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The NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, sometimes referred to as Women's March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 women's college basketball teams from the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), to determine the national championship.
Kimberly Duane Mulkey is an American college basketball coach and former player. She is the head coach for Louisiana State University's women's basketball team. A Pan-American gold medalist in 1983 and Olympic gold medalist in 1984, she became the first person in NCAA women's basketball history to win a national championship as a player, assistant coach, and head coach. She has won NCAA championships as the coach of Baylor in 2005, 2012, and 2019 and of LSU in 2023. Mulkey was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000 and into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020.
The Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) is a women's national college basketball tournament with a preseason and postseason version played every year. It is operated in a similar fashion to the men's college National Invitation Tournament (NIT) and NIT Season Tip-Off. Unlike the NIT, the women's tournament is not run by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), but is an independent tournament. Triple Crown Sports, a company based in Fort Collins, Colorado that specializes in the promotion of amateur sporting events, created the WNIT in 1994 as a preseason counterpart to the then-current National Women's Invitational Tournament (NWIT). After the NWIT folded in 1996, Triple Crown Sports resurrected the postseason version in 1998 under the NWIT name, but changed the following season to the current name.
The 2005 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament began on March 19, 2005, and concluded on April 5, 2005, when Baylor was crowned as the new national champion. The Final Four was held for the first time at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana on April 3 and 5, 2005, and was hosted by Butler University and the Horizon League. Future Final Fours will be held every five years in Indianapolis, the NCAA's home city, will be played at Lucas Oil Stadium, one block south of the Indiana Convention Center, where the RCA Dome is located. Baylor, coached by Kim Mulkey-Robertson, defeated Michigan State, coached by Joanne P. McCallie, 84–62 in the championship game. Baylor's Sophia Young was named Most Outstanding Player. For the first time, taking a page from the Men's Tournament, the regionals were named after the city they were played in, rather than the geographical location, and the "pod" system adopted by the Men's Tournament was used.
The Penn State Lady Lions basketball team represents Pennsylvania State University and plays its home games in the Bryce Jordan Center. In 2013, the Lady Lions became just the 12th program in NCAA Division I history to reach 850 wins. Penn State has won 8 regular season Big Ten titles and the first 2 Big Ten tournament titles in 1995 and 1996. Prior to joining the Big Ten, the Lady Lions competed in the Atlantic 10 conference. The Lady Lions have 25 NCAA tournament appearances as of 2014, the most in the Big Ten. The team's best post-season finish came in 2000 when the Lady Lions reached the Final Four before losing to eventual champion UConn. The Lady Lions captured the WNIT title in 1998 defeating Baylor 59–56 in Waco, Texas. Notable alumni include WBCA First Team All-Americans Suzie McConnell, Susan Robinson, Helen Darling, and Kelly Mazzante. ESPN correspondent Lisa Salters is the shortest player in Lady Lions history at 5'-2".
The 2007 Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) was a single-elimination tournament of 48 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I teams that did not participate in the 2007 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament.
The Auburn Tigers women's basketball program is the intercollegiate women's basketball team that represents Auburn University. The school competes in the Southeastern Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Tigers play their homes games at Auburn Arena in Auburn, Alabama on the university campus. The program began in 1971.
The Lamar Lady Cardinals basketball team represents Lamar University in NCAA Division I women's basketball competition. The team plays in the 10,080 seat Montagne Center. After one season in the Western Athletic Conference, Lamar rejoined the Southland Conference on July 11, 2022.
The 2012 Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) was a single-elimination tournament of 64 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I teams that did not participate in the 2012 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament. The tournament were played entirely on campus sites. The highest ranked team in each conference that did not receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament received an automatic bid to this tournament. The remaining slots were filled by the WNIT Selection Committee. The Oklahoma State Cowgirls won their first WNIT title, defeating the James Madison Dukes in the championship game, 75–68. Toni Young of Oklahoma State was named tournament MVP.
The Michigan Wolverines women's basketball team is the intercollegiate women's basketball program representing the University of Michigan. The school competes in the Big Ten Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Wolverines play home basketball games at the Crisler Center on the university campus in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The 2012–13 NCAA Division I women's basketball season began in November and ended with the Final Four in New Orleans, April 7–9.
The 2014 Women's National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 64 NCAA Division I teams that were not selected to participate in the 2014 Women's NCAA tournament. The annual tournament began on March 19 and ended on April 5. All games were played on the campus sites of participating schools. The Tournament was won by the Rutgers Scarlet Knights who defeated the UTEP Miners, 56–54, in the championship game before a sellout crowd of 12,222 at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas.
The James Madison Dukes women's basketball team is the basketball team that represents James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Sun Belt Conference after previously playing in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). The Dukes are led by fifth-year head coach Sean O'Regan.
The Arizona Wildcats women's basketball program is the official women's basketball program at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. Basketball is one of eleven women's sports at the University of Arizona. The team is a Division I member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Pac-12 athletic conference. The team's home venue is the McKale Center, which seats 14,545 fans. The official team colors are cardinal red and navy blue. The Wildcats have qualified for eight NCAA Tournaments. On August 4, 2023, Arizona announced it would join the Big 12 Conference along with Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah beginning in the 2024-25 academic year.
The 2017 Women's National Invitation Tournament was an annual single-elimination tournament of 64 NCAA Division I teams that were not selected to participate in the 2017 Women's NCAA tournament. The tournament committee announced the 64-team field on March 13, following the selection of the NCAA Tournament field. The tournament began on March 15 and ended on April 1, with the championship game televised on the CBS Sports Network. In the championship game, the Michigan Wolverines defeated the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, 89–79, in triple overtime.
The 2018 Women's National Invitation Tournament was an annual single-elimination tournament of 64 NCAA Division I teams that were not selected to participate in the 2018 Women's NCAA tournament. The tournament committee announced the 64-team field on March 12, following the selection of the NCAA Tournament field. The tournament began on March 14 and ended on March 31, with the championship game televised on the CBS Sports Network. In the championship game, Indiana defeated Virginia Tech, 65–57.
The 2019 Women's National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 64 NCAA Division I teams that were not selected to participate in the 2019 Women's NCAA tournament. The tournament committee announced the 64-team field on March 18, following the selection of the NCAA Tournament field. The tournament began on March 20, 2019, and concluded on April 6, 2019, with the championship game televised on the CBS Sports Network. In the championship game, Arizona defeated Northwestern 56–42 to win the tournament.
The 2002 Women's National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 32 NCAA Division I teams that were not selected to participate in the 2002 Women's NCAA tournament. It was the fifth edition of the postseason Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT).
The 2003 Women's National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 32 NCAA Division I teams that were not selected to participate in the 2003 Women's NCAA tournament. It was the sixth edition of the postseason Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT).
The 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season began on November 6, 2023. The regular season will end on March 17, 2024, with the 2024 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament beginning on March 20 and ending with the championship game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio, on April 7.
References
- ↑ "1998 Women's National Invitational Tournament Bracket" (PDF). Retrieved February 28, 2023.
- ↑ "WNIT Announces 20th Anniversary All-Time Top 20 Player List". womensnit.com. March 28, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
- ↑ "2022-23 Baylor Bears women's basketball almanac" (PDF). baylorbears.com. Retrieved March 3, 2023.