NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament
Current season, competition or edition: 2020 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament | |
 | |
| Sport | College basketball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1982 |
| No. of teams | 64 |
| Country | NCAA Division III (U.S.) |
| Most recent champion(s) | Thomas More |
| 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 has been held annually since 1982 when the NCAA began to sponsor women's sports at all three levels.
Washington–St. Louis is the most successful program with five national titles. The most recent champion was Thomas More, which was unable to defend the title as it rejoined the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).
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 College (Massachusetts), Pomona College (California) 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 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Finals Site | Arena | Championship | Semifinalists | ||||||
| Champion | Score | Runner-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) | 83–71 | Elizabethtown | Knoxville, Clark | ||||
| 1984 Details |
Scranton, PA | John Long Center | Rust | 51–49 | Elizabethtown | Salem 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, PA | John Long Center | UW–Stevens Point | 81–74 | Concordia–Moorhead | Scranton, Kean | ||||
| 1988 Details |
Moorhead, MN | Memorial Auditorium | Concordia–Moorhead | 65–57 | St. John Fisher | UNC-Greensboro, Southern Maine | ||||
| 1989 Details |
Danville, KY | Alumni Gymnasium | Elizabethtown | 66–65 | Cal State Stanislaus | Centre, Clarkson | ||||
| 1990 Details |
Holland, MI | Holland Civic Center | Hope | 65–63 | St. John Fisher | Heidelberg, Centre | ||||
| 1991 Details |
St. Paul, MN | Schoenecker Arena | St. Thomas (MN) | 73–55 | Muskingum | Eastern Connecticut, Washington (MO) | ||||
| 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 Arena | Capital | 82–63 | Washington (MO) | UW-Eau Claire, Wheaton (MA) | ||||
| 1995 Details |
Columbus, OH | Alumni Gymnasium | Capital | 59–55 | UW–Oshkosh | St. Thomas, Salem State | ||||
| 1996 Details |
Oshkosh, WI | Kolf Sports Center | UW–Oshkosh | 66–50 | 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 Gymnasium | Washington (MO) | 77–69 | Southern Maine | Mount Union, Rowan | ||||
| 1999 Details |
Danbury, CT | Stephen Feldman Arena | Washington (MO) | 74–65 | St. Benedict | Salem State, Scranton | ||||
| 2000 Details |
Washington (MO) | 79–33 | Southern Maine | St. Thomas, Scranton | ||||||
| 2001 Details |
Washington (MO) | 67–45 | Messiah | Ohio Wesleyan, Emmanuel | ||||||
| 2002 Details |
Terre Haute, IN | Hulbert Arena | UW–Stevens Point | 67–65 | 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 | Hope | 69–56 | Southern Maine | Scranton, Hardin–Simmons | ||||
| 2007 Details |
DePauw | 55–52 | Washington (MO) | Mary Washington, NYU | ||||||
| 2008 Details |
Holland, MI | DeVos Fieldhouse | Howard Payne | 68–54 | Messiah | UW–Whitewater, Oglethorpe | ||||
| 2009 Details |
George Fox | 60–53[4] | Washington (MO) | TCNJ, Amherst | ||||||
| 2010 Details |
Bloomington, IL | Shirk Center | Washington (MO) | 65–59[5] | Hope | Amherst, Rochester | ||||
| 2011 Details |
Amherst | 64–55 | Washington (MO) | Christopher Newport, Illinois Wesleyan | ||||||
| 2012 Details |
Holland, MI | DeVos Fieldhouse | Illinois Wesleyan | 57–48[6] | George Fox | St. Thomas, Amherst | ||||
| 2013 Details |
DePauw | 69–51 | UW–Whitewater | Williams, Amherst | ||||||
| 2014 Details |
Gorham, ME | Warren Hill Gymnasium | 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 Fox | Montclair 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, MI | Van Noord Arena | Amherst | 52–29 | Tufts | Christopher Newport, St Thomas | ||||
| 2018 Details |
Rochester, MN | Mayo Civic Center | Amherst[12][13] | 65–45 | Bowdoin | Thomas More, Wartburg | ||||
| 2019[14] | Salem, VA | Cregger Center | Thomas More | 81–67 | Bowdoin | Scranton, St. Thomas (MN) | ||||
| 2020 Details |
Columbus, OH | Capital University Performance Arena | Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | |||||||
| 2021 | Salem, VA | Cregger Center | ||||||||
| 2022 | Pittsburgh, PA | UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse | ||||||||
| 2023 | Dallas, TX[n 2] | American Airlines Center | ||||||||
Championships
Schools in italics no longer compete in NCAA Division III.
