The NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee has approved the 11 officials recommended by Penny Davis, the national coordinator of women's basketball officiating, to work Friday's two national semifinal games and Sunday's national championship game. A three-person crew will work each contest, while two officials will serve as standby officials for all three games.
The NCAA has notified these 11 individuals that they have been selected to work the 2026 Women's Final Four, which will be played at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix:
| Name |
Hometown |
Number of Women's Final Four Appearances (including 2026) |
| Kyle Bacon |
Mesa, Arizona |
3 |
| Melissa Barlow |
Las Vegas |
13 |
| Tiffany Bird Nelson |
Riverton, Utah |
5 |
| Natasha Camy |
Philadelphia |
First appearance |
| Fatou Cissoko-Stephens |
Providence, Rhode Island |
2 |
| Gina Cross |
Laneburg, Arkansas |
7 |
| Brian Garland |
Philadelphia |
First appearance |
| Felicia Grinter |
Nashville, Tennessee |
10 |
| Katie Lukanich |
Bloomington, Minnesota |
3 |
| Brenda Pantoja |
Las Vegas |
10 |
| Pualani Spurlock-Welsh |
Greenville, Pennsylvania |
4 |
"The Final Four and national championship assignments represent the highest level of trust within the officiating community," Davis said. "I'm proud to recommend them as each has demonstrated excellence in game control, communication and decision-making under pressure. This group has exemplified the standard of excellence expected on the national stage and are entrusted to administer the game with fairness, consistency and integrity as the season reaches its pinnacle."
UConn and South Carolina will play in Friday's first semifinal, tipping off at 7 p.m. Eastern time. The second game will feature UCLA and Texas, with tipoff scheduled for 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first contest. Sunday's championship game will tip off at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time.
This is only the second time that the same four teams have played in the Women's Final Four in consecutive years, with the other occurrence happening in 1995 and 1996.
