NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament

Last updated
NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament
Current season, competition or edition:
Sports current event.svg 2024 NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament
NCAA logo.svg
Sport College basketball
Founded1982
No. of teams64
Country NCAA Division III (U.S.)
Most recent
champion(s)		 NYU (2024, 2nd title)
Most titles Washington St. Louis (5 titles)
Official website NCAA.com

The NCAA Division III women's basketball championship is the annual tournament to determine the national champions of women's NCAA Division III collegiate basketball in the United States. It was held annually from 1982, when the NCAA began to sponsor women's sports at all three levels, through 2019. No championship was held in 2020 or 2021 due to COVID-19 issues.

Contents

Washington St. Louis has been the most successful program, with five national titles. The most recent champions are NYU, who won their second national title in 2024.

History

1982 Final Four

Held in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, the 1982 Women's Final Four Basketball Tournament was the first sponsored by the NCAA. Featuring host Elizabethtown College, Clark University (Massachusetts), Pomona College and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, the tournament was played in a classic field house over a three-day period. In the first game of the National Semi-Final Elizabethtown took control right from the tip-off against Clark and easily cruised to a 71–51 victory. In the second game of the Final Four Pomona took the lead early in the game, but UNC Greensboro battled back to tie the game at 56 with six minutes to play. UNC Greensboro then went on a run and pulled away for a 77–66 win. Elizabethtown and UNC Greensboro turned the championship game into an epic battle of lead changes and shifts in momentum. Last second heroics by UNC Greensboro sent the game into overtime, but Elizabethtown came up with the final stop in overtime to win 67–66 in overtime. Television coverage was provided by a fledgling ESPN while exclusive radio coverage was provided by KSPC Radio - Pomona College's tiny KSPC sports broadcasting group with Geoff Willis (Pomona '83) and James Timmerman (Pomona '82) providing the play by play and color. ESPN was so embryonic that the game was broadcast multiple times during the following two weeks and ESPN hired the KSPC Radio staff to help with background and color research about the players and the teams.

