2014 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament

2014 NCAA Division I
women's basketball tournament
Season2013–14
Teams64
Finals siteBridgestone Arena
Nashville, Tennessee
ChampionsUConn Huskies (9th title, 9th title game,
15th Final Four)
Runner-upNotre Dame Fighting Irish (4th title game,
6th Final Four)
Semifinalists
Winning coachGeno Auriemma (9th title)
MOPBreanna Stewart (UConn)
NCAA Division I women's tournaments
«2013 2015»

The 2014 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament was played in March and April 2014, with the Final Four played April 6–8.[1] The Ohio Valley Conference served as the host institution.[2] The Final Four was played at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.[3][4][5]

Tennessee continued its streak of making every NCAA women's basketball tournament at 33 consecutive appearances. Connecticut (who made their seventh consecutive Final Four overall) and Notre Dame faced each other in the NCAA Final. Both were undefeated heading into the championship game, making it the first ever match up of two undefeated teams in the championship game. Connecticut prevailed, 79–58, to win their ninth national championship.

The previous day, Connecticut also won the men's tournament. It was just the second time in NCAA history the same school had won both the men's and women's tournament; UConn first accomplished that feat in 2004.[6]

Tournament procedure

[edit]
Further information: NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament § Current tournament format

Pending any changes to the format, a total of 64 teams will enter the 2014 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.[citation needed] 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.

2014 NCAA tournament schedule and venues

[edit]

There were 64 teams in the tournament, placed in a seeded bracket with four regions. Thirty-two teams received automatic bids—31 of which were their conference tournament champions; the other was for the Ivy League regular-season champion. An additional 32 teams were given at-large bids by the selection committee on the basis of their body of work during the regular season. Unlike the men's tournament, there was no "First Four" round.

First and second rounds (Subregionals)

The subregionals were played from March 22 to March 25, 2014.[7] Sites chosen to host first- and second-round games in 2014 were:

2014 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament is located in the United States
Ames
Ames
Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge
Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill
College Park
College Park
College Station
College Station
Durham
Durham
Iowa City
Iowa City
Knoxville
Knoxville
Lexington
Lexington
Los Angeles
Los Angeles
Seattle
Seattle
Storrs
Storrs
Toledo
Toledo
University Park
University Park
Waco
Waco
West Lafayette
West Lafayette
class=notpageimage|
2014 NCAA subregionals (hover over city to see link to host)

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)

2014 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament is located in the United States
Lincoln
Lincoln
Louisville
Louisville
Notre Dame
Notre Dame
Stanford
Stanford
Nashville
Nashville
class=notpageimage|
2014 NCAA Regionals (blue) and Final Four (red) (Hover over city to see link to arena)

The Regionals, named for the city rather than the region of geographic importance since 2005, were held from March 29 to April 1 at the following sites:[8][9]

National semifinals and championship (Final Four and national championship)

It was the first time that Nashville had hosted a women's Final Four basketball tournament.[10]

Tournament records

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  • Team rebound margin – Notre Dame out rebounded Maryland 50 to 21; the margin of 29 is the widest margin in Final Four history
  • Assists – Connecticut recorded 25 assists in the championship game against Notre Dame, the most ever recorded in a Final Four game since the NCAA began recording assists in 1985.[11]
  • Oklahoma scored 66 points in the second half of a first-round game against DePaul, the most points scored in a half of an NCAA tournament game, but lost to DePaul 104–100.[12]

Automatic qualifiers

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Further information: 2014 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament qualifying teams

The following teams earned automatic qualifiers for the 2014 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's tournament (except for the Ivy League, whose regular-season champion receives the automatic bid):

Conference Team Appearances Last bid
ACC Notre Dame 21 2013
America East Albany 3 2013
American Connecticut 26 2013
Atlantic 10 Fordham 2 1994
Atlantic Sun Florida Gulf Coast 2 2012
Big 12 Baylor 13 2013
Big East DePaul 19 2013
Big Sky North Dakota 1 Never
Big South Winthrop 1 Never
Big Ten Nebraska 12 2013
Big West Cal State Northridge 2 1999
Colonial James Madison 10 2011
C-USA Middle Tennessee 17 2013
Horizon Wright State 1 Never
Ivy League Penn 3 2004
MAAC Marist 10 2013
MAC Akron 1 Never
MEAC Hampton 8 2013
Missouri Valley Wichita State 2 2013
Mountain West Fresno State 7 2013
Northeast Robert Morris 3 2008
Ohio Valley Tennessee-Martin 4 2013
Pac-12 USC 16 2006
Patriot Army 2 2006
SEC Tennessee 33 2013
Southern Chattanooga 12 2013
Southland Northwestern State 3 2004
SWAC Prairie View A&M 6 2013
Summit South Dakota 1 Never
Sun Belt Western Kentucky 17 2008
West Coast Gonzaga 7 2013
WAC Idaho 3 2013

