2014 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament

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]

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
«20132015»

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

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 – thirty-one 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:

Ames
Baton Rouge
Chapel Hill
College Park
College Station
Durham
Iowa City
Knoxville
Lexington
Los Angeles
Seattle
Storrs
Toledo
University Park
Waco
West Lafayette
2014 NCAA subregionals (Hover over city to see link to Host)

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)

Lincoln
Louisville
Notre Dame
Stanford
Nashville
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 edit

  • Team rebound margin—Notre Dame out rebounded Maryland 50 to 21; the margin of 29 is the largest 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 edit

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):

ConferenceTeamAppearancesLast bid
ACCNotre Dame212013
America EastAlbany32013
AmericanConnecticut262013
Atlantic 10Fordham21994
Atlantic SunFlorida Gulf Coast22012
Big 12Baylor132013
Big EastDePaul192013
Big SkyNorth Dakota1Never
Big SouthWinthrop1Never
Big TenNebraska122013
Big WestCal State Northridge21999
ColonialJames Madison102011
C-USAMiddle Tennessee172013
HorizonWright State1Never
Ivy LeaguePenn32004
MAACMarist102013
MACAkron1Never
MEACHampton82013
Missouri ValleyWichita State22013
Mountain WestFresno State72013
NortheastRobert Morris32008
Ohio ValleyTennessee-Martin42013
Pac-12USC162006
PatriotArmy22006
SECTennessee332013
SouthernChattanooga122013
SouthlandNorthwestern State32004
SWACPrairie View A&M62013
SummitSouth Dakota1Never
Sun BeltWestern Kentucky172008
West CoastGonzaga72013
WACIdaho32013

Tournament seeds edit

Lincoln RegionalPinnacle Bank Arena, Lincoln, Nebraska
SeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth type
1ConnecticutAmerican34–0Automatic
2DukeACC27–6At-large
3Texas A&MSEC24–8At-large
4NebraskaBig Ten25–6Automatic
5NC StateACC25–7At-large
6GonzagaWest Coast29–4Automatic
7DePaulBig East27–6Automatic
8GeorgiaSEC20–11At-large
9St. Joseph'sAtlantic 1022–9At-large
10OklahomaBig 1218–14At-large
11James MadisonColonial28–5Automatic
12BYUWest Coast26–6At-large
13Fresno StateMountain West22–10Automatic
14North DakotaBig Sky22–9Automatic
15WinthropBig South24–8Automatic
16Prairie View A&MSWAC14–17Automatic
Stanford RegionalMaples Pavilion, Stanford, California
SeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth type
1South CarolinaSEC27–4At-large
2StanfordPac-1229–3At-large
3Penn StateBig Ten22–7At-large
4North CarolinaACC24–9At-large
5Michigan StateBig Ten22–9At-large
6DaytonAtlantic 1023–7At-large
7Iowa StateBig 1220–10At-large
8Middle Tennessee StateConference USA29–4Automatic
9Oregon StatePac-1223–10At-large
10Florida StateACC20–11At-large
11FloridaSEC19–12At-large
12HamptonMEAC28–4Automatic
13Tennessee-MartinOhio Valley24–7Automatic
14Wichita StateMissouri Valley26–6Automatic
15South DakotaSummit19–13Automatic
16Cal State NorthridgeBig West18–14Automatic
South Bend RegionalJoyce Center, Notre Dame, Indiana
SeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth type
1Notre DameACC32–0Automatic
2BaylorBig 1229–4Automatic
3KentuckySEC24–8At-large
4PurdueBig Ten21–8At-large
5Oklahoma StateBig 1223–8At-large
6SyracuseACC22–9At-large
7CaliforniaPac-1221–9At-large
8VanderbiltSEC18–12At-large
9Arizona StatePac-1222–9At-large
10FordhamAtlantic 1025–7Automatic
11ChattanoogaSouthern29–3Automatic
12Florida Gulf CoastAtlantic Sun26–7Automatic
13AkronMid-American23–9Automatic
14Wright StateHorizon26–8Automatic
15Western KentuckySun Belt24–8Automatic
16Robert MorrisNortheast21–11Automatic
Louisville RegionalKFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Kentucky
SeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth type
1TennesseeSEC27–5Automatic
2West VirginiaBig 1229–4At-large
3LouisvilleAmerican30–4At-large
4MarylandACC24–6At-large
5TexasBig 1221–11At-large
6IowaBig Ten26–8At-large
7LSUSEC19–12At-large
8St. John'sBig East22–10At-large
9USCPac-1222–12Automatic
10Georgia TechACC20–11At-large
11MaristMAAC27–6Automatic
12PennIvy22–6Automatic
13ArmyPatriot25–7Automatic
14IdahoWAC25–8Automatic
15AlbanyAmerica East28–4Automatic
16Northwestern StateSouthland21–12Automatic

Bracket edit

* – 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-a-round or regional coverage on ESPN or ESPN2.