Results

NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship
YearFinals SiteArenaChampionship GameSemifinalists
WinnerScoreRunner-up
1982
Details 		Elizabethtown, PA Thompson Gymnasium Elizabethtown 67–66
(OT)		 UNC Greensboro Pomona-Pitzer, Clark
1983
Details 		Worcester, MA Kneller Athletics Center North Central (IL) 83–71ElizabethtownKnoxville, Clark
1984
Details 		Scranton, PA John Long Center Rust 51–49ElizabethtownSalem St, North Central
1985
Details 		De Pere, WI Schuldes Sports Center Scranton 68–59 New Rochelle Millikin, St. Norbert
1986
Details 		Salem, MA Twohig Gymnasium Salem State 89–85 Bishop (TX) Capital, Rust
1987
Details 		Scranton, PAJohn Long Center UW–Stevens Point 81–74 Concordia–Moorhead Scranton, Kean
1988
Details 		Moorhead, MN Memorial AuditoriumConcordia–Moorhead65–57 St. John Fisher UNC-Greensboro, Southern Maine
1989
Details 		Danville, KY Alumni GymnasiumElizabethtown66–65 Cal State Stanislaus Centre, Clarkson
1990
Details 		Holland, MI Holland Civic Center Hope 65–63St. John FisherHeidelberg, Centre
1991
Details 		St. Paul, MN Schoenecker Arena St. Thomas (MN) 73–55 Muskingum Eastern Connecticut, Washington University in St. Louis
1992
Details 		Bethlehem, PA Johnston Hall Alma 79–75 Moravian Luther, Eastern Connecticut St
1993
Details 		Pella, IA Kuyper Gymnasium Central (IA) 71–63 Capital Scranton, St. Benedict
1994
Details 		Eau Claire, WI W.L. Zorn ArenaCapital82–63 Washington University in St. Louis UW-Eau Claire, Wheaton (MA)
1995
Details 		Columbus, OH Alumni GymnasiumCapital59–55 UW–Oshkosh St. Thomas, Salem State
1996
Details 		Oshkosh, WI Kolf Sports CenterUW–Oshkosh66–50 Mount Union St. Thomas, New York University
1997
Details 		New York City, NY Coles Sports Center NYU 72–70 UW–Eau Claire Capital, Scranton
1998
Details 		Gorham, ME Warren Hill GymnasiumWashington University in St. Louis77–69 Southern Maine Mount Union, Rowan
1999
Details 		Danbury, CT O'Neill Center Washington University in St. Louis74–65 St. Benedict Salem State, Scranton
2000
Details 		Washington University in St. Louis79–33Southern MaineSt. Thomas, Scranton
2001
Details 		Washington University in St. Louis67–45 Messiah Ohio Wesleyan, Emmanuel
2002
Details 		Terre Haute, IN Hulbert ArenaUW–Stevens Point67–65 St. Lawrence DePauw, Marymount
2003
Details 		Trinity (TX) 60–58 [1] Eastern Connecticut State UW-Eau Claire, Rochester
2004
Details 		Virginia Beach, VA Jane P. Batten Student Center Wilmington (OH) 59–53 [2] Bowdoin Rochester, UW–Stevens Point
2005
Details 		Millikin 70–50 [3] Randolph–Macon Southern Maine, Scranton
2006
Details 		Springfield, MA Springfield Civic Center Hope69–56Southern MaineScranton, Hardin–Simmons
2007
Details 		DePauw 55–52Washington University in St. LouisMary Washington, NYU
2008
Details 		Holland, MIDeVos Fieldhouse Howard Payne 68–54MessiahUW–Whitewater, Oglethorpe
2009
Details 		George Fox 60–53 [4] Washington University in St. LouisTCNJ, Amherst
2010
Details 		Bloomington, IL Shirk CenterWashington University in St. Louis65–59 [5] HopeAmherst, Rochester
2011
Details 		Amherst 64–55Washington University in St. LouisChristopher Newport, Illinois Wesleyan
2012
Details 		Holland, MIDeVos Fieldhouse Illinois Wesleyan 57–48 [6] George FoxSt. Thomas, Amherst
2013
Details 		DePauw69–51 UW–Whitewater Williams, Amherst
2014
Details 		Stevens Point, WIBennett Court at Quandt Fieldhouse FDU–Florham 80–72 [7] Whitman UW-Whitewater, Tufts
2015
Details 		Grand Rapids, MI Van Noord Arena Thomas More (vacated) [8] 83–63 [9] George FoxMontclair State, Tufts
2016
Details 		Indianapolis, IN [n 1] Bankers Life Fieldhouse [n 1] Thomas More 63–51 [11] Tufts Amherst, Wartburg
2017
Details 		Grand Rapids, MIVan Noord Arena Amherst 52–29 Tufts Christopher Newport, St Thomas
2018
Details 		Rochester, MN Mayo Civic Center Amherst [12] [13] 65–45Bowdoin Thomas More, Wartburg
2019 [14]

Details

Salem, VA Cregger Center Thomas More 81–67BowdoinScranton, St. Thomas (MN)
2020
Details 		Columbus, OH Capital University Performance ArenaCanceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021
Details 		Salem, VACregger Center
2022
Details 		Pittsburgh, PA UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse Hope71–58UW-WhitewaterAmherst, Trine
2023
Details 		Dallas, TX [n 2] American Airlines Center Transylvania 57–52 Christopher Newport Smith, Rhode Island College
2024
Details 		Columbus, OH Capital University Performance Arena NYU 51-41 Smith Transylvania, Wartburg
2025 Salem, VA Cregger Center
2026

Championships

Usa edcp relief location map.png
ButtonRed.svg
Washington
ButtonYellow.svg
Amherst
ButtonYellow.svg
Hope
ButtonGreen.svg
DePauw
ButtonGreen.svg
UWSP
ButtonGreen.svg
Capital
ButtonGreen.svg
Elizabethtown
ButtonGreen.svg
TMU
ButtonWhite.svg
Transylvania
ButtonWhite.svg
FDUF
ButtonWhite.svg
IWU
ButtonWhite.svg
George Fox
ButtonWhite.svg
Howard Payne
ButtonWhite.svg
Trinity
ButtonWhite.svg
Concordia
ButtonWhite.svg
Rust
ButtonWhite.svg
Central
ButtonWhite.svg
St. Thomas
ButtonWhite.svg
UWO
ButtonWhite.svg
Salem
State
ButtonGreen.svg
NYU
ButtonWhite.svg
Millikin
ButtonWhite.svg
Wilmington
ButtonWhite.svg
Alma
ButtonWhite.svg
Scranton
ButtonWhite.svg
North Central
class=notpageimage|
Schools that have won the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship
ButtonRed.svg 5, ButtonOrange.svg 4, ButtonYellow.svg 3, ButtonGreen.svg 2, ButtonWhite.svg 1

