2010 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament

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2010 NCAA Division I
women's basketball tournament
Season2009–10
Teams64
Finals siteAlamodome
San Antonio
ChampionsConnecticut Huskies (7th title, 7th title game,
11th Final Four)
Runner-upStanford Cardinal (4th title game,
9th Final Four)
Semifinalists
Winning coachGeno Auriemma (7th title)
MOPMaya Moore (Connecticut)
NCAA Division I women's tournaments
«2009 2011»

The 2010 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament started Saturday, March 20, 2010, and was completed on Tuesday, April 6 of the same year with University of Connecticut Huskies defending their title from the previous year by defeating Stanford, 53–47.

Tournament procedure[edit]

Pending any changes to the format, a total of 64 teams will enter the 2010 tournament. 32 automatic bids shall be awarded to each program that wins their conference's tournament. The remaining 36 bids are "at-large", with selections extended by the NCAA Selection Committee. The tournament is split into four regional tournaments, and each regional has teams seeded from 1 to 16, with the committee ostensibly making every region as comparable to the others as possible.[1] The top-seeded team in each region plays the #16 team, the #2 team plays the #15, etc. (meaning where the two seeds add up to 17, that team will be assigned to play another).

The basis for the subregionals returned to the approach used between 1982 and 2002; the top sixteen teams, as chosen in the bracket selection process, hosted the first two rounds on campus.

The Selection Committee will also seed the entire field from 1 to 64.

Notable events[edit]

The top seeded Tennessee Lady Vols faced the Baylor Lady Bears in the Memphis Regional semifinals. This was a rematch of the season open for the two teams, a game won by Tennessee 74–65. Earlier in March, the freshman center for Baylor, Brittney Griner had broken the nose of Jordan Barncastle in a game against Texas Tech, which resulted in Griner playing more tentative, concerned about drawing attention to the referees. She was not tentative in the game against the Lady Vols, scoring 27 points and recording ten blocks. Despite her performance, Tennessee led by five points with under eight minutes to go in the game. Baylor then went on a 21–1 run to take a 15-point lead, and command of the game. Baylor won 77–62 to advance to the regional finals.[2]

Stanford more than doubled up Georgia, winning 73–36 in the regional semifinal, then faced Xavier. Although Stanford opened up an early five-point lead, Xavier cut the lead to one. The Cardinal extended the lead to five again, and the Musketeers cut the lead to two points at the half. Stanford opened up a six-point lead in the second half, but Xavier responded to take a lead. With just under a minute to go, Xavier took a two-point lead and Kayla Pedersen hit a jumper to tie the game at 53 points apiece. With 18 seconds left, Xavier ran a play that opened up Delaquese Jernigan under the basket. She received the ball, and missed a point-blank uncontested layup. The rebound came out beyond the three-point line to Amber Harris. The Cardinal were trying to cover the Xavier players, but missed Jernigan standing by herself under the basket. Harris passed the ball in to Jernigan who took an uncontested layup and missed it again. With only four seconds left in the game Jeanette Pohlen drove the length of the court, weaving among defenders, and threw up a shot with under a second left.[3] The shot went in and the Cardinal won 55–53 to advance.[4]

In the Kansas City Regional, both top seeds were upset in the semifinal round. Kentucky, led by 21 point from A'dia Mathies, opened up a lead ant he second half, extended it to 19 points, and were victorious, beating Nebraska 76–67 to advance to the regional finals.[5] The regional semifinal game was a second of the season for Oklahoma and Notre Dame, a game the Irish has won in the regular season. In this game the score was tied early, while Oklahoma took a slim lead at the half. They extended the lead to eight points in the second half, but Notre Dame took the lead back at 50–49. With less than a minute to play, Oklahoma took a three-point lead, but Skyler Diggins hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 66 points each. Oklahoma had the ball for the last possession, but never got a shot off, so the game went to overtime. The game was tied with 72 points for each team with seconds to go when Oklahoma had another chance. This time, Nyeshia Stevenson hit a three-pointer, giving the Sooners a three-point lead with just over four seconds to go. Notre Dame tried a long inbounds pass, but were unsuccessful, and Oklahoma won 77–72.[6]

In the Dayton Regional, Connecticut prevailed easily. They held their first three opponents to under 40 points each. While Florida State, in the regional final, managed to 50, the Huskies scored 90. This set up a game against Baylor in a semifinal game. The Baylor Bears would not go so easily. The Huskies seemed to be on the same track as prior games, with a 13-point lead at halftime. Kalana Greene scored the first basket of the second half, extending the lead to 15 points. However, Baylor then scored the next twelve points, cutting the lead to three. Connecticut, which had missed eight consecutive shots, began hitting again, and their defense held Baylor without a field goal for over seven minutes. UConn scored 16 points during the stretch and rebuild the lead. UConn would go on to win the game 70–50, to reach the championship game.[7][8][9]

