Championship Sunday: Kentucky upsets No. 1 South Carolina to win first SEC title in 40 years

Championship Sunday is here in women's college basketball and programs around the country are punching automatic bids to the NCAA tournament. Follow here throughout the day for results and Big Dance implications.

SEC: South Carolina upset in final seconds of title game

Dre'una Edwards drilled a game-winning 3-pointer with seconds on the clock and Kentucky stormed to its first SEC tournament championship in 40 years on Sunday after defeating South Carolina, 64-62, in Nashville.

The Wildcats were seeded seventh in the tournament and upset No. 2 seed LSU and No. 3 Tennessee to get to the title game. They trailed by as many as 15 points in their third meeting of the season with the Gamecocks, the Associated Press' No. 1 team all season. South Carolina's only loss heading into the tournament was to Missouri earlier in the conference regular-season schedule.

The last and only time Kentucky won the title was 1982. The Wildcats pulled within three points with 1:37 remaining after trailing by 12 heading into the final quarter. Edwards laid in a transition bucket to pull within one, 62-61 with under a minute and the Wildcats had a late chance at taking the lead but turned it over in the paint at :18.

Kentucky made it difficult for South Carolina to inbound and head coach Dawn Staley had to use her final timeout. Zia Cooke missed both free throws on the ensuing possession and Robyn Benton secured the rebound for the Wildcats. There were about 4 seconds left after Edwards' final shot, but South Carolina was forced to take a Hail Mary rather than talk and plan it over.

Edwards came off the bench to score a game-high 27 points on 11-of-21 shooting. She scored 12 of those in Kentucky's 21-7 fourth quarter, hitting two of her three free throws in the frame. She was one rebound shy of the double-double. WNBA lottery pick candidate Rhyne Howard scored 18 points on 5-of-14 shooting and added four rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks.

Aliyah Boston extended her SEC double-double record to 24 with 21 points and 11 rebounds. The record of 19 was held by LSU star Sylvia Fowles. Guard Zia Cooke was the only other Gamecock in double digits, scoring 15 points with five rebounds and two assists. She was 5-of-16 overall and 3-of-7 from 3-point range. South Carolina outrebounded Kentucky, 46-33, but were not as sharp from the floor or free-throw line.

South Carolina all but officially clinched its No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament weeks ago. The Gamecocks are 11-0 against AP Top 25 ranked opponents. But they've given up double-digit leads in two consecutive games and finished the title game scoreless over the final 6:07.

Kentucky has had a more roller-coaster season starting the conference slate 2-8 before improving its chances at a higher seed with its SEC tournament showing.

Pac 12: Stanford overpowers Utah for second straight title

For a second straight year, Stanford is the Pac-12 champion after cruising past Utah in Sunday's tournament final. The nation's No. 2 team opened a 21-11 first quarter lead and never looked back en route to a 78-43 win.

With the victory, Stanford finished Pac-12 play without a loss (16-0 regular season) and enters NCAA tournament play riding a 20-game winning streak. The 28-3 Cardinal haven't fallen since a Dec. 21 loss to No. 1 South Carolina.

Haley Jones led the way Sunday with 19 points, six rebounds and four assists. Cameron Brink (16 points) and Lexie Hull (15 points) joined her in double figures. The Cardinal held the Utes to 32.1% shooting from the field while controlling the rebounding (41-30) and turnover (12-6) battles.

Stanford is unlikely to jump South Carolina for the No.1 overall seed despite the Gamecocks' surprise loss on Sunday, but will carry plenty of momentum into the NCAA tournament.

Big Ten: Monika Czinano powers Iowa to title

No. 2 seed Iowa pulled away in the final minutes and held No. 5 Indiana far enough away to win the Big Ten tournament title with a 74-67 win in Indianapolis. It's the first time the Hawkeyes have won the regular season and tournament title in the same season.

Following a 41-point torrent in the semifinal round, Caitlin Clark cooled against Indiana's pressure for 18 points on 6-for-17 shooting. The nation's leading scorer in Division I shot 1-of-7 from 3-point range, adding seven rebounds, two assists and a block.

It became a chippy game late with a frustrated Clark staring down Nicole Cardaño-Hillary after being fouled.

Monika Czinano couldn't be slowed. The forward finished off her strong tournament with 30 points (13-for-18), 10 rebounds, two assists and a block. Her work in the paint down the stretch kept Indiana at bay.

Kate Martin scored 14 with four rebounds and team-high eight assists. Iowa assisted on 21 of 29 baskets and was 50% overall from the field, though it struggled from beyond the arc (2-for-14).

Indiana was seeking its first title in 20 years. It would have become the first championship team to win four games in four days. Grace Berger led the Hoosiers with 20 points on 10-for-21 shooting. She had seven rebound and four assists. Cardaño-Hillary had 19 points with seven rebounds, three assists, four steals and two blocks. Mackenzie Holmes (11 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks) and Aleksa Gulbe (11 points, 6 rebounds also hit double digits.

The two teams faced each other in back-to-back contests during the final week of the season. Iowa won by five and six points, respectively. Iowa is a three-seed and Indiana a four in ESPN's latest Bracketology. The Big Ten has been a tight race the entire season and the tournament seedings at the top came down to the final day.

ACC: N.C. State defends ACC title

North Carolina State defended its ACC tournament championship, even with star center Elisa Cunane out briefly in the second half after injuring her ankle. The Wolfpack won their third consecutive trophy with a 60-47 win against Miami, which made its first tournament title game appearance.

The No. 1 seed Wolfpack, a likely top seed in the NCAA tournament, went on a 10-0 run to enter halftime with a 32-23 lead. Cunane fell awkwardly on a shot under the basket at 6:40 of the third quarter and left with an apparent ankle injury. But seventh-seeded Miami couldn't take advantage and the 40-29 deficit grew to 54-33 less than a minute into the fourth quarter.

Cunane, an All-ACC First Teamer who finished second in conference of the year voting, returned courtside early in the fourth quarter to roars from the Greensboro, North Carolina crowd. She returned with fanfare and without significant hinderance by her ankle. Head coach Wes Moore said on the postgame show an athletic trainer didn't think the injury was too bad.

The 6-foot-5 senior led N.C. State with 17 points, eight rebounds and a block. She won tournament MVP honors for a second straight year. Raina Perez had 12 points and Diamond Johnson added 11 off the bench.

Kelsey Marshall led all scorers with 24 points for Miami on 9-for-19 shooting. No other Hurricane had more than eight points and the team was 16.7% (3-19) from 3-point range.

The Hurricanes went from bubble team to solid NCAA tournament contender by defeating conference No. 2 seed Louisville in the quarterfinals and Notre Dame in the semifinals. The game on Sunday was their fourth in four days. They brought down Louisville, which is clutching on to the final No. 1 seed, with a jumper in the final seconds.

How to watch championship Sunday

The majority of the women's basketball field is holding title games Sunday. That includes four of the Power Five. The Big 12 tournament begins Thursday with the championship game on March 13, hours before the NCAA tournament selection show.

All seeds are tournament seeds and times are ET. Conference champions, which clinch an automatic bid, are listed below.

Big East: Semifinals — No. 1 Connecticut 71, No. 5 Marquette 51 | No. 6 Seton Hall at No. 2 Villanova (semifinal), 5:30 p.m. FS1 | Championship on Monday at 8 p.m. FS1

ACC: N.C. State

Atlantic: UMass

Big Ten: Iowa

Ohio Valley: Belmont

Pac-12: Stanford

SEC: Kentucky

Southern: Mercer