| School | Titles | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Washington (MO) | 5 | 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2010 |
| Amherst | 3 | 2011, 2017, 2018 |
| DePauw | 2 | 2007, 2013 |
| Hope | 2 | 1990, 2006 |
| Wisconsin-Stevens Point | 2 | 1987, 2002 |
| Capital | 2 | 1994, 1995 |
| Elizabethtown | 2 | 1982, 1989 |
| Thomas More[a] | 2 | 2016, 2019 |
| Fairleigh Dickinson–Florham | 1 | 2014 |
| Illinois Wesleyan | 1 | 2012 |
| George Fox | 1 | 2009 |
| Howard Payne | 1 | 2008 |
| Millikin | 1 | 2005 |
| Wilmington (OH) | 1 | 2004 |
| Trinity (TX) | 1 | 2003 |
| NYU | 1 | 1997 |
| Wisconsin–Oshkosh | 1 | 1996 |
| Central (IA) | 1 | 1993 |
| Alma | 1 | 1992 |
| St. Thomas (MN)[b] | 1 | 1991 |
| Concordia (Moorhead) | 1 | 1988 |
| Salem State | 1 | 1986 |
| Scranton | 1 | 1985 |
| Rust | 1 | 1984 |
| North Central (IL) | 1 | 1983 |
Final Fours
Schools in italics no longer compete in NCAA Division III.
| Appearances | School |
|---|---|
| 10 | Washington (MO) |
| 8 | Amherst, Scranton |
| 6 | St. Thomas (MN) |
| 5 | Capital, Southern Maine |
| 4 | Elizabethtown, Salem State, Thomas More, Tufts |
| 3 | DePauw, Eastern Connecticut, George Fox, Hope, NYU, Rochester, UW–Eau Claire, UW–Stevens Point, UW–Whitewater |
| 2 | Centre, Christopher Newport, 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
- ^ a b Only the final game was held in Indianapolis. The semifinals were held at Performance Arena at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio.[10]
- ^ Only the final game will be held in Dallas. The semifinals will be held at a site to be announced.[15]
References
- ^ "Wooley's jump shot proves to be game-winner". ESPN. Associated Press. March 22, 2003. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
- ^ "Lady Quakers win first national title". ESPN. AP. March 21, 2004. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
- ^ "Ippel leads Millikin with 25 points". ESPN. AP. March 20, 2005. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
- ^ "George Fox finishes perfect season". ESPN. AP. March 22, 2009. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
- ^ "Washington University wins fifth Division III title since 1998". ESPN. AP. March 20, 2010. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
- ^ ESPNBoston.com (March 17, 2012). "Amherst College women lose consolation". Retrieved May 7, 2012.
- ^ Bates, Greg (March 22, 2014). "Fairleigh Dickinson-Florham wins NCAA Division 3 women's national championship". Retrieved April 2, 2014.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Thomas More College vs. George Fox U." www.d3hoops.com. March 21, 2015. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
- ^ "Women's basketball championship play dates decided" (Press release). NCAA. December 15, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
- ^ "Thomas More caps off second-straight undefeated season with second-straight title". NCAA.com. April 5, 2016. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
- ^ "Perfect Champions! Amherst Completes Undefeated Season as National Champs". Amherst College. March 17, 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
- ^ "No ESPN, no endorsement deals, no problem for Amherst College basketball champs". BostonGlobe.com. March 23, 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
- ^ Sarver, Troy (March 16, 2019). "Division III women's basketball: Thomas More wins national championship". Roanoke Times. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
- ^ "Combined championships for NCAA basketball planned" (Press release). NCAA. April 24, 2019. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
External links
| NCAA | | |
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| Division I |
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| Division II |
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| Division III |
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| Single-division or National Collegiate sports and championships |
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| Related topics | ||