Tournament seeds

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Lincoln Regional Pinnacle Bank Arena, Lincoln, Nebraska
Seed School Conference Record Berth type
1 Connecticut American 34–0 Automatic
2 Duke ACC 27–6 At-large
3 Texas A&M SEC 24–8 At-large
4 Nebraska Big Ten 25–6 Automatic
5 NC State ACC 25–7 At-large
6 Gonzaga West Coast 29–4 Automatic
7 DePaul Big East 27–6 Automatic
8 Georgia SEC 20–11 At-large
9 St. Joseph's Atlantic 10 22–9 At-large
10 Oklahoma Big 12 18–14 At-large
11 James Madison Colonial 28–5 Automatic
12 BYU West Coast 26–6 At-large
13 Fresno State Mountain West 22–10 Automatic
14 North Dakota Big Sky 22–9 Automatic
15 Winthrop Big South 24–8 Automatic
16 Prairie View A&M SWAC 14–17 Automatic
Stanford Regional Maples Pavilion, Stanford, California
Seed School Conference Record Berth type
1 South Carolina SEC 27–4 At-large
2 Stanford Pac-12 29–3 At-large
3 Penn State Big Ten 22–7 At-large
4 North Carolina ACC 24–9 At-large
5 Michigan State Big Ten 22–9 At-large
6 Dayton Atlantic 10 23–7 At-large
7 Iowa State Big 12 20–10 At-large
8 Middle Tennessee State Conference USA 29–4 Automatic
9 Oregon State Pac-12 23–10 At-large
10 Florida State ACC 20–11 At-large
11 Florida SEC 19–12 At-large
12 Hampton MEAC 28–4 Automatic
13 Tennessee-Martin Ohio Valley 24–7 Automatic
14 Wichita State Missouri Valley 26–6 Automatic
15 South Dakota Summit 19–13 Automatic
16 Cal State Northridge Big West 18–14 Automatic
South Bend Regional Joyce Center, Notre Dame, Indiana
Seed School Conference Record Berth type
1 Notre Dame ACC 32–0 Automatic
2 Baylor Big 12 29–4 Automatic
3 Kentucky SEC 24–8 At-large
4 Purdue Big Ten 21–8 At-large
5 Oklahoma State Big 12 23–8 At-large
6 Syracuse ACC 22–9 At-large
7 California Pac-12 21–9 At-large
8 Vanderbilt SEC 18–12 At-large
9 Arizona State Pac-12 22–9 At-large
10 Fordham Atlantic 10 25–7 Automatic
11 Chattanooga Southern 29–3 Automatic
12 Florida Gulf Coast Atlantic Sun 26–7 Automatic
13 Akron Mid-American 23–9 Automatic
14 Wright State Horizon 26–8 Automatic
15 Western Kentucky Sun Belt 24–8 Automatic
16 Robert Morris Northeast 21–11 Automatic
Louisville Regional KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Kentucky
Seed School Conference Record Berth type
1 Tennessee SEC 27–5 Automatic
2 West Virginia Big 12 29–4 At-large
3 Louisville American 30–4 At-large
4 Maryland ACC 24–6 At-large
5 Texas Big 12 21–11 At-large
6 Iowa Big Ten 26–8 At-large
7 LSU SEC 19–12 At-large
8 St. John's Big East 22–10 At-large
9 USC Pac-12 22–12 Automatic
10 Georgia Tech ACC 20–11 At-large
11 Marist MAAC 27–6 Automatic
12 Penn Ivy 22–6 Automatic
13 Army Patriot 25–7 Automatic
14 Idaho WAC 25–8 Automatic
15 Albany America East 28–4 Automatic
16 Northwestern State Southland 21–12 Automatic

Bracket

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* – Denotes overtime period

Lincoln Regional

[edit]

In their first-round match, DePaul and Oklahoma scored a combined 204 points, setting a tournament record for most points in a non-overtime game. Oklahoma's 66 second-half points was also a record a team in a single half.[13]

Connecticut vs. Prairie View A&M aired nationwide on ESPN. Connecticut vs. Saint Joseph's aired nationwide on ESPNU. All other games aired with whip-around or regional coverage on ESPN or ESPN2.

