When does women's March Madness start? Dates, schedule, more for NCAA Tournament
One more sleep and the madness of March gets officially underway for the 2025 women's NCAA Tournament.
So, who's ready?
Tipping off the action will be a double-header of women's First Four games on Wednesday, March 19 between No. 11 seeds Iowa State and Princeton at 7 p.m. ET. Following the completion of that game, No. 16 seeds UC San Diego and Southern will whittle the 68-team field down to 66.
The 64-team bracket will then be finalized on Thursday with two remaining women's First Four games between No. 11 seeds Columbia and Washington and No. 16 seeds High Point and William & Mary.
Star players such as USC's JuJu Watkins, UConn's Paige Bueckers, Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo and TCU's Hailey Van Lith won't hit the floor until the first round this week.
Here's what you need to know for women's March Madness, including start date, schedule, times and more:
Watch select 2025 women's NCAA Tournament games live with Fubo (free trial)
When does women's March Madness start?
- First Four: Wednesday, March 19
- First round: Friday, March 21
The women's First Four is the technical start of the women's NCAA Tournament, with eight teams participating in the play-in games across two days to determine the final 64-team field. The first games of both nights will begin at 7 p.m. ET.
Once the bracket has been reduced from 68 teams to 64, the first round will begin on Friday, March 21. Tipoff times will be staggered throughout the day, but first tip for Friday's first-round games will be 11:30 a.m. ET. Saturday's first-round games will tip off at noon ET.
Women's March Madness schedule
Below are all the dates for the 2025 women's NCAA Tournament:
- First Four: Wednesday, March 19 through Thursday, March 20
- First Round: Friday, March 21 through Saturday, March 22
- Second Round: Sunday, March 23 through Monday, March 24
- Sweet 16: Friday, March 28 through Saturday, March 29
- Elite Eight: Sunday, March 30 through Monday, March 31
- Final Four: Friday, April 4
- National championship: Sunday, April 6
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