The right side of the 2012 NCAA women's tournament bracket saw two lower seeds advance with No. 11 Gonzaga and No. 13 Marist heading into the round of 32. Gonzaga, playing in Spokane, have the opportunity to go up against a Riquna Williams-less Miami squad to head back to the Sweet 16. The Raleigh Region was nearly home to another double-digit advancing seed to as No. 12 Florida Gulf Coast fell in overtime to St. Bonaventure. This was the only overtime game in the first round of action.
All game times listed are Eastern. Each school's name is linked to their Dance Card. For more tournament coverage, be sure and visit our "NCAA Tournament 2012" section.
| Raleigh Region | ||||
| Round of 64 | Round of 32 | Sweet 16 | Elite Eight | Final Four |
| March 17-18 | March 19-20 | March 25 | March 27 | April 1 |
| (1) Notre Dame | ||||
| 74-43 | Notre Dame | |||
| (16) Liberty | ||||
| Notre Dame, IN 7:20 pm, 3/20 | ||||
| (8) California | ||||
| 84-74 | California | |||
| (9) Iowa | ||||
| (5) St. Bonaventure | ||||
| 72-65, OT | St. Bonaventure | |||
| (12) Florida Gulf Coast | ||||
| Talahassee, FL; 7:10 pm, 3/20 | ||||
| (4) Georgia | ||||
| 76-70 | Marist | |||
| (13) Marist | ||||
| vs. Kingston Region | ||||
| (6) Arkansas | winner | |||
| 72-55 | Arkansas | in Denver | ||
| (11) Dayton | ||||
| College Station, TX; 9:35 pm, 3/19 | ||||
| (3) Texas A&M | ||||
| 69-47 | Texas A&M | |||
| (14) Albany | ||||
| (7) Louisville | ||||
| 67-55 | Louisville | |||
| (10) Michigan State | ||||
| College Park, MD; 7:10 pm, 3/19 | ||||
| (2) Maryland | ||||
| 59-44 | Maryland | |||
| (15) Navy | ||||
| Kingston Region |
| (1) Connecticut | ||||
| 83-47 | Connecticut | |||
| (16) Prairie View A&M | ||||
| Bridgeport, CT; 7:05 pm, 3/19 | ||||
| (8) Kansas State | ||||
| 67-64 | Kansas State | |||
| (9) Princeton | ||||
| (5) LSU | ||||
| 64-56 | LSU | |||
| (12) San Diego State | ||||
| Baton Rouge, LA; 9:40 pm, 3/20 | ||||
| (4) Penn State | ||||
| 85-77 | Penn State | |||
| (13) UTEP | ||||
| vs. Raleigh Region | ||||
| (6) Rutgers | winner | |||
| 86-73 | Gonzaga | in Denver | ||
| (11) Gonzaga | ||||
| Spokane, WA; 9:40 pm, 3/19 | ||||
| (3) Miami | ||||
| 70-41 | Miami | |||
| (14) Idaho State | ||||
| (7) Green Bay | ||||
| 71-57 | Green Bay | |||
| (10) Iowa State | ||||
| Ames, IA; 9:45 pm, 3/19 | ||||
| (2) Kentucky | ||||
| 68-62 | Kentucky | |||
| (15) McNeese State | ||||