After the close call against Xavier, the Cardinal seemed in control in their game against Oklahoma in the second half when they led by 18 points. However, the Sooners, concentrated on defense, and cut the lead to three points with only 16 seconds left in the game. On the inbounds play, Oklahoma failed to guard Nnemkadi Ogwumike, and Kayla Pedersen made a long pass to an open Ogwumike who made an open layup to extend the lead to five points. Then Stanford stole the ball, was fouled, and hit the final two free throws to complete the victory 73–66. Ogwumike scored 38 points, including the final seven of the game for Stanford.[10]

Stanford entered the national championship game on a 27-game winning streak. The last game they had lost, occurred in December 2009. It was against Connecticut. The UConn team entered the national championship game on a 77 winning streak. The last game they had lost, occurred in April 2008. It was against Stanford.[11]

UConn was no stranger to low scoring halves in an NCAA game. There had been, up to this point, eleven halves of basketball in NCAA tournament history with twelve or fewer points. UConn was involved in four of them. On three occasions, involving Southern University in 2010, Long Island University in 2001, and Temple in 2010, the Huskies held their opponents to twelve or fewer points. However, on this day, Connecticut would be on the opposite side of the ledger, scoring only 12 points against Stanford in the first half. The first two minutes gave no indication of this result. UConn held a 5–0 lead just over two minutes into the game, but they would not score again until after the media timeout with under eight minutes to go in the half. Connecticut hit but 5 of their 29 shot attempts in the first half for a shooting percentage of 17% described by the New York Times as "laughable". However, their inability to hit a basket did not prevent them from playing defense, and they held the Cardinal to 8 baskets on 31 shots, a percentage the Times called "abysmal". Stanford ended the half with an 8-point lead.

The second half proved to be very different. UConn scored 17 of the first 19 points in the half and took a lead. They held Ogwumike, who had scored 38 points in the semifinal, to eleven points. They held Jayne Appel, one of the nation's leading centers, to zero points on 0–12 shooting. Appel was playing on a sore ankle that required pain killers during the game. Maya Moore scored 23 points for UConn and Tina Charles contributed eleven rebounds. In the end, Connecticut won 53–47 to win their seventh national championship and complete the first back-to-back undefeated seasons in NCAA history.[12][13]

2010 NCAA Tournament schedule and venues[edit]

First and Second rounds (Subregionals)

2010 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament is located in the United States
Austin
Austin
Berkeley
Berkeley
Knoxville
Knoxville
Minneapolis
Minneapolis
Norfolk
Norfolk
South Bend
South Bend
Tempe
Tempe
Louisville
Louisville
Palo Alto
Palo Alto
Durham
Durham
Norman
Norman
Seattle
Seattle
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh
Cincinnati
Cincinnati
Tallahassee
Tallahassee
Ames
Ames
2010 NCAA subregionals — Green 21 & 23 March — Orange 20 & 22 March

The format is the same as the Men's Tournament, except that there are 64 teams and no play-in game. There are 31 automatic bids for conference champions and 33 at-large bids available. The subregionals, based on the "pod system" keeping teams at or close to home, will be at these locations from March 21 through 24. Prior to the committee's decision to expand the number of subregional sites to sixteen, eight sites were chosen. This list included the Sun National Bank Center in Trenton, New Jersey. When the decision was made to increase the number of sites to sixteen, Trenton declined to participate.

The remaining seven sites continue to be part of the final list of sixteen:[14]

As per the expansion of the subregional sites, these nine sites were added in 2008:[14]

That list included Albuquerque, but Albuquerque had to withdraw, due to construction issues. The NCAA added Stanford, as a replacement:[15]

Note: Unless otherwise indicated, all locations are on-campus sites.

Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight (Regional semifinals and finals)

2010 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament is located in the United States
Dayton
Dayton
Kansas City
Kansas City
Memphis
Memphis
Sacramento
Sacramento
San Antonio
San Antonio
2010 NCAA Regionals and Final Four — Blue 27 & 29 March — Purple 28 & 30 March

The Regionals, named for the city rather than the region of geographic importance since 2005, which will be held from March 28 to 31, will be at these sites:[14]

National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship)

This is the second time the women's Final Four will be played in San Antonio, having previously been played in the city in 2002.

