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The 1991 NCAA Division I women's basketball championship game was the final game of the 1991 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament. It determined the champion of the 1990–91 NCAA Division I women's basketball season and was contested by the Virginia Cavaliers and the Tennessee Lady Volunteers. The game was played on March 31, 1991, at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana. After leading 27–26 at halftime, No. 4 Tennessee needed an overtime period to defeat No. 2 Tennessee 70–67 to capture the NCAA national championship,[1] and bring home the third NCAA championship in program history. Despite the runner-up finish, Virginia's Dawn Staley was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player (MOP). Staley is the only women's player to be named MOP while not playing for the championship team.
| National championship game | ||||||||||||||||
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| Date | March 31, 1991 | |||||||||||||||
| Venue | Lakefront Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana | |||||||||||||||
| MVP | Dawn Staley, Virginia | |||||||||||||||
| Referees | Patty Broderick and Lou Pitt | |||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | ||||||||||||||||
| Network | CBS | |||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Brad Nessler (play-by-play) and Mimi Griffin (analyst) | |||||||||||||||
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Virginia Cavaliers
The Cavaliers, representing the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia, were led by head coach Debbie Ryan in her 14th season at the school. Virginia began the season ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll. The team lost just one regular season game, and swept through the ACC regular season (14–0) before losing to Clemson in the ACC tournament semifinals. The Cavaliers finished No. 2 in the final AP poll, a spot they never fell below throughout the duration of the season.
Entering the NCAA tournament at 27–2, Virginia held the No. 1 seed in the Midwest region. They defeated No. 8 seed Stephen F. Austin, No. 5 seed Oklahoma State, and No. 10 seed Lamar to reach the Final Four for the second straight season. In the National semifinals, the Lady Cavs defeated the No. 3 seed from the East region, UConn, 61–55.[2]
Tennessee Lady Volunteers
The Lady Vols, who represented the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee, were led by head coach Pat Summitt in her 17th season at the school. Tennessee opened the season ranked No. 6 in the AP poll, and peaked at No. 2 midway through the season before finishing with the No. 4 ranking ahead of the championship game. The Lady Volunteers finished third in the SEC with a 6–3 conference record.
In the NCAA tournament, Tennessee played as the No.1 seed in the Mideast region. They defeated No. 8 seed SW Missouri State, No. 4 seed Western Kentucky, and No. 3 seed Auburn to reach the NCAA Final Four for the 7th time in program history. They won 68–60 over the West region's No. 2 seed Stanford in the national semifinal[3] to reach the national championship game with a 29–5 record.
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| Virginia | Position | Tennessee |
|---|---|---|
| Dawn Staley | G | Dena Head |
| Tammi Reiss | G | Jody Adams |
| Heather Burge | C | Daedra Charles |
| Tonya Cardoza | F | Lisa Harrison |
| Melanee Wagener | F | Kelli Casteel |
| Source | ||
The game was broadcast on CBS with Brad Nessler on play-by-play duties and Mimi Griffin as the color analyst.
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