First round Second round Regional semifinals Regional Finals
            
1 UConn 87
16 Prairie View A&M 44
1 UConn 91
Storrs, Connecticut – Sun/Tue
9 St. Joseph's 52
8 Georgia 57
9 St. Joseph's 67
1 UConn 70
12 BYU 51
5 NC State 57
12 BYU 72
12 BYU 80
Los Angeles – Sat/Mon
4 Nebraska 76
4 Nebraska 74
13 Fresno State 55
1 UConn 69
3 Texas A&M 54
6 Gonzaga 63
11 James Madison 72
11 James Madison 69
College Station, Texas – Sun/Tue
3 Texas A&M 85
3 Texas A&M 70
14 North Dakota 55
3 Texas A&M 84
7 DePaul 65
7 DePaul 104
10 Oklahoma 100
7 DePaul 74
Durham, North Carolina – Sat/Mon
2 Duke 65
2 Duke 87
15 Winthrop 45

Notre Dame Regional

[edit]

Notre Dame vs. Robert Morris aired nationwide on ESPN. Notre Dame vs. Arizona State aired nationwide on ESPNews. All other games aired with whip-around or regional coverage on ESPN or ESPN2.

First round Second round Regional semifinals Regional Finals
            
1 Notre Dame 93
16 Robert Morris 42
1 Notre Dame 84
Toledo, Ohio – Sat/Mon
9 Arizona State 67
8 Vanderbilt 61
9 Arizona State 69
1 Notre Dame 89
5 Oklahoma State 72
5 Oklahoma State 61*
12 Florida Gulf Coast 60
5 Oklahoma State 73
West Lafayette, Indiana – Sat/Mon
4 Purdue 66
4 Purdue 84
13 Akron 55
1 Notre Dame 88
2 Baylor 69
6 Syracuse 59
11 Chattanooga 53
6 Syracuse 59
Lexington, Kentucky – Sat/Mon
3 Kentucky 64
3 Kentucky 106
14 Wright State 60
3 Kentucky 72
2 Baylor 90
7 California 64
10 Fordham 63
7 California 56
Waco, Texas – Sat/Mon
2 Baylor 75
2 Baylor 87
15 Western Kentucky 74

Louisville Regional

[edit]
First round Second round Regional semifinals Regional Finals
            
1 Tennessee 70
16 Northwestern State 46
1 Tennessee 67
Knoxville, Tennessee – Sat/Mon
8 St. John's 51
8 St. John's 71
9 USC 68
1 Tennessee 62
4 Maryland 73
5 Texas 79
12 Pennsylvania 61
5 Texas 64
College Park, Maryland – Sun/Tue
4 Maryland 69
4 Maryland 90
13 Army 52
4 Maryland 76
3 Louisville 73
6 Iowa 87
11 Marist 65
6 Iowa 53
Iowa City, Iowa – Sun/Tue
3 Louisville 83
3 Louisville 88
14 Idaho 42
3 Louisville 73
7 LSU 47
7 LSU 98
10 Georgia Tech 78
7 LSU 76
Baton Rouge, Louisiana – Sun/Tue
2 West Virginia 67
2 West Virginia 76
15 Albany 61

Stanford Regional

[edit]
First round Second round Regional semifinals Regional Finals
            
1 South Carolina 73
16 Cal. State Northridge 58
1 South Carolina 78
Seattle, Washington – Sun/Tue
9 Oregon State 69
8 Middle Tennessee 36
9 Oregon State 55
1 South Carolina 58
4 North Carolina 65
5 Michigan State 91
12 Hampton 61
5 Michigan State 53
Chapel Hill, North Carolina – Sun/Tue
4 North Carolina 62
4 North Carolina 60
13 Tennessee-Martin 58
4 North Carolina 65
2 Stanford 74
6 Dayton 69
11 Florida 83
11 Florida 61
University Park, Pennsylvania – Sun/Tue
3 Penn State 83
3 Penn State 62
14 Wichita State 56
3 Penn State 57
2 Stanford 82
7 Iowa State 44
10 Florida State 55
10 Florida State 44
Ames, Iowa – Sat/Mon
2 Stanford 63
2 Stanford 81
15 South Dakota 62