First roundSecond RoundRegional semifinalsRegional Finals
            
1UConn87
16Prairie View A&M44
1UConn91
Storrs, Connecticut – Sun/Tue
9St. Joseph's52
8Georgia57
9St. Joseph's67
1UConn 70
12BYU51
5NC State57
12BYU72
12BYU80
Los Angeles – Sat/Mon
4Nebraska76
4Nebraska74
13Fresno State55
1UConn69
3Texas A&M54
6Gonzaga63
11James Madison72
11James Madison69
College Station, Texas – Sun/Tue
3Texas A&M85
3Texas A&M70
14North Dakota55
3Texas A&M84
7DePaul65
7DePaul104
10Oklahoma100
7DePaul74
Durham, North Carolina – Sat/Mon
2Duke65
2Duke87
15Winthrop45

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-a-round or regional coverage on ESPN or ESPN2.

First roundSecond RoundRegional semifinalsRegional Finals
            
1Notre Dame93
16Robert Morris42
1Notre Dame84
Toledo, Ohio – Sat/Mon
9Arizona State67
8Vanderbilt61
9Arizona State69
1Notre Dame89
5Oklahoma State72
5Oklahoma State61*
12Florida Gulf Coast60
5Oklahoma State73
West Lafayette, Indiana – Sat/Mon
4Purdue66
4Purdue84
13Akron55
1Notre Dame88
2Baylor69
6Syracuse59
11Chattanooga53
6Syracuse59
Lexington, Kentucky – Sat/Mon
3Kentucky64
3Kentucky106
14Wright State60
3Kentucky72
2Baylor90
7California64
10Fordham63
7California56
Waco, Texas – Sat/Mon
2Baylor75
2Baylor87
15Western Kentucky74

Louisville Regional edit

First roundSecond RoundRegional semifinalsRegional Finals
            
1Tennessee70
16Northwestern State46
1Tennessee67
Knoxville, Tennessee – Sat/Mon
8St. John's51
8St. John's71
9USC68
1Tennessee62
4Maryland73
5Texas79
12Pennsylvania61
5Texas64
College Park, Maryland – Sun/Tue
4Maryland69
4Maryland90
13Army52
4Maryland76
3Louisville73
6Iowa87
11Marist65
6Iowa53
Iowa City, Iowa – Sun/Tue
3Louisville83
3Louisville88
14Idaho42
3Louisville73
7LSU47
7LSU98
10Georgia Tech78
7LSU76
Baton Rouge, Louisiana – Sun/Tue
2West Virginia67
2West Virginia76
15Albany61

Stanford Regional edit

First roundSecond RoundRegional semifinalsRegional Finals
            
1South Carolina73
16Cal. State Northridge58
1South Carolina78
Seattle, Washington – Sun/Tue
9Oregon State69
8Middle Tennessee36
9Oregon State55
1South Carolina58
4North Carolina65
5Michigan State91
12Hampton61
5Michigan State53
Chapel Hill, North Carolina – Sun/Tue
4North Carolina62
4North Carolina60
13Tennessee-Martin58
4North Carolina65
2Stanford74
6Dayton69
11Florida83
11Florida61
University Park, Pennsylvania – Sun/Tue
3Penn State83
3Penn State62
14Wichita State56
3Penn State57
2Stanford82
7Iowa State44
10Florida State55
10Florida State44
Ames, Iowa – Sat/Mon
2Stanford63
2Stanford81
15South Dakota62

Final Four – Nashville, Tennessee edit

National semifinals
April 6
National Championship Game
April 8
      
LI1UConn75
S2Stanford56
LI1UConn79
ND1Notre Dame58
ND1Notre Dame 87
LO4Maryland61

Final Four summaries edit

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 edit

  • 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 edit

Source[14]

ConferenceBidsRecordWin %R64R32S16E8F4CGNC
American29–10.9002222111
ACC815–80.652863321
Big East23–20.600221
SEC812–80.6008651
Pac-1257–50.58354111
Big Ten56–50.545551
Big 1267–60.5386421
West Coast22–20.500211
Colonial11–10.50011
Atlantic 1031–30.25031
  • 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 edit

ESPN had US television rights to all games during the tournament.[15] For the first and second round, 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-a-round 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 edit

Broadcast assignments edit

Radio edit

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 edit

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 Doug Feinberg (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". 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.