Tournament records[edit]

  • Points in a Final Four game—Nnemkadi Ogwumike scored 38 points, the second most ever in an NCAA Final Four game in the National semifinal between Stanford and Oklahoma
  • Free throws—Nnemkadi Ogwumike, Stanford, hit 12 free throws in the semifinal against Oklahoma, tied for the most free throws completed in a semifinal game.
  • Free throws—Stanford attempted four three throws in a game against Connecticut, the fewest free throws attempted in an NCAA Tournament game.
  • Blocked shots—Brittney Griner, Baylor, blocked 14 shots in the second-round game against Georgetown, the most blocked shots recorded in an NCAA Tournament game since blocks began being recorded in 1988.
  • Free throws—Iowa State completed zero throws in a game against Connecticut, tied for the fewest free throws completed in an NCAA Tournament game.
  • Blocked shots—Baylor blocked 16 shots in the second-round game against Georgetown, the most blocked shots recorded in an NCAA Tournament game.
  • Three-pointers—Maya Moore hit 20 three-point field goals, tied for the most three-point shots completed in an NCAA Tournament.
  • Blocked shots—Brittney Griner, Baylor, blocked 40 shots, the most blocked shots recorded in an NCAA Tournament since blocks began being recorded in 1988.
  • Three-pointers—Connecticut hit 47 three-point field goals, tied for the most three-point shots completed in an NCAA Tournament.[16]

Qualifying teams – automatic[edit]

Sixty-four teams were selected to participate in the 2010 NCAA Tournament. Thirty-one conferences were eligible for an automatic bid to the 2010 NCAA tournament.[16]

Automatic Bids
    Record  
Qualifying School Conference Regular
Season
Conference Seed
Austin Peay Ohio Valley Conference 15–17 11–7 16
Bowling Green MAC 27–6 14–2 12
Chattanooga Southern Conference 24–8 16–4 13
Cleveland State Horizon League 19–13 11–7 15
Connecticut Big East 33–0 16–0 1
Duke ACC 27–5 12–2 2
East Tennessee State Atlantic Sun Conference 23–8 18–2 14
Gonzaga West Coast Conference 27–4 14–0 7
Hampton MEAC 20–11 12–4 15
James Madison Colonial 26–6 13–5 9
Lamar Southland 26–7 13–3 14
Lehigh Patriot League 29–3 13–1 13
Liberty Big South Conference 27–5 14–2 13
Louisiana Tech WAC 23–8 11–5 14
Marist MAAC 26–7 15–3 12
Middle Tennessee State Sun Belt Conference 25–5 17–1 10
Ohio State Big Ten 30–4 15–3 2
Portland State Big Sky Conference 18–14 9–7 15
Princeton Ivy League 26–2 13–1 11
San Diego State Mountain West 21–10 10–6 11
South Dakota State Summit League 22–10 14–4 14
Southern SWAC 23–8 14–4 16
St. Francis (PA) Northeast Conference 17–14 11–7 15
Stanford Pac-10 31–1 18–0 1
Tennessee SEC 30–2 15–1 1
Texas A&M Big 12 Conference 25–7 10–6 2
Tulane Conference USA 26–6 12–4 12
UC-Riverside Big West Conference 17–15 11–5 16
Northern Iowa Missouri Valley Conference 17–15 10–8 16
Vermont America East 26–6 13–3 10
Xavier Atlantic 10 27–3 14–0 3

Qualifying teams – at-large[edit]

Thirty-three additional teams were selected to complete the sixty-four invitations.[16]

At-large Bids
    Record  
Qualifying School Conference Regular
Season
Conference Seed
Baylor Big 12 23–9 9–7 4
Dayton Atlantic 10 24–7 11–3 8
DePaul Big East 21–11 9–7 11
Florida State Atlantic Coast 26–5 12–2 3
Fresno State Western Athletic 27–6 16–0 13
Georgetown Big East 25–6 13–3 5
Georgia Southeastern 23–8 9–7 5
Georgia Tech Atlantic Coast 23–9 8–6 6
Green Bay Horizon 27–4 15–3 12
Hartford America East 27–4 16–0 10
Iowa Big Ten 19–13 10–8 8
Iowa State Big 12 23–7 11–5 4
Kentucky Southeastern 25–7 11–5 4
LSU Southeastern 20–9 9–7 7
Michigan State Big Ten 22–9 12–6 5
Mississippi State Southeastern 19–12 9–7 7
Nebraska Big 12 30–1 16–0 1
North Carolina Atlantic Coast 19–11 6–8 10
N.C. State Atlantic Coast 20–13 7–7 9
Notre Dame Big East 27–5 12–4 2
Oklahoma Big 12 23–10 11–5 3
Oklahoma State Big 12 23–10 9–7 4
Rutgers Big East 19–14 9–7 9
St. John's (NY) Big East 24–6 12–4 6
TCU Mountain West 22–8 12–4 9
Temple Atlantic 10 24–8 11–3 8
Texas Big 12 22–10 10–6 6
UALR Sun Belt 26–6 17–1 11
UCLA Pacific-10 24–8 15–3 8
Vanderbilt Southeastern 22–10 9–7 6
Virginia Atlantic Coast 21–9 9–5 5
West Virginia Big East 28–5 13–3 3
Wisconsin Big Ten 21–10 10–8 7

Bids by conference[edit]

Thirty-one conferences earned an automatic bid. In nineteen cases, the automatic bid was the only representative from the conference. Thirty-three additional at-large teams were selected from twelve of the conferences.[16]

