Just 16 teams remain in the 2025 women’s NCAA tournament. All four No. 1 seeds advanced to the regional semifinals, including the USC Trojans. But we’ve lost Trojans star JuJu Watkins, who was the No. 1 player in ESPN’s rankings last week of the top 25 players in March Madness. Watkins suffered a season-ending knee injury Monday in the second round.

With Watkins and five other players whose teams have been eliminated dropping off, which players make up our ranking of the best 25 players in the Sweet 16? Watkins’ teammate, Kiki Iriafen, who stepped up with 36 points and nine rebounds to lead the Trojans over Mississippi State, stays in the top 10. But UConn, which could face USC in the Spokane 4 Regional final, has three players in the top 12, including the new No. 1.

ESPN’s Michael Voepel, Charlie Creme, Alexa Philippou and Kendra Andrews look at the top players in the regional semifinals, which begins Friday in Birmingham, Alabama, and Spokane, Washington.

Guard | 6-foot | redshirt senior
Stats: 19.2 PPG, 4.8 APG, 2.1 SPG

Bueckers is coming off a memorable finale in Storrs, tying her career high with 34 points in her last appearance at Gampel Pavilion while also adding 4 steals and 4 assists. As she wraps up her collegiate career, she’ll go down as one of the most efficient players in the history of the college game: She’s now officially a member of the rare 50-40-90 club (shooting at least 50% from the field, 40% from 3-point range and 90% at the free throw line) while still leading the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.90). — Alexa Philippou

Guard | 5-foot-6 | sophomore
Stats: 24.1 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 3.7 APG

After Notre Dame skidded through the final few weeks of the regular season and ACC tournament, Hidalgo has the Irish looking like the contenders they had been for most of the season. She did a bit of everything in the round of 64, finishing with 24 points on 11-of-18 shooting, with 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals. She followed with 21 points, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 rebound in the second round. She is just the second player over the past 25 years to score 1,500 points and hand out more than 300 assists through her first two collegiate seasons. The other? Caitlin Clark. — Kendra Andrews

Center | 6-foot-7 | junior
Stats: 19.7 PPG, 9.7 RPG, 2.9 BPG

The Bruins didn’t need much from Betts in their 84-46 first-round blowout of Southern; she had 14 points and six rebounds. But they were tied at halftime of their second-round game vs. Richmond. Then Betts and the Bruins stepped on the gas, outscoring the Spiders 29-7 in the third quarter to take over. Betts finished with 30 points and 14 rebounds. For the two games combined, she was 20-of-26 from the field (76.9%). For the season, Betts is shooting 64.3%. Ole Miss, the Bruins’ Sweet 16 opponent, could have matchup trouble against Betts — like many teams. — Voepel

Guard | 6-foot-1 | senior
Stats: 18.5 PPG, 13.5 RPG. 2.5 SPG

Morrow exited LSU’s SEC tournament semifinal loss to Texas with a left foot injury, but she’s back and healthy and dominating again in March Madness. She picked up her 28th and 29th double-doubles of the season — which is the most in the country by seven — last weekend. She finished with 26 points and 11 rebounds in the second round against Florida State. Her dominance despite a 6-1 frame makes her play even more impressive; she has a knack for understanding how to position herself to dominate the boards. — Andrews

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No. 5 Ole Miss vs. No. 1 UCLA preview

Check out some stats and info on No. 5 Ole Miss’s matchup with No. 1 UCLA in the second round of the NCAA women’s tournament.

Forward | 6-foot-2 | freshman
Stats: 16.1 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 2.4 SPG

Just how dominant has Strong been in her first year at UConn? Among all the freshmen in program history, she is the only one to rank top five in points, rebounds and assists — and she also is in the top five for UConn freshmen in steals and blocks. She also has had a strong start to her NCAA tournament career with a combined 35 points, 19 rebounds, 10 assists, 7 blocks and 3 steals through two rounds. — Philippou

Forward/guard | 6-foot-1 | sophomore
Stats: 16.2 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 2.8 APG

The SEC Player of the Year had 20 points in both the Longhorns’ NCAA first-round victory over William & Mary and the second-round win against Illinois. She was 17-of-29 (58.6%) from the field in the two games and had a combined 20 rebounds. SEC foe Tennessee is next. The Longhorns won their regular-season meeting 80-76 on Jan. 23 in Austin, Texas. Booker had 26 points on 11-of-22 shooting in that game and played all 40 minutes. — Voepel

Guard | 5-foot-10 | junior
Stats: 15.5 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 598 APG

Miles’ ranking is based on how she has performed this season and what she could be the rest of the NCAA tournament. She has struggled through Notre Dame’s first two games. An ankle injury suffered in the fourth quarter of the opening-round game against Stephen F. Austin has contributed to Miles’ 5.0 points per game average and 20% field goal shooting. She has had a breakthrough season as a 3-point shooter (40.1% 3-pointers) and plays with a court vision few possess. — Creme

Guard | 6-foot-3 | senior
Stats: 18.6 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 1.9 APG

Without Watkins, much more responsibility is on Iriafen to lead the Trojans as they forge toward their second consecutive Elite Eight appearance. She stepped up massively Monday after Watkins went down with her knee injury, putting up 36 points and nine boards against Mississippi State. Notably, Iriafen has scored more points at a more efficient clip without Watkins on the floor (38.7 per 40 minutes, 61% from the field) than when they both share it (23.4, 49%). — Philippou

Guard | 5-foot-9 | graduate student
Stats: 17.7 PPG, 5.5 APG, 33.7% 3FG