Ten things you should know before the NCAA women’s basketball tournament begins

Whether you’ve been keeping just a casual eye or a close watch on the 2023-24 women’s college basketball season, you’ve heard Caitlin Clark’s name — if even subconsciously.

The Iowa star’s final college season has seen her become the all-time scoring and assist leader in women’s hoops and lead the Hawkeyes to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

» READ MORE: Need a bracket? The Inquirer’s got you covered.

She may be the biggest story out there, but the 1A and 1B storylines have close Philly-area ties. Here they are, along with a few other things you should know before the four play-in games tip off on Wednesday and Thursday ahead of the tournament’s first round starting Friday.

If Clark is capturing headlines as a player, North Philly’s own Dawn Staley has once again established herself as the preeminent women’s coach in the college game. Staley has led her South Carolina Gamecocks to an undefeated season (32-0) and the overall No. 1 seed in the tournament. “The standard is the standard,” said Staley, whose program won national titles in 2017 and 2022. “There are players here that believe in the process and that makes us a complete team.”

Notre Dame is another No. 1 seed this season and it has freshman phenom Hannah Hidalgo to thank. Hidalgo, the former Paul VI standout from Merchantville, was last year’s New Jersey player of the year and a finalist for national high school player of the year. The point guard didn’t skip a beat at South Bend, averaging a team-high 23.3 points, winning ACC rookie of the year, and leading the Fighting Irish to their first conference tourney championship in five years.

» READ MORE: South Jersey’s Hannah Hidalgo stars as Notre Dame takes ACC title

Sticking with historically Catholic institutions … How about No. 16 seed Holy Cross featuring freshman Hannah Griffin, the youngest daughter of St. Joseph’s women’s coach Cindy Griffin? Hannah, an all-state selection from Gwynedd-Mercy, is joined by sophomore guard Kaitlyn Flanagan, from Plymouth Whitemarsh. If Holy Cross wins its play-in game against the University of Tennessee-Martin, it will take on top-seeded Iowa.

» READ MORE: A dozen things to know ahead of this year’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament

Former Cardinal O’Hara classmates Maggie Doogan and Sydni Scott are sophomores for Richmond and Marshall, respectively. Both are in the NCAA Tournament: The 10th-seeded Spiders will face Duke in the Portland 3 Regional while No. 13 Marshall is in the same regional taking on No. 4 Virginia Tech. Fun fact: O’Hara coach Chrissie Doogan, Maggie’s mother, coached both players on back-to-back PIAA Class 5A championship teams.

Drexel coach Amy Mallon said her team had a compass pointed in the locker room all season as motivation for making it far in March. Mallon and the Dragons now have that compass headed south, as a date with top-seeded Texas awaits Friday in Austin. It may sound like a tall task, but Drexel wasn’t even in the postseason picture a month ago. The Dragons rattled off nine straight wins to be the only Philly team in the Big Dance.

» READ MORE: Drexel captures CAA women’s championship, clinches March Madness bid in win over top-seeded Stony Brook

Southern Cal earned its No. 1 seed largely by the play of freshman guard JuJu Watkins. Watkins leads the team in points per game (28.5) and steals (2.4). Stanford was able to hold her to just nine points in the Pac-12 championship game, but the Trojans still took the title, 74-61.

Call it cruel fate or must-watch basketball, but the Albany Regional has South Carolina, Iowa, Notre Dame, and LSU all in the same bracket. Yes, that’s three No. 1 seeds and a dominant No. 3 seed who could all meet at some point.

In that same regional, you’ll have two players in Iowa’s Clark and LSU’s Angel Reese who are among the top earners in the women’s game thanks to name, image, and likeness deals. According to On3 Sports, Reese is the highest earner in the women’s game, expected to clear $1.7 million this season. It’s believed Clark, the expected top pick in the WNBA draft, is earning more than $800,000. LSU is the No. 3 seed and will host No. 14 Rice.

Cleveland will be lit as the site of the women’s Final Four. The semifinal rounds are set for April 5 and the national championship will be played on Sunday, April 7. If there’s electricity in the air, it would only be appropriate: Cleveland was the first American city to be powered by electricity.