Bids Conference Teams
7 Big 12 Texas A&M, Baylor, Iowa St., Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma St., Texas
7 Big East Connecticut, DePaul, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Rutgers, St. John's NY, West Virginia
6 Atlantic Coast Duke, Florida St., Georgia Tech, North Carolina, North Carolina St., Virginia
6 Southeastern Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi St., Vanderbilt
4 Big Ten Ohio St., Iowa, Michigan St., Wisconsin
3 Atlantic 10 Xavier, Dayton, Temple
2 America East Vermont, Hartford
2 Horizon Cleveland St., Green Bay
2 Mountain West San Diego St., TCU
2 Pacific-10 Stanford, UCLA
2 Sun Belt Middle Tenn., UALR
2 Western Athletic Louisiana Tech, Fresno St.
1 Atlantic Sun East Tenn. St.
1 Big Sky Portland St.
1 Big South Liberty
1 Big West UC Riverside
1 Colonial James Madison
1 Conference USA Tulane
1 Ivy Princeton
1 Metro Atlantic Marist
1 Mid-American Bowling Green
1 Mid-Eastern Hampton.
1 Missouri Valley UNI
1 Northeast St. Francis PA
1 Ohio Valley Austin Peay
1 Patriot Lehigh
1 Southern Chattanooga
1 Southland Lamar
1 Southwestern Southern U.
1 Summit South Dakota St.
1 West Coast Gonzaga

Tournament seeds[edit]

Dayton Regional University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio
Seed School Conference Record RPI Berth type
1 Connecticut Big East 33–0 1 Automatic
2 Ohio State Big Ten 30–4 9 Automatic
3 Florida State ACC 26–5 14 At-large
4 Iowa State Big 12 23–7 26 At-large
5 Virginia ACC 21–9 17 At-large
6 St. John's Big East 24–6 20 At-large
7 Mississippi State SEC 19–12 45 At-large
8 Temple Atlantic 10 24–8 33 At-large
9 James Madison CAA 26–6 37 Automatic
10 Middle Tennessee Sun Belt 25–5 23 Automatic
11 Princeton Ivy 26–2 51 Automatic
12 Green Bay Horizon 27–4 70 At-large
13 Lehigh Patriot 29–3 62 Automatic
14 Louisiana Tech WAC 23–8 76 Automatic
15 St. Francis (PA) Northeast 17–14 152 Automatic
16 Southern SWAC 23–8 190 Automatic
Memphis Regional FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tennessee
Seed School Conference Record RPI Berth type
1 Tennessee SEC 30–2 3 Automatic
2 Duke ACC 27–5 5 Automatic
3 West Virginia Big East 28–5 10 At-large
4 Baylor Big 12 23–9 15 At-large
5 Georgetown Big East 25–6 18 At-large
6 Texas Big 12 22–10 13 At-large
7 LSU SEC 20–9 29 At-large
8 Dayton Atlantic 10 24–7 40 At-large
9 TCU Mountain West 22–8 42 At-large
10 Hartford America East 27–4 27 At-large
11 San Diego State Mountain West 21–10 52 Automatic
12 Marist MAAC 26–7 49 Automatic
13 Fresno State WAC 27–6 35 At-large
14 Lamar Southland 26–7 107 Automatic
15 Hampton MEAC 20–11 130 Automatic
16 Austin Peay Ohio Valley 15–17 176 Automatic
Sacramento Regional ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California
Seed School Conference Record RPI Berth type
1 Stanford Pac-10 31–1 2 Automatic
2 Texas A&M Big 12 25–7 6 Automatic
3 Xavier Atlantic 10 27–3 11 Automatic
4 Oklahoma State Big 12 23–10 12 At-large
5 Georgia SEC 23–8 25 At-large
6 Vanderbilt SEC 22–10 21 At-large
7 Gonzaga West Coast 27–4 30 Automatic
8 Iowa Big Ten 19–13 43 At-large
9 Rutgers Big East 19–14 24 At-large
10 North Carolina ACC 19–11 38 At-large
11 DePaul Big East 21–11 31 At-large
12 Tulane Conference USA 26–6 41 Automatic
13 Chattanooga Southern 24–8 75 Automatic
14 East Tennessee State Atlantic Sun 23–8 87 Automatic
15 Portland State Big Sky 18–14 184 Automatic
16 UC Riverside Big West 17–15 163 Automatic
Kansas City Regional Sprint Center, Kansas City, Missouri
Seed School Conference Record RPI Berth type
1 Nebraska Big 12 30–1 4 At-large
2 Notre Dame Big East 27–5 7 At-large
3 Oklahoma Big 12 23–10 8 At-large
4 Kentucky SEC 25–7 19 At-large
5 Michigan State Big 12 22–9 16 At-large
6 Georgia Tech ACC 23–9 32 At-large
7 Wisconsin Big Ten 21–10 28 At-large
8 UCLA Pac-10 24–8 22 At-large
9 NC State ACC 20–13 34 At-large
10 Vermont America East 26–6 39 Automatic
11 Arkansas-Little Rock Sun Belt 26–6 56 At-large
12 Bowling Green MAC 27–6 47 Automatic
13 Liberty Big South 27–5 64 Automatic
14 South Dakota State Summit 22–10 105 Automatic
15 Cleveland State Horizon 19–13 123 Automatic
16 Northern Iowa Missouri Valley 17–15 117 Automatic

