1997 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament

1997 NCAA Division II
women's basketball tournament

Teams	48
Finals site	Grand Forks, North Dakota
Champions	North Dakota Fighting Sioux (1st title)
Runner-up	Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles (1st title game)
Third place	UC Davis Aggies (1st Final Four)
Fourth place	Bentley Falcons (6th Final Four)
Winning coach	Gene Roebuck (1st title)
MOP	Jaime Pudenz (North Dakota)
NCAA Division II women's tournaments « 1996 1998 »

The 1997 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament was the 16th annual tournament hosted by the NCAA to determine the national champion of Division II women's collegiate basketball in the United States. ^[1]

North Dakota defeated Southern Indiana in the championship game, 94–78, to claim the Fighting Sioux's first NCAA Division II national title. This would go on to be the first of three consecutive titles for North Dakota.

The championship rounds were contested in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Regionals

East - Shippensburg, Pennsylvania

Location: Heiges Field House Host: Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania

	First round Round of 48 March 6					Regional semifinals Round of 32 March 7					Regional finals Sweet 16 March 8
						2	West Chester	56
						6	Edinboro	64
	6	Edinboro	87
	3	West Liberty State	75
											6	Edinboro	70
											5	High Point	68
	5	High Point	80
	4	Longwood	64
						5	High Point	71
						1	Shippensburg	53

Great Lakes - Marquette, Michigan

Location: Hedgcock Fieldhouse Host: Northern Michigan University

	First round Round of 48 March 6					Regional semifinals Round of 32 March 7					Regional finals Sweet 16 March 8
						2	Southern Indiana	66
							Michigan Tech	48
		Bellarmine	80
		Michigan Tech	83*
											2	Southern Indiana	78
											1	Northern Michigan	67
		Oakland	83
		Saginaw Valley State	72
							Oakland	56
						1	Northern Michigan	66

North Central - Fargo, North Dakota

Location: Bison Sports Arena Host: North Dakota State University

	First round Round of 48 March 7					Regional semifinals Round of 32 March 8					Regional finals Sweet 16 March 9
						2	North Dakota	88
						6	Northern State (SD)	76
	3	Augustana (SD)	65
	6	Northern State (SD)	68
											2	North Dakota	73
											1	North Dakota State	66
	4	Nebraska–Kearney	82*
	5	Northern Colorado	76
						4	Nebraska–Kearney	65
						1	North Dakota State	76

Northeast - Waltham, Massachusetts

Location: Dana Center Host: Bentley College

	First round Round of 48 March 5					Regional semifinals Round of 32 March 6					Regional finals Sweet 16 March 7
						1	Bentley	72
							UMass Lowell	57
		Saint Anselm	64
		UMass Lowell	65
											1	Bentley	52
												Stonehill	41
		Philadelphia Textile	50
		Stonehill	65
							Stonehill	77
						2	Saint Rose	90

South - Melbourne, Florida

Location: Percy Hedgecock Gymnasium Host: Florida Institute of Technology

	First round Round of 48 March 6					Regional semifinals Round of 32 March 7					Regional finals Sweet 16 March 8
						1	Florida Tech	59
						5	Fort Valley State	67
	5	Fort Valley State	70
	4	Valdosta State	58
											5	Fort Valley State	58
											2	Delta State	81
		Alabama A&M	63
		Kentucky State	78
							Kentucky State	61
						2	Delta State	83

South Atlantic - Marietta, Georgia

Location: Owl's Nest Host: Kennesaw State University

	First round Round of 48 March 6					Regional semifinals Round of 32 March 7					Regional finals Sweet 16 March 8
						2	Kennesaw State	99
						3	Fayetteville State	65
	3	Fayetteville State	85
	6	Francis Marion	83
											2	Kennesaw State	74
											1	Bowie State	68
	4	Georgia College	96
	5	Wingate	88
						4	Georgia College	63
						1	Bowie State	75

South Central - St. Joseph, Missouri

Location: MWSC Fieldhouse Host: Missouri Western State College

	First round Round of 48 March 6					Regional semifinals Round of 32 March 7					Regional finals Sweet 16 March 8
						2	West Texas A&M	77*
							Emporia State	76
		Central Missouri	51
		Emporia State	54
											2	West Texas A&M	92
											1	Missouri Western	72
	4	Abilene Christian	92
	5	Pittsburg State	78
						4	Abilene Christian	71
						1	Missouri Western	75

West - Davis, California

Location: Recreation Hall Host: University of California, Davis

	First round Round of 48 March 7					Regional semifinals Round of 32 March 8					Regional finals Sweet 16 March 9
						1	UC Davis	79
						5	Cal Poly Pomona	52
	5	Cal Poly Pomona	69
	4	Montana State Billings	67
											1	UC Davis	74
											2	Seattle Pacific	69
		Grand Canyon	68
		Western New Mexico	80
							Western New Mexico	85
						2	Seattle Pacific	106

Elite Eight - Grand Forks, North Dakota

Location: Hyslop Sports Center Host: University of North Dakota

National quarterfinals Elite Eight March 19

National semifinals Final Four March 20

National championship Third Place Game March 22

GL

Southern Indiana

70

S

Delta State

55

GL

Southern Indiana

70

W

UC Davis

62

W

UC Davis

73

SC

West Texas A&M

70

GL

Southern Indiana

78

NC

North Dakota

94

NE

Bentley

55

SA

Kennesaw State

48

NE

Bentley

48

Third Place Game

NC

North Dakota

70

NC

North Dakota

81

W

UC Davis

76

E

Edinboro

46

NE

Bentley

61

All-tournament team

• Jaime Pudenz, North Dakota
• Jenny Crouse, North Dakota
• Kelli Britz, North Dakota
• LeeAnn Freeland, Southern Indiana
• Eileen Weber, Southern Indiana
• Jennifer Gross, UC Davis

See also

• 1997 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament
• 1997 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament
• 1997 NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament
• 1997 NAIA Division I women's basketball tournament
• 1997 NAIA Division II women's basketball tournament

References

• 1997 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament jonfmorse.com

1. "Division II Women's Basketball Championship Results" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. Retrieved February 23, 2021.