South Carolina tops TCU in Elite 8. When will NCAA Tournament return to Sacramento?

About the only noticeable hiccup over an otherwise spirited weekend of NCAA women’s college basketball at Golden 1 Center occurred Sunday afternoon. Singer Ernestine Balisi stood at Golden 1 Center’s midcourt before the UCLA-Duke Elite Eight contest to perform the “Star-Spangled Banner,” and she never missed a beat despite a microphone that cut in and out. When the mic initially blinked out, the crowd joined in to back Balisi, who closed it out beautifully with a replacement mic.

Eight teams came and went to the state capital, three that employed coaches with Sacramento ties. Each program brought intriguing storylines, and some featured All-Americans who proved to be more than just ballers. The stars were well-read and well-spoken, and academically motivated, some graduating in three years.

In postgame sessions, in victory and defeat, the student-athletes spoke like champions. The two No. 1 seeds went 2-0 at Golden 1 to stamp their entry to the Final Four this weekend in Phoenix. UCLA topped Duke 70-58 and, in Monday night’s finale of the first women’s tournament rounds played in Sacramento since 2010, South Carolina defeated Texas Christian, 78-52.

The Gamecocks were showered with confetti, and they cut down the nets as regional champions. The Bruins’ players and coaches did the same on Sunday. UCLA is in its second consecutive Final Four and South Carolina its sixth consecutive Final Four under coach Dawn Staley, whose staff includes first-year assistant Wendale Farrow, a graduate of Sacramento schools Mira Loma High and American River College.

Sacramento fans were treated to top-tier teams, WNBA-made players and coaches big on fashion, enthusiasm and personality, including Staley. A Hall of Fame player from her All-American days at Virginia and in the WNBA, Staley coached South Carolina to NCAA championships in 2017, 2022 and 2024 and to the finals last season, a loss to Connecticut. South Carolina will take on UConn and its 38-0 record in the Final Four on Friday.

UCLA on Friday will face Texas, the only team to defeat the 35-1 Bruins this season.

In improving to 35-3, South Carolina’s 6-foot-3 All-American Joyce Edwards scored 24 points and had 12 rebounds, nine on the offensive glass in overwhelming TCU. Agot Makeer had 18 points, Tessa Johnson 11, and Raven Johnson had 10 points and six assists for the Gamecocks. TCU was led by All-American senior guard Olivia Miles, who had 18 points and six assists.

Taylor Bigby had 10 points for the Horned Frogs, who reached the Elite Eight for the second consecutive season. Coaches, players appreciate Sacramento Players and coaches raved about their Sacramento visit, the Golden 1 experiences and hospitality. UCLA coach Cori Close shared the sentiment of her peers when she said, “I’m really thankful to Sacramento for being great hosts.”

TCU coach Mark Campbell praised the city and Sacramento State, the host school of this event. His first gig as a head coach was at Sacramento State, including leading the Hornets to the NCAA Tournament three years ago. He called the weekend “an experience I’ll never forget.”

Duke coach Kara Lawson played seven of her 13 WNBA seasons with the Sacramento Monarchs, and she expressed gratitude to the city and the fans throughout the weekend, calling Sacramento “one of the great basketball towns in the country.” Lawson’s Blue Devils relished their March Madness at the downtown arena on Friday night, a buzzer-beating 3-pointer in the corner by Ashlon Jackson to stun storied LSU in a Sweet 16 contest. The ball circled the rim twice before dropping on Friday night, delighting Duke and its fans and crushing LSU.

Staley on impact of NCAA rise for women Staley was asked after Monday’s game what this sport’s rising popularity nationally has contributed to the empowerment of women, particularly women of color.

“I think women are some of the most powerful beings on Earth, and I will take a page out of my mother’s book in that she used to say a woman has the strength of 10 men,” Staley said.

“And I believe her. The challenges that we’re faced with, I think we do them with a great deal of poise and composure because we know that if we handled things any differently, you know, we probably wouldn’t be able to accomplish what we need to accomplish because of just opposing forces.” When will March Madness return to Sacramento?

Visit Sacramento and Sacramento State will continue to present bids to the governing body NCAA to host more tournament rounds, men and women.

“It was a great opportunity to have these teams here,” Sac State athletic director Mark Orr said, not too far from where school president Luke Wood was meeting and greeting people.

“We have a great venue, a great city. It works here.” The first two rounds of the NCAA Men’s Tournament will be held at Golden 1 Center next March.

The prior six NCAA men’s rounds in Sacramento proved to be an economic boom to the region. Arco Arena, since demolished, hosted men’s rounds in 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2007, and Golden 1 was the host for men’s early round games in 2017 and 2023 with the scheduled 2020 event in Sacramento cancelled days before it started due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re already excited about next year here at Golden 1,” Orr said.

“And I think Sacramento is excited, too,” How much did Sacramento earn this weekend? Visit Sacramento President and CEO Mike Testa said on the eve of the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 rounds that he expected the economic impact to Sacramento to be about $10 million from six games played over four days. His office said Monday afternoon that those figures, when tallied, expect to match that estimate.

The financial impact includes visitors in local hotels and, along with Sacramento fans, shopping at Sacramento spots, including in the Downtown Commons, or DoCo.

“The athletes, staff, families and fans have electrified the atmosphere in and around Golden 1 Center, and we’ve heard great things about their experiences this past week,” Visit Sacramento Chief Operating Officer Kari Miskit said.

“Sacramento really shines as a host for sports, whether it’s March Madness, Ironman or the upcoming X Games, and successfully hosting these events helps to position us as an ideal partner for more premier competitions in the future.” Will Sacramento host a Final Four? Hosting the biggest weekend in college basketball would be ideal, Orr and Wood of Sacramento State said, a goal shared by Visit Sacramento.

But it’s easier said than done. The hurdle for Sacramento is the same reason Sacramento has not hosted an NBA All-Star Weekend, which has gone to new NBA venues for decades. Golden 1 opened in the fall of 2016.

The snag for Sacramento is a lack of hotel rooms near downtown to pass that bid process. To host an NBA All-Star weekend, a city needs at least 13,000 hotel rooms, according to the NBA and Visit Sacramento. Sacramento and unincorporated Sacramento County have just over 11,500 hotel rooms, Testa told The Sacramento Bee in a February story of the challenges of hosting big sporting events.

To host a Final Four, a city needs at least 12,000 hotel rooms, according to the NCAA.