The NYU women’s team snapped the second-longest winning streak in college basketball history on Thursday, March 19, in the semifinals of the Division III Final Four in Salem, Virginia.
NYU (31-0) and Scranton (29-0) had been on a collision course all season. NYU, back-to-back NCAA Division III national champions with three straight undefeated seasons, fell 60-52, snapping its 91-game streak.
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Further: Reluctant UConn Superstar Sarah Strong May Let Her ‘Diana Side’ Out This March Madness
The UConn women’s basketball team holds the overall NCAA record for consecutive wins with a streak of 111 games. The Huskies also have the second-longest streak at 90 games.
Meghan Lamanna scored 18 to lead Scranton. Kaeli Romanowski added a double-double of 14 points and 16 rebounds. Scranton held NYU to 28% and outrebounded the Violets, 47-34.
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Players to watch in the 2026 NCAA women’s basketball tournament
UConn’s Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong are among the top players heading into March Madness. Here are the best players in women’s college basketball:
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Players to watch in the 2026 NCAA women’s basketball tournament
UConn’s Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong are among the top players heading into March Madness. Here are the best players in women’s college basketball:
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Players to watch in the 2026 NCAA women’s basketball tournament
It’s hard to believe Sarah Strong can top her record-breaking freshman season, but she’s over it herself. Strong has career highs in points (18.5), assists (4.1), steals (3.4), field goal percentage (60.1%) and free throw percentage (87.3%). He leads UConn in nearly every static category, including points, rebounds, steals and blocks. Expect Strong to have a strong showing in the NCAA Tournament. He set the record for points by a freshman in an NCAA tournament (114) last season.
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Players to watch in the 2026 NCAA women’s basketball tournament
UCLA Bruins center Lauren Betts’ stats are slightly down from last season, but she’s no less dominant. He leads UCLA in points (16.4), rebounds (8.6) and blocks (1.9) per game and has 11 double-doubles. Her efforts earned her Big Ten Player of the Year and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors, becoming the first player in Big Ten history to win both in the same season.
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Players to watch in the 2026 NCAA women’s basketball tournament
Texas Longhorns forward Madison Booker has reached new heights this season by earning first-team All-SEC honors after posting career highs in points (18.9), steals (2.3) and field goal percentage (51.6%), which increased from 46.1% last season. Booker leads the Longhorns in scoring and has been in double figures in all but two games this season. She’s only a junior, but she’s already climbed to No. 6 on Texas’ all-time scoring list with 1,873 career points entering March Madness.
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Players to watch in the 2026 NCAA women’s basketball tournament
UConn Huskies senior guard Azzi is shooting lights out from the 3-point line. He is shooting 44.6% from beyond the arc, the highest of his career, and his 104 three-pointers rank second in the nation. His field goal percentage (48.9%) also marks the highest of his career. Fudd has also helped anchor UConn’s top-ranked scoring defense. She is one of three Huskies to have at least 85 steals this season, joining Sarah Strong (111) and KK Arnold (93). Fudd is also flirting with the 50-40-90 stat line: 50% from the field, 40% from the 3-point line and 90% from the free throw line.
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Players to watch in the 2026 NCAA women’s basketball tournament
Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes was named SEC Player of the Year after leading Vanderbilt to its first 27-win regular season in program history. Blakes leads the nation in scoring with an average of 27.0 points per game, including 12 games of 30 or more points. Ten of those 12 games came in conference play. Blakes has recorded double-digit points in every game this season and currently has a 50-game double-digit scoring streak, the longest active streak in the SEC and the third-longest in NCAA Division I women’s basketball. Blakes is the second Vanderbilt star to win the SEC Player of the Year award and the first sophomore since South Carolina’s A’ja Wilson in 2016.
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Players to watch in the 2026 NCAA women’s basketball tournament
Olivia Miles’ transfer from Notre Dame to TCU has been perfect if you look at her statistics. Miles is the centerpiece of the Horned Frogs’ offense and has increased his scoring average from 15.4 points last season to a career-high 19.6 points. Miles leads the nation with five triple doubles and has done so efficiently, with career highs in field goal percentage (48.7) and free throw percentage (84.4%).
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Players to watch in the 2026 NCAA women’s basketball tournament
Iowa State Cyclones center Audi Crooks finished the regular season with a bang, dropping 41 points and 13 rebounds against Kansas State, shooting an efficient 16-of-19 from the field. That marked Crooks’ fourth 40-point game of the season and 12th double-double. Crooks has scored in double figures in every game this season, extending his streak to 97 consecutive career games, the longest active streak in the country. She became the fastest player in Big 12 history to reach 2,000 points on Jan. 28 and earned a unanimous first-team All-Big 12 nod.
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Players to watch in the 2026 NCAA women’s basketball tournament
Ohio State’s Jaloni Cambridge has arrived! The second-year guard is in the midst of a breakout season. She increased her points per game from 15.4 last season to 22.8, which ranks seventh nationally. His field goal percentage also increased by almost eight points to 49.0%. He has scored double-digit points in every game this season and became the 40th Buckeye to surpass 1,000 career points on Feb. 8 against Oregon. She is just the fifth Ohio State player to record 700 points in a season.
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Players to watch in the 2026 NCAA women’s basketball tournament
South Carolina Gamecocks forward Joyce Edwards has taken a big step this season. The 6-foot-3 forward slid into the starting lineup after forward Chloe Kitts was ruled out for the season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury in her right knee. Edwards has led South Carolina to the fourth-highest scoring offense in the country (86.3 points per game). She is averaging a team-high 19.6 points in 34 starts, up from 12.7 points and one start as a freshman. His statistical line is completed with 6.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.7 steals per game.
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Players to watch in the 2026 NCAA women’s basketball tournament
Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Hannah Hidalgo has been a highlight. Hidalgo achieved career highs in points, steals, rebounds, field goal percentage and made ACC history by winning Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in consecutive seasons. Hidalgo set an NCAA record with 16 steals in a game and scored a school-record 44 points in Notre Dame’s 85-58 victory over Akron on November 12. He leads the nation in total steals (173), which set an ACC single-season record.
Caroline Peper scored 19 points for NYU and Yasmene Clark added 15 rebounds.
Coach Ben O’Brien is in his fourth season in Scranton with a record of 116-6. He became the fastest coach in NCAA history to reach 100 wins earlier this year.
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Scranton is in the NCAA Tournament for an NCAA-record 38th time in program history and 13th consecutive season, the longest active streak in Division III.
The Lady Royals embarrassed Pitt in front of their home crowd in November in an exhibition game. Scranton entered Thursday 30-0 and fresh off a 25-point win against Concordia-Moorhead in the Elite Eight. NYU scored just five points in the first quarter and trailed Scranton 30-18 at halftime.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NYU women’s basketball’s 91-game winning streak snapped in DIII Final Four