Bids by state[edit]

The sixty-four teams came from twenty-eight states, plus Washington, D.C. Tennessee had the most teams with six bids. Twenty-two states did not have any teams receiving bids.[16]

NCAA Women's basketball Tournament invitations by state 2010
Bids State Teams
6 Tennessee Austin Peay, Chattanooga, East Tenn. St., Middle Tenn., Tennessee, Vanderbilt
5 California San Diego St., Stanford, UC Riverside, Fresno St., UCLA
5 Ohio Bowling Green, Cleveland St., Ohio St., Xavier, Dayton
5 Texas Lamar, Texas A&M, Baylor, TCU, Texas
4 Louisiana Louisiana Tech, Southern U., Tulane, LSU
4 Virginia Hampton., James Madison, Liberty, Virginia
3 Iowa UNI, Iowa, Iowa St.
3 New York Marist, St. Francis PA, St. John's NY
3 North Carolina Duke, North Carolina, North Carolina St.
2 Connecticut Connecticut, Hartford
2 Georgia Georgia, Georgia Tech
2 New Jersey Princeton, Rutgers
2 Oklahoma Oklahoma, Oklahoma St.
2 Pennsylvania Lehigh, Temple
2 Wisconsin Green Bay, Wisconsin
1 Arkansas UALR
1 District of Columbia Georgetown
1 Florida Florida St.
1 Illinois DePaul
1 Indiana Notre Dame
1 Kentucky Kentucky
1 Michigan Michigan St.
1 Mississippi Mississippi St.
1 Nebraska Nebraska
1 Oregon Portland St.
1 South Dakota South Dakota St.
1 Vermont Vermont
1 Washington Gonzaga
1 West Virginia West Virginia

Game summaries[edit]

Dayton region[edit]

First round[edit]

Sixth seeded St. John's took on the eleventh seeded Ivy League champion Princeton. The Tigers had won their last 21 games, the nation's third longest win streak. While Princeton stayed close early, only down 15–12 at one time, they missed 15 of their next sixteen shots while St. John's pulled out to a sixteen-point halftime lead. The two teams played roughly evenly the second half, but the halftime lead was more than enough and the Red Storm prevailed 65–47. [17]

Fourteenth seeded Louisiana Tech (La Tech) was returning to the NCAA Tournament after a three-year absence. Under Maggie Dixon award winning new coach Teresa Weatherspoon, the Lady Techsters took on third seeded Florida State. La tech started out strong, pulling out to a nine-point lead late in the first half, but the Seminoles fought back to a 40–40 tie at halftime. The score was close well into the second half, with Florida State holding onto a one-point lead with just under nine minutes to go, but the Seminoles gradually increased the lead to ten. Although the Lady Techsters cut the lead in half to 65–61 with just under two minutes left, they would not score again and Florida State would hit ten straight free throws in the closing minutes to win 75–61.[18]

Second round[edit]

Kansas City region[edit]

First round[edit]

Michigan State's fifth year senior Aisha Jefferson had stomach problems from a pre-game meal severe enough to keep her hunched over the front of a trash can in the first half, but it wasn't enough to keep her out of the game. She scored 17 points along with nine rebounds to help lead the fifth seeded Spartans over 12 seed Bowling Green 72–62.[19]

Thirteenth seeded Liberty tried to challenge fourth seeded Kentucky, scoring the first six points, and leading by as much as nine early, but Kentucky's freshman A'dia Mathies, scored 32 points to set a personal career high and an NCAA tournament record for Kentucky to help the Wildcats retake the lead. The Liberty Flames fought back, and had a slim two-point lead at halftime, but the Kentucky team, behind 26 of 36 free-throws, pulled ahead to win 83–77.[20]

Second round[edit]

Memphis region[edit]

First round[edit]

Seventh seeded LSU easily beat tenth seeded Hartford 60–39. This was Hartford's first at-large invitation to the NCAA Tournament, but without leading scorer Erica Beverly, lost to a season-ending injury, the Hawks were unable to stay with the Tigers. LSU held Hartford scoreless for nearly eight minutes, scoring 17 consecutive points to take an early lead they would never give up.[21]

Top seeded Tennessee defeated 16 seed Austin Peay 75–42. Playing at their home court "The Summitt", the Lady Vols scored 15 points before allowing a score by the Lady Govs.[22]