Final Four – Nashville, Tennessee

[edit]
National semifinals
April 6 		National championship game
April 8
      
LI1 UConn 75
S2 Stanford 56
LI1 UConn 79
ND1 Notre Dame 58
ND1 Notre Dame 87
LO4 Maryland 61

Final Four summaries

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ESPN
April 6, 2014
5:30 pm CDT
#4 Maryland Terrapins 61, #1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 87
Scoring by half: 31-48, 30-39
Pts: Brionna Jones 16
Rebs: Alyssa Thomas 6
Asts: Lexie Brown 8		 Pts: Kayla McBride 28
Rebs: Jewell Loyd, Markisha Wright 9
Asts: Lindsay Allen 5
Bridgestone Arena – Nashville, Tennessee
Attendance: 17,548
Referees: Scott Yarbrough, Cameron Inouye, Mike Price
ESPN
April 6, 2014
8:00 pm CDT
#2 Stanford Cardinal 56, #1 Connecticut Huskies 75
Scoring by half: 24-28, 32-47
Pts: Amber Orrange 16
Rebs: Chiney Ogwumike 10
Asts: Amber Orrange 5		 Pts: Breanna Stewart 18
Rebs: Breanna Stewart, Stefanie Dolson 7
Asts: Moriah Jefferson, Bria Hartley 4
Bridgestone Arena – Nashville, Tennessee
Attendance: 17,548
Referees: Tina Napier, Joe Vaszily, Chuck Gonzales

National championship

[edit]
ESPN
April 8, 2014
7:30 pm CDT
#1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 58, #1 Connecticut Huskies 79
Scoring by half: 38-45, 20-34
Pts: Kayla McBride 21
Rebs: Jewell Loyd 6
Asts: Lindsay Allen 5		 Pts: Breanna Stewart 21
Rebs: Stefanie Dolson 16
Asts: Stefanie Dolson, Moriah Jefferson 7
Bridgestone Arena – Nashville, Tennessee
Attendance: 17,570
Referees: Dee Kantner, Lisa Mattingly, Denise Brooks
Final Four in Nashville

Undefeated Connecticut faced undefeated Notre Dame in the final game, the first ever to feature two undefeated teams. After a hard-fought first half, the Connecticut Huskies pulled away in the second for a 79–58 victory. National Player of the Year Breanna Stewart scored 21 points for Connecticut. Stefanie Dolson added 17 points and 16 rebounds for the victors. Kayla McBride had 21 points for the Notre Dame Irish. Connecticut won the rebound battle 54–31 and held Notre Dame to a season low in points. After the game, Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said "I thought we were playing the Miami Heat for a while [Connecticut is] just that good."[6]

By winning, Connecticut moved to 40–0 on the season and claimed their ninth title, surpassing Tennessee's eight titles for the most all-time. Coach Geno Auriemma said he was "flattered and grateful and all the things that come with this kind of accomplishment ... I'm more proud of the legacy that exists and what Connecticut basketball is as opposed to the number of championships."[6] All nine of the school's titles, five with unbeaten records, have come during Auriemma's twenty seasons as head coach. Connecticut became the second school to finish the year 40–0, the other being Baylor. They have now won 46 consecutive games, the third most in NCAA history, but well short of their NCAA record of 90.[6]

For Notre Dame, it was their third loss in the title game in the last four years. They were inhibited by the loss of senior starter Natalie Achonwa to injury in the Regional Final. The Irish had won seven of the previous nine meeting between the two powerhouses. However, Connecticut beat them during the tournament for the second consecutive year, having eliminated them in the Final Four in 2013.[6]

All-Tournament team

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  • Breanna Stewart, Connecticut
  • Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, Connecticut
  • Stefanie Dolson, Connecticut
  • Kayla McBride, Notre Dame
  • Jewell Loyd, Notre Dame[11]

Game Officials

[edit]
  • Chuck Gonzalez (semifinal)
  • Cameron Inouye (semifinal)
  • Tina Napier (semifinal)
  • Mike Price (semifinal)
  • Joe Vaszily (semifinal)
  • Scott Yarbrough (semifinal)
  • Denise Brooks (final)
  • Dee Kanter (final)
  • Joe Vasily (Standby)
  • Lisa Mattingly (final)[11]

Record by conference

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Source[14]