Active programs

TeamTitlesYears
Washington St. Louis 51998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2010
Amherst 32011, 2017, 2018
Hope 31990, 2006, 2022
DePauw 22007, 2013
Wisconsin–Stevens Point} 21987, 2002
Capital 21994, 1995
Elizabethtown 21982, 1989
NYU 21997, 2024
Transylvania 12023
FDU Florham 12014
Illinois Wesleyan 12012
George Fox 12009
Howard Payne 12008
Millikin 12005
Wilmington (OH) 12004
Trinity (TX) 12003
Wisconsin–Oshkosh 11996
Central (IA) 11993
Alma 11992
Concordia Moorhead 11988
Salem State 11986
Scranton 11985
North Central (IL) 11983

Former programs

TeamTitlesYears
Thomas More [Note 1] 22015 [lower-alpha 1] , 2016, 2019
St. Thomas (MN) [Note 2] 11991
Rust [Note 3] 11984
  1. ↑ 2015 championship vacated by Thomas More, which returned to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in July 2019, but rejoined the NCAA in July 2022, that time as a Division II provisional member, albeit on a one-year dual membership with the NAIA.

Final Fours

Schools in italics no longer compete in NCAA Division III.

AppearancesSchool
10Washington University in St. Louis
8Amherst, Scranton
6St. Thomas (MN)
5Capital, Southern Maine
4Elizabethtown, Salem State, Thomas More, Tufts, UW-Whitewater
3Christopher Newport, DePauw, Eastern Connecticut, George Fox, Hope, NYU, Rochester, UW–Eau Claire, UW–Stevens Point
2Centre, Clark, Concordia–Moorhead, Illinois Wesleyan, Messiah, Millikin, Mount Union, North Central (IL), Rust, Saint Benedict, St. John Fisher, UNC Greensboro, UW–Oshkosh, Bowdoin, Wartburg

See also

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 Only the final game was held in Indianapolis. The semifinals were held at Performance Arena at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. [10]
  2. ↑ Only the final game was held in Dallas. The semifinals were held at Oosting Gymnasium on the campus of Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. [15] [16]
  1. ↑ As of 2023–24, this school is a current member of NCAA Division II.
  2. ↑ As of 2023–24, this school is a current member of NCAA Division I.
  3. ↑ As of 2023–24, this school is a current member of the NAIA.

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References

  1. ↑ "Wooley's jump shot proves to be game-winner". ESPN. Associated Press. March 22, 2003. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Lady Quakers win first national title". ESPN. AP. March 21, 2004. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Ippel leads Millikin with 25 points". ESPN. AP. March 20, 2005. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  4. ↑ "George Fox finishes perfect season". ESPN. AP. March 22, 2009. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Washington University wins fifth Division III title since 1998". ESPN. AP. March 20, 2010. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  6. ↑ ESPNBoston.com (March 17, 2012). "Amherst College women lose consolation" . Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  7. ↑ Bates, Greg (March 22, 2014). "Fairleigh Dickinson-Florham wins NCAA Division 3 women's national championship" . Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  8. ↑ "D3 team has to vacate a title because Randy Moss' daughter stayed with a coach while recovering from injury". SBNation. Vox Media. November 17, 2016. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Thomas More College vs. George Fox U." www.d3hoops.com. March 21, 2015. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Women's basketball championship play dates decided" (Press release). NCAA. December 15, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Thomas More caps off second-straight undefeated season with second-straight title". NCAA.com. April 5, 2016. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Perfect Champions! Amherst Completes Undefeated Season as National Champs". Amherst College. March 17, 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  13. ↑ "No ESPN, no endorsement deals, no problem for Amherst College basketball champs". BostonGlobe.com. March 23, 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  14. ↑ Sarver, Troy (March 16, 2019). "Division III women's basketball: Thomas More wins national championship". Roanoke Times. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  15. ↑ "Combined championships for NCAA basketball planned" (Press release). NCAA. April 24, 2019. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  16. ↑ "Future NCAA host site selections through 2026" (Press release). NCAA. October 22, 2020. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
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