Second-seeded Duke took on 15 seed Hampton in Cameron Indoor Stadium, the Blue Devils home court, where Duke had won twelve consecutive NCAA Tournament games. The Pirates managed to hold a slim lead in the early minutes of the game, but Duke quickly took over, moving out to a 40–14 halftime lead and winning easily 72–37.[23]

Eighth seeded Dayton took on ninth seeded TCU in their first ever NCAA appearance. Early in the second half, it appeared that Dayton would only be playing one game, as they were behind by 18 points, 50–32. However, the Flyers did not fold, and hit a basket with one second left in the game to win by a single point 67–66.[24]

Twelve seed Marist scored the first seven points in their game against five seed Georgetown, which may have reminded fans of the way Marist played in 2007, coming to the tournament as a 13 seed, and knocking off Ohio State and Middle Tennessee to make it to the round of sixteen. Georgetown, which hasn't been to the tournament in 17 years, started slowly, but managed to hold a two-point lead at halftime. Georgetown's Monica McNutt hit back-to-back three-pointers to start a 13–0 run at the beginning of the second half. The Red Foxes would never close the gap, and Georgetown went on to win 62–42.[25]

Fourth seed Baylor took on 13th seed Fresno State. Baylor's Brittney Griner returned to the floor, after sitting out a two-game suspension for hitting an opponent in a game. This was freshman Griner's first tournament, and she confessed to having jitters, but she controlled the lane, and help keep Fresno State from winning their first ever NCAA game. Baylor held a six-point lead at halftime, which they stretched out to a 69–55 final score.[26]

Sacramento region[edit]

First round[edit]

A fifteen seed has never beaten a two seed in the NCAA Women's Tournament, but with under five minutes left in the first half, 15th seeded Portland State was ahead of the second seed Texas A&M. The lead didn't last long, as the Aggies pulled to an eight-point lead at halftime, and extended the lead through the second half. Texas A&M's Tanisha Smith just missed a triple double, with nine assist to go along with 17 points and 10 rebounds. The final score favored the Aggies 84–53.[27]

Normally, a four seed would be a large favorite against a 13 seed, but normally, the four seed isn't required to bench one of their players, and not just any player, but Andrea Riley, the third leading scorer in Division 1. Two years earlier, Riley had thrown punch in an NCAA game, which earned her a one-game suspension. NCAA rules required that it be an NCAA game. Oklahoma State lost the game in which the punch was thrown, and did not make it to the Tournament in 2009, so the suspension was served two years later. The 13th seeded Chattanooga tried to take advantage of the situation, and led by as much as 18 in the first half. Riley could only cheer on the team from the bench. Freshman Toni Young responded by scoring 22 points, and senior Tegan Cunningham, after struggling in the first half, began hitting in the second half and ended up with 25 points, enough to help Oklahoma State win 70–63.[28]

The 8/9 match-up between Iowa and Rutgers pitted current Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer against the program she helped bring to national prominence two decades earlier. Iowa had lost a game in the Big Ten tournament, after a big lead, and they didn't want to experience that again. Rutgers played even with the Hawkeyes, in the second half, but the seven point halftime lead stood up and Iowa won 70–63.[29]

Seventh seed Gonzaga took on tenth seeded North Carolina. Gonzaga's Tiffanie Shives was scoreless for 31 minutes, but then scored 14 in the next five minutes. Her first basket cut the Tarheels lead to two, and her next basket gave Gonzaga a lead they would not relinquish, although North Carolina cut the lead to one with under four minutes to go, only to fall short 82–76.[30]

Twelfth seed Tulane stayed with fifth seed Georgia for 32 minutes, in a game with five lead changes and four ties, but then the Bulldogs went on an 18–2 run to take the lead for good. Georgia's Ashley Houts would score 22 points for the winning team, and teammate Angel Robinson had a double-double (18 points, 13 rebounds) to help lead the Bulldogs over the Green Wave 64–59.[31]

The last time Stanford was a number 1 seed, they became to only top seed in the men's or women's tournament to lose to a sixteen seed. Earlier in the day, the top seeded men's team, Kansas, lost to Northern Iowa, so no one felt safe in the opening match against UC Riverside. Stanford jumped out to an 8–0 lead, and behind Ogwumike's double-double (19 points, 11 rebounds) won easily over the Big West champion 79–47.[32]

Second round[edit]

Brackets[edit]

Results to date (* indicates game went to overtime):

Dayton Regional – Dayton, Ohio[edit]

First round
March 20–21
Second round
March 22–23
Regional semifinals
March 28
Regional finals
March 30
            
1 Connecticut 95
16 Southern 39
1 Connecticut 90
Norfolk, Virginia
8 Temple 36
8 Temple 65
9 James Madison 53
1 Connecticut 74
4 Iowa State 36
5 Virginia 67
12 Green Bay 69
12 Green Bay 56
Ames, Iowa
4 Iowa State 60
4 Iowa State 79
13 Lehigh 42
1 Connecticut 90
3 Florida State 50
6 St. John's 65
11 Princeton 47
6 St. John's 65
Tallahassee, Florida
3 Florida State 66*
3 Florida State 75
14 Louisiana Tech 61
3 Florida State 74
7 Mississippi State 71
7 Mississippi State 68
10 Middle Tennessee 64
7 Mississippi State 87
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
2 Ohio State 67
2 Ohio State 93
15 St. Francis (Pa.) 59