Conference Bids Record Win % R64 R32 S16 E8 F4 CG NC
American 2 9–1 0.900 2 2 2 2 1 1 1
ACC 8 15–8 0.652 8 6 3 3 2 1 –
Big East 2 3–2 0.600 2 2 1 – – – –
SEC 8 12–8 0.600 8 6 5 1 – – –
Pac-12 5 7–5 0.583 5 4 1 1 1 – –
Big Ten 5 6–5 0.545 5 5 1 – – – –
Big 12 6 7–6 0.538 6 4 2 1 – – –
West Coast 2 2–2 0.500 2 1 1 – – – –
Colonial 1 1–1 0.500 1 1 – – – – –
Atlantic 10 3 1–3 0.250 3 1 – – – – –
  • The R64, R32, S16, E8, F4, CG, and NC columns indicate how many teams from each conference were in the round of 64 (first round), round of 32 (second round), Sweet 16, Elite Eight, Final Four, championship game, and national champion, respectively.
  • The America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Conference USA, Horizon, Ivy, MEAC, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American (MAC), Missouri Valley, Mountain West, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Sun Belt, SWAC, and WAC conferences each had one representative that was eliminated in the first round.

Media coverage

[edit]

Television

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ESPN had US television rights to all games during the tournament.[15] For the first and second rounds, ESPN aired select games nationally on ESPN, ESPNU, or ESPNews. All other games aired regionally on ESPN or ESPN2 and streamed online via ESPN3. Most of the nation got whip-around coverage during this time, which allowed ESPN to rotate between the games and focus the nation on the one that has the closest score. The regional semifinals were split between ESPN and ESPN2, and ESPN aired the regional finals, national semifinals, and championship match.[16]

Studio host & analysts

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Broadcast assignments

[edit]

Radio

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Westwood One had nationwide broadcast and streaming radio rights from the regional finals on through the championship.[17] The teams participating in the Regional Finals, Final Four, and championship were allowed to have their own local broadcasts, but were not allowed to stream their broadcast online.

See also

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Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ "2014 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Final Four". Ohio Valley Conference. Retrieved November 21, 2009.
  2. ^ "Nashville, Ohio Valley Conference to host 2014 NCAA Women's Basketball Final Four". Tennessee Tech Athletics. November 16, 2008. Retrieved November 21, 2009.
  3. ^ "Nashville Will Host 2014 Women's Final Four". NewsChannel 5.com. Archived from the original on February 24, 2012. Retrieved November 21, 2009.
  4. ^ "NASHVILLE LOCAL ORGANIZING COMMITTEE (NLOC) ANNOUNCES IT HAS REACHED HALF-WAY MARK OF FUNDRAISING GOAL". Nashville Sports Council. Retrieved April 11, 2012.
  5. ^ a b "2011 Basketball Championship". Archived from the original on March 17, 2011. Retrieved March 12, 2011.
  6. ^ a b c d e Feinberg, Doug (April 8, 2014). "UConn Women's Basketball Team Routs Notre Dame To Finish 40-0 Season, Win Historic 9th Title". Huffington Post. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
  7. ^ "Tickets & Hospitality". NCAA. Archived from the original on October 7, 2014. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
  8. ^ "Four to Host N.C.A.A. Women's Regionals". The New York Times. October 9, 2013. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  9. ^ "Host sites selected for preliminary rounds of the 2014 championship". NCAA. October 9, 2013. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  10. ^ "Nashville to host 2014 Women's Final Four". WKRN.com. Retrieved November 21, 2009.
  11. ^ a b c Nixon, Rick. "2016 Women's Final Four Record Book" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  12. ^ "NCAA Record books". NCAA.
  13. ^ "DePaul beats Oklahoma in highest-scoring regulation tourney game". ESPN. March 22, 2014. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
  14. ^ "The Tournament Field" (PDF). NCAA Record books. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 29, 2022.
  15. ^ Margolis, Rachel (December 15, 2011). "ESPN and NCAA® Extend Rights Agreement through 2023-24". ESPN. Retrieved December 15, 2011.
  16. ^ Margolis, Rachel (March 18, 2014). "ESPN Networks to Present Entire NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship". ESPN. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
  17. ^ "NCAA, Westwood One extend deal". NCAA. January 13, 2011. Archived from the original on May 16, 2013. Retrieved May 12, 2013.
  18. ^ a b "2014 NCAA Women's Division 1 Tournament Week 2 TV & National Radio schedule". Eye on Sky and Air Sports. March 26, 2014. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  19. ^ a b "2014 NCAA Women's Division 1 Tournament Final Four/Championship TV & National Radio schedule". Eye on Sky and Air Sports. April 1, 2014. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
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