Women's NCAA Tournament winners, losers: UConn, UCLA punch Final Four spots

Loser: Notre Dame's supporting cast

Junior guard Hannah Hidalgo was sensational in Notre Dame's Sweet 16 win over two-seed Vanderbilt (29-5, 13-3 SEC) when she joined former Iowa star Caitlin Clark as the only women with a 30-point triple-double in an NCAA Tournament game. 

Although she was held scoreless in the first quarter against UConn, she still managed to put up 22 points (7-of-19 FG), 11 rebounds, three assists and three steals. The rest of the Fighting Irish, however, combined for 30 points and no other player scored more than eight points. It is difficult to beat UConn on any day, but especially when the production is limited to just one player.

Winner: UConn forward Sarah Strong

Hidalgo rightfully attracted a lot of attention going into the Elite Eight showdown with the Huskies, but Strong outdueled her with a Final Four berth on the line. With a team-high 21 points (6-of-13 FG), Strong is now tied with former UConn star Breanna Stewart for the most 20-point games (31) in her first two seasons.

The freshman Quinonez was key off the bench with 20 points (7-of-12 FG) and eight rebounds, but Strong once again served a reminder of how important her success is in UConn's pursuit of its 13th national title.

Loser: Three-point shooting woes in Duke-UCLA game

Long-range jumpers have been hard to come by in the entire women's tournament, and that was no different for the three-seed Blue Devils (27-9, 16-2 ACC) and one-seed Bruins. UCLA ultimately overcame an eight-point halftime deficit to win, but it was not because of its three-point shooting.

Both teams shot a combined 3-of-27 from deep and could not establish any rhythm for the entire game. However, a 54-32 advantage inside the paint and a team-high 23 points (9-of-14 FG) and 10 rebounds from senior center Lauren Betts were more than enough for the Bruins to eliminate a red-hot Blue Devils squad and reach back-to-back Final Fours.

Winner: UCLA's second-half dominance

Once again, the Bruins got off to a slow start before completely running away with the 70-58 win. After facing a 39-31 halftime deficit, UCLA outscored Duke, 39-19, in the second half and showed why it is a serious national title threat.

"We love each other so much," Betts said after the game. "And we're fighting for more days with each other. That's our biggest motivation."