That is pretty dope. In a climate where women constantly have to justify the caliber of their play, significance of their wins, and bases for their careers and their earnings, this is great news and proof that women’s sports are making the climb to producing more quality athleticism. It sucks rather than focusing on these tremendous upsets, people are moaning about UConn’s dominance. So instead of hating on Geno and UConn for the brilliance they display game after game after game, GladiatHers.com is going to celebrate the underdogs who have given us quality basketball and have helped to grow the sport the season. Check out some of their work below. Happy March Madness!
McCall and Samuelson celebrate their victory over no. 1 seed Notre Dame
Alexis Peterson celebrates as Syracuse stuns the Gamecocks.
Washington’s Osahor blows past Kentucky’s Akhator on the way to the Huskie’s upset.
Bashaara Graves celebrates during the Lady Vols win over Ohio State.
St. Bonaventure’s Katie Healy and Mariah Ruff celebrate their victory over Oklahoma State.
DePaul celebrates their victory over Louisville.
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