As the women’s March Madness tournament approaches, there will be tons of talented players looking to make history. Whether it is in scoring a lot of points, or winning the title, there are countless players who set the standard of postseason women’s college basketball and went on to continue their careers in the WNBA. Here is a look at 12 WNBAers (current and former), who had incredible performances in the NCAA tournament.
Griner had a spectacular college career. Baylor recently retired her jersey, but while playing for the Bears, she won a national title in 2012 and currently holds the record for most blocks in a tournament game with 14.
Lobo now calls games, but before that, she helped usher in the winning era of UConn basketball.
She was the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player after the Huskies won their first national championship in 1995 and made the all-tournament team the same year.
After her time at UConn, Lobo played seven years in the WNBA, and was a member of the New York Liberty during the inaugural WNBA season.
Holdsclaw was part of the Tennessee teams that won three straight national championships, and scored a lot of points in the process.
She is fifth for the individual scoring record between the two Final Four games with 55, and second for most field goals made between the two games with 24.
While in the WNBA, Holdsclaw was a six-time All-Star.
Parker won back-to-back championships with Tennessee and was the Most Outstanding Player both years.
She also dunked in the opening round of the tournament, which is not only cool and impressive, but added some well-needed excitement to the tournament and opened the door for others to do it.
Since joining the WNBA, she has been a three-time champ and a two-time MVP.
Taurasi won three straight national championships during her time at UConn. She is tied for fourth for most individual points in a championship game (28), tied for fifth for most 3-point field goals attempted in one Final Four game (11), and second for most 3-point field goals attempted between the Final Four and Championship (20).
After her time at UConn, Taurasi joined the Phoenix Mercury and has since won three WNBA championships and is the WNBA’s leading scorer with 10,108 (and counting).
Mitchell was a scoring machine for Ohio State, and is third on the list in all-time Division I points (only Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Plum are above her).
As they tried to make a deep run in the tournament, Mitchell scored 233 points in 10 games and did not make it past the second round.
She dropped 45 against West Virginia, which has her fourth on the all-time list. Mitchell is now a member of the Indiana Fever and was a 2023 All-Star.
Who could forget that three-pointer with a second to go against UConn in 2018?
Not only was Ogunbowale known for delivering in clutch moments for Notre Dame, but is second on the all-time points list for the championship game with 31 behind Sheryl Swoopes (who we will get to later).
Before becoming the reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year and working with the Big 10 Network as an analyst, Boston was arguably the best player to come out of South Carolina.
She is one of the best defensive talents in the game, and her abilities helped coach Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks win their second national championship in 2022.
Boston is tied for fifth for most rebounds in a single game in the tournament.
While Fowles never won a national championship, her performance in the Final Four all four years made her fourth on the list for single-game rebounds (20), tied for sixth for most blocked shots in a semifinal (5) and was a member of the 2008 all-tournament team.
Fowles went on to play 14 years in the WNBA, where she won two championships, was a two-time finals MVP, a WNBA MVP (2017), and a four-time defensive player for the year.
She split her career between the Chicago Sky and the Minnesota Lynx, who have retired her number 34 jersey.
Before she became a Hall of Famer, Swoopes was the difference maker in Texas Tech’s 1993 tournament victory.
She scored the most points in the Final Four with 71 across two games, and had the most points ever in a championship game with 47.
She was the Most Outstanding Player of the ‘93 tournament, and went on to win three Olympic gold medals and four WNBA Championships with the Houston Comets.
Moore’s name should always be in the conversation for one of the best women’s college basketball players.
Her tournament performance is one of the best. Her name is all over the Final Four record books, including third on the most points list for those two games with 57.
In the two years that UConn won the national championship with her on the roster, they were undefeated and she was the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.
After her days as a Husky, she won four WNBA championships and was the WNBA scoring leader and MVP in 2014.
No one on this list has four national championship titles. For that reason, Stewart is at the top of the list as the best performer in the tournament.
Of course, she couldn’t do it alone, but she was the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player for four years in a row.
Since her dominance at UConn, Stewie went on to play for the Seattle Storm of the WNBA before moving to the New York Liberty in 2023, and just signed a 1-year extension with them.
