CLEVELAND — The final four teams have arrived in Cleveland for the NCAA Women's Final Four tournament. 

Teams arrived in Cleveland late Tuesday afternoon. Players were greeted by eager fans, some of which aren’t unfamiliar with Ohio. 

Gabbie Marshall is a senior at the University of Iowa and played at Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame. She helped win OHSAA state titles in 2017 and 2019. Samika Walker is a senior at the University of South Carolina and played at Columbus Africentric. She helped win two OHSAA titles, one in 2019 and one in 2020. Her team went undefeated in the 2018-2019 season. 

Bree Hall is a junior from South Carolina. Originally from Huber Heights, she says how special it is to have family and friends be able to see her play.  

“I’m sure they’re very happy about that,” said Hall, who plays guard for South Carolina. “Flights are very expensive and just being able to conveniently come here and just drive to the Final Four game, and hopefully the National Championship.”

This isn’t the first time the women’s tournament has been held here in Ohio. In 1997, the Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati hosted Tennessee, Old Dominion, Notre Dame and Stanford. Tennessee took the title home. Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland hosted the final games in 2007 where Tennessee won the title again. The Women’s Final Four tournament made its way to Nationwide Arena in Columbus in 2018, where Notre Dame beat Mississippi State in the championship game. Now, the tournament is back in Cleveland and will be held at Rocket Mortgage Field House. Some players say that this is the most buzz the women’s tournament has ever gotten. 

“Just to see how many people are really tuned into women’s basketball, especially this year, there’s a lot of, you know, media going out specifically for women’s basketball, and I just love it,” said Hall. 

The semifinal games will start on Friday, April 5 at 7:00 p.m. The championship game is on Sunday.

The Final Four tournament is set to return to Nationwide Arena in Columbus in 2027.