Memphis Regional – Memphis, Tennessee[edit]

First round
March 20–21
Second round
March 22–23
Regional semifinals
March 27
Regional finals
March 29
            
1 Tennessee 75
16 Austin Peay 42
1 Tennessee 92
Knoxville, Tennessee
8 Dayton 64
8 Dayton 67
9 TCU 66
1 Tennessee 62
4 Baylor 77
5 Georgetown 62
12 Marist 42
5 Georgetown 33
Berkeley, California
4 Baylor 49
4 Baylor 69
13 Fresno State 55
4 Baylor 51
2 Duke 48
6 Texas 63
11 San Diego State 74
11 San Diego State 64
Austin, Texas
3 West Virginia 55
3 West Virginia 58
14 Lamar 43
11 San Diego State 58
2 Duke 66
7 LSU 60
10 Hartford 39
7 LSU 52
Durham, North Carolina
2 Duke 60
2 Duke 72
15 Hampton 37

Sacramento Regional – Sacramento, California[edit]

First round
March 20–21
Second round
March 22–23
Regional semifinals
March 27
Regional finals
March 29
            
1 Stanford, California 79
16 UC Riverside 47
1 Stanford 96
Stanford, California
8 Iowa 67
8 Iowa 70
9 Rutgers 63
1 Stanford 73
5 Georgia 36
5 Georgia 64
12 Tulane 59
5 Georgia 74*
Tempe, Arizona
4 Oklahoma State 71
4 Oklahoma State 70
13 Chattanooga 63
1 Stanford 55
3 Xavier 53
6 Vanderbilt 83*
11 DePaul 76
6 Vanderbilt 62
Cincinnati, Ohio
3 Xavier 63
3 Xavier 94
14 East Tennessee State 82
3 Xavier 74
7 Gonzaga 56
7 Gonzaga 82
10 North Carolina 76
7 Gonzaga 72
Seattle, WA
2 Texas A&M 71
2 Texas A&M 84
15 Portland State 53

Kansas City Regional – Kansas City, Missouri[edit]

First round
March 20–21
Second round
March 22–23
Regional semifinals
March 28
Regional finals
March 30
            
1 Nebraska 83
16 Northern Iowa 44
1 Nebraska 83
Minneapolis, Minnesota
8 UCLA 70
8 UCLA 74
9 NC State 54
1 Nebraska 67
4 Kentucky 76
5 Michigan State 72
12 Bowling Green 62
5 Michigan State 52
Louisville, Kentucky
4 Kentucky 70
4 Kentucky 83
13 Liberty 77
4 Kentucky 68
3 Oklahoma 88
6 Georgia Tech 53
11 Arkansas-Little Rock 63
11 Arkansas-Little Rock 44
Norman, Oklahoma
3 Oklahoma 60
3 Oklahoma 68
14 South Dakota State 57
3 Oklahoma 77*
2 Notre Dame 72
7 Wisconsin 55
10 Vermont 64
10 Vermont 66
Notre Dame, Indiana
2 Notre Dame 84
2 Notre Dame 86
15 Cleveland State 58

Final Four – San Antonio, Texas[edit]

National Semifinals
April 4
National Championship Game
April 6
      
D1 Connecticut 70
M4 Baylor 50
D1 Connecticut 53
S1 Stanford 47
S1 Stanford 73
K3 Oklahoma 66

Record by conference[edit]

Conference # of Bids Record Win % Round
of 32
Sweet
Sixteen
Elite
Eight
Final
Four
Championship
Game
Big 12 7 14–7 .667 6 4 2 2
Big East 7 11–6 .647 5 2 1 1 1
ACC 6 6–6 .500 2 2 2
SEC 6 11–6 .647 6 4 1
Big Ten 4 3–4 .429 3
Atlantic 10 3 5–3 .625 3 1 1
America East 2 1–2 .333 1
Horizon 2 1–2 .333 1
Mountain West 2 2–2 .500 1 1
Pac-10 2 6–2 .750 2 1 1 1 1
Sun Belt 2 1–2 .333 1
WAC 2 0–2 .000
West Coast 1 2–1 .667 1 1

Eighteen conferences went 0–1: the Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Conference USA, Ivy League, MAAC, MEAC, MAC, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, SWAC and Summit.

