Analysis | Five can’t-miss stars in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament (2024)

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The saying goes that defense wins championships. If you subscribe to that theory, then Stanford is well positioned to cut down the nets in Cleveland next month. The Cardinal’s Her Hoop Stats defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions adjusted for strength of schedule) ranks sixth in the country. Brink, the Pac-12 player of the year and three-time Pac-12 defensive player of the year, is the main reason.

Brink leads Division I with 3.5 blocks per game, but that barely scratches the surface of her defensive impact. Stanford allows 21 fewer points per 100 possessions and opponents shoot 12.5 percentage points worse on shots at the rim when Brink is on the floor compared with when she is on the bench, per the website CBB Analytics. Brink transforms Stanford into a national championship contender when she is on the court, making it all the more important for her to avoid the foul trouble she has struggled with during her collegiate career.

No. 2 seed Stanford opens play Friday night against No. 15 seed Norfolk State.

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After injuries kept Bueckers out for much of the 2021-22 season and all of last year, the Connecticut guard’s 2023-24 campaign has been reminiscent of her freshman season, when she was the consensus national player of the year. The two-time Big East player of the year led an injury-riddled Huskies squad to its 11th consecutive conference tournament championship this month.

Bueckers’s ability to score at all three levels — at the rim, midrange and from beyond the arc — makes her a nightmare of a defensive assignment. It also makes her one of the most efficient high-volume shooters in the sport. Bueckers is the only player in the past 15 years with multiple seasons of shooting at least 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from three and 80 percent from the free throw line.

No. 3 seed Connecticut opens play Saturday against No. 14 seed Jackson State.

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Despite facing relentless defensive pressure all season, Clark has managed a nation-leading 31.9 points per contest on an efficient 1.24 points per scoring attempt, which ranks in the top 3 percent of Division I. A testament to Clark’s elite shot creation is her 73 unassisted three-pointers this season. That’s more than any NCAA team across all three divisions has made this season, according to CBB Analytics.

While her logo threes might be what captivate crowds, Clark’s passing ability keeps defenses honest and has Iowa in the pantheon of the best offenses in NCAA history. The Hawkeyes average 92.8 points per game, which is on track to be the second most by a Division I team in 30 years. Clark leads the nation with 8.9 assists per game and is on track to finish among the nation’s top two in that category in every season of her college career. Clark is responsible for 58 percent of her team’s field goals through points and assists, the maestro of the Hawkeyes’ potent offensive attack.

No. 1 seed Iowa opens play Saturday against either No. 16 seed Holy Cross or No. 16 seed Tennessee Martin.

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Few freshmen in recent years have adapted to the speed and physicality of the college game as quickly and successfully as Hidalgo. One of the country’s best two-way players, Hidalgo has propelled Notre Dame to a season few saw coming. Her blend of quickness, superb dribble penetration and ability to turn defense into offense has electrified crowds and led to ACC rookie of the year, ACC defensive player of the year and ACC tournament MVP honors. The 5-foot-6 phenom also led the Fighting Irish to a 26-6 record and the program’s first ACC tournament title since 2019.

While Hidalgo’s gaudy offensive numbers earn the most attention (she ranks third in the nation with 23 points per game), her efforts on the defensive end are arguably the most impressive part of her game. Hidalgo leads the nation with 4.7 steals per game, and her 147 steals this season are already a Division I freshman record. Creating live-ball turnovers is an important part of Notre Dame’s success — the Fighting Irish allowed an ACC-best 80.8 points per 100 possessions this season, and they have generated over 25 percent of their offense off turnovers, per CBB Analytics.

No. 2 seed Notre Dame opens play Saturday against No. 15 seed Kent State.

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Watkins has put Southern California women’s basketball back on the map. In a program that has seen Cheryl Miller, Lisa Leslie and Tina Thompson walk through its doors, Watkins has compiled arguably the most impressive freshman campaign in USC women’s basketball history. As the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2023, Watkins exceeded the lofty expectations that greeted her upon arriving on campus. She not only won Pac-12 freshman of the year honors, but she also led the Women of Troy to their first conference tournament title in a decade.

USC has tasked its star guard with shouldering a significant portion of the team’s offensive load; her usage rate of 43.5 percent leads all Division I players this season and is the highest among freshmen over the past 15 seasons. Watkins has risen to the challenge. Her 27 points per game are second behind only Clark this season and are on track to be the most by a Division I freshman in nearly 40 years. On the defensive end, she is the only player averaging at least two steals and 1.5 blocks per outing.

No. 1 seed USC opens play Saturday against No. 16 seed Texas A&M Corpus Christi.