All-Tournament team[edit]

Game officials[edit]

  • Tina Napier(semifinal)
  • Bryan Enterline (semifinal)
  • Denise Brooks (semifinal)
  • Lisa Mattingly (semifinal)
  • Michael Price (semifinal)
  • Laura Morris (semifinal)
  • Dee Kantner (final)
  • Eric Brewton (final)
  • Lisa Jones (final) [16]

Media coverage[edit]

Television[edit]

ESPN had US television rights to all games during the tournament. For the first and second round, ESPN aired select games nationally on ESPN or ESPNU. All other games were aired regionally on ESPN2 and streamed online via ESPN3. Most of the nation got whip-a-round coverage during this time, which allowed ESPN to rotate between the games and focus the nation on the one that was the closest. The regional semifinals were split between ESPN and ESPN2, and ESPN aired the regional finals, national semifinals, and championship match.[33]

Studio host and analysts[edit]

Commentary teams[edit]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ "NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP PRINCIPLES AND PROCEDURES FOR ESTABLISHING THE BRACKET" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved January 27, 2023. The committee will attempt to achieve relative balance in the bracket and provide comparable competition, while abiding by the remaining principles.
  2. ^ LONGMAN, JERÉ (March 27, 2010). "Lady Vols' Bad Start Only Gets Worse". New York Times. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  3. ^ "Complete Play-By-Play". ESPN. March 29, 2010. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  4. ^ FitzGerald, Tom (March 30, 2010). "Thriller to the very end". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  5. ^ "Top-seeded Nebraska falls to No. 4 Kentucky". Philly.com. March 29, 2010. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  6. ^ Russell, Annelise (March 28, 2010). "OU pushes past Notre Dame for Elite Eight berth". The Oklahoma Daily. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  7. ^ ARATON, HARVEY (April 5, 2010). "UConn Teeters in Semifinal, but It's Baylor That Falls". New York Times. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  8. ^ "Complete Play-By-Play". ESPN. April 4, 2010. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  9. ^ Wang, Gene (April 5, 2010). "Connecticut Huskies defeat Baylor Bears in women's Final Four". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  10. ^ Wang, Gene (April 5, 2010). "Stanford Cardinal defeats Oklahoma Sooners in Women's Final Four". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  11. ^ "Stanford Women's Basketball 2012–13 Record Book". Stanford University. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  12. ^ ARATON, HARVEY (April 6, 2010). "Moore Leads Connecticut to Women's Title". New York Times. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  13. ^ "UConn overcomes 12-point first half to squeeze past Stanford for second straight title". ESPN. April 6, 2010. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  14. ^ a b c "NCAA Championships". Archived from the original on January 6, 2009. Retrieved March 28, 2009.
  15. ^ "First and second round games will move from Albuquerque to Stanford in 2010". NCAA. Retrieved August 19, 2009.[permanent dead link]
  16. ^ a b c d e f g Nixon, Rick. "Official 2012 NCAA Women's Final Four Records Book" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
  17. ^ "St. John's closes first half on 27-8 run to blow past Princeton". ESPN. March 20, 2010. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
  18. ^ "Monroe, Ward lead Florida State past Louisiana Tech". ESPN. March 20, 2010. Archived from the original on April 5, 2010. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
  19. ^ Hays, Graham (March 20, 2010). "Jefferson helps Sparty stomach BGSU". ESPN. Archived from the original on March 26, 2010. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
  20. ^ "Mathies scores 32 as Wildcats move into second round". ESPN. March 20, 2010. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
  21. ^ "LSU uses 17-0 run to win tournament game for 12th straight season". ESPN. March 20, 2010. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
  22. ^ "Cain has 18 points, 12 rebounds in Lady Vols' rout of Lady Govs". ESPN. March 20, 2010. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
  23. ^ "Jackson leads three Blue Devils with 13 apiece in rout of Pirates". ESPN. March 20, 2010. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
  24. ^ "Dayton rallies from 18 points down to reach second round". ESPN. March 20, 2010. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
  25. ^ "Georgetown ends NCAA drought with win over Marist". ESPN. March 20, 2010. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
  26. ^ "Griner powers Baylor past Fresno State in tournament debut". ESPN. March 20, 2010. Archived from the original on April 13, 2010. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
  27. ^ "Smith assist short of triple-double as Aggies down Vikings". ESPN. March 20, 2010. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
  28. ^ Voepel, Mechelle (March 20, 2010). "Cowgirls survive life without Riley". ESPN. Archived from the original on April 24, 2010. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
  29. ^ "Wahlin sparks late run as Iowa downs former coach Stringer, Rutgers". ESPN. March 20, 2010. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
  30. ^ "Shives scores 14 in 5-minute spurt to power Gonzaga past North Carolina". ESPN. March 20, 2010. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
  31. ^ "Houts pushes Georgia past Tulane in opening round". ESPN. March 20, 2010. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
  32. ^ "Ogwumike posts double-double as Stanford moves on". ESPN. March 20, 2010. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
  33. ^ "ESPN Networks' NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament Schedule Features All 63 Games". ESPN. March 15, 2010. Archived from the original on March 28, 2014. Retrieved March 15, 2010.