2000 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament

The 2000 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament began on March 17 and ended on April 2. The tournament featured 64 teams. The Final Four consisted of Connecticut, Penn St., Tennessee, and Rutgers, with Connecticut defeating Tennessee 71-52 to win its second NCAA title.^[1] Connecticut's Shea Ralph was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.^[2]

2000 NCAA Division I
women's basketball tournament

Teams	64
Finals site	Wells Fargo Center Philadelphia
Champions	Connecticut Huskies (2nd title, 2nd title game, 4th Final Four)
Runner-up	Tennessee Lady Volunteers (9th title game, 12th Final Four)
Semifinalists	Penn State Lady Lions (1st Final Four) Rutgers Scarlet Knights (1st Final Four)
Winning coach	Geno Auriemma (2nd title)
MOP	Shea Ralph (Connecticut)
NCAA Division I women's tournaments «1999 2001»

Notable events

Two of the number one seeds advanced to the Final four – Tennessee and Connecticut – while two failed to advance. Penn State upset Louisiana Tech in the Midwest Regional, while Rutgers upset Georgia in the West Regional. Tennessee faced Rutgers in one of the Final Four match ups. At the end of the half, the Lady Vols held only a two-point lead 28–26. Pat Summitt challenged her players at halftime, and advised Tamika Catchings to move around more. That advice helped, as Catchings, who had only scored two points in the first half, scored eleven in the second half. Michelle Snow blocked seven shots in the game setting a Final Four record. Kara Lawson ran the offense, and scored a total of 19 points, of which 14 were scored in the second half, and ended up earning the Player of the Game award, helping her team win 64–54 and advance to the national championship.^[3]

The other semifinal match up was Connecticut against Penn State. The regional win by Penn State gave the team a chance to play in a Final Four in their home state. The Lady Lions were led by point guard Helen Darling, who would go on to win the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award that year. However, the defense by the Huskies held Darling scoreless on this day. UConn's point guard Sue Bird, had a better day, scoring 19 points, hitting five of her seven three point attempts. 20,060 fans were in the stands, the largest crowd ever to see a college basketball game in Pennsylvania. Connecticut had a nine-point lead at halftime, but Penn State had cut the lead to five points midway through the second half. However, the Huskies responded, and ended up winning the game by 22 points.^[4]

The match up in the finals between Tennessee and Connecticut was highly anticipated. The teams have met ten times prior to this meeting, with each team winning five. In eight of the ten meetings, one of the teams has had a number one ranking in the country. Much has been at stake, not just rankings, but winning streaks, national championships and pride.^[5]

Tennessee entered the final game on a 19-game winning streak; Connecticut on a 15-game winning streak, with their only loss of the season coming by a single point at the hands of Tennessee. UConn started the game with a 9–2 run. Kelly Schumacher set a record for blocks in a championship game, and had the record, with six, at halftime. She went on to record nine blocks, setting a new Final Four record, breaking the one established by Tennessee just two days before. The Huskies led 31–19 at the half, but the second half was yet to be played. Any chance of a comeback faded early, as UConn scored eight consecutive points to start the second half. Eight UConn players would get eleven or more minutes, giving Tennessee the impression that they were seeing fresh players every few minutes. Shea Ralph would score 15 points, on her way to winning the Most Outstanding Player award, and Svetlana Abrosimova scored 14. Connecticut ultimately defeated Tennessee by a score of 71–52 to win their second national championship.^[6][7][8][9]

The 2000 Final Four, played at the then-First Union Center (now Wells Fargo Center) in Philadelphia, was notable for featuring three head coaches who had ties to the Philadelphia area: Penn State coach Rene Portland grew up in the Philadelphia area, played at Immaculata College (now Immaculata University) in suburban Philadelphia, and briefly coached at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia; Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer coached at then-Cheyney State College (now Cheyney University) in suburban Philadelphia earlier in her career, and national championship-winning Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma spent most of his childhood living in Norristown, Pennsylvania, located approximately 20 miles from Philadelphia, and served as a high school and college assistant coach in the Philadelphia area early in his coaching career.

Tournament records

• Blocks – Kelly Schumacher, Connecticut, recorded nine blocks in the championship game against Tennessee, setting the record for blocks in a Final Four game.
• Blocks – Connecticut recorded eleven blocks in the championship game against Tennessee, setting the record for blocks in a Final Four game.
• Points – Connecticut scored 547 points in the tournament, setting the record for most points scored in an NCAA tournament.
• Field goal percentage – Connecticut hit 203 of 363 field goal attempts(56.1%), setting the record for the field goal percentage in an NCAA tournament.
• Steals – Connecticut recorded 81 steals in the tournament, setting the record for most steals in an NCAA tournament.^[10]
• Turnovers – Tennessee turned the ball over 26 times, a record for a championship game.^[6]

Qualifying teams – automatic

Sixty-four teams were selected to participate in the 2000 NCAA Tournament. Thirty conferences were eligible for an automatic bid to the 2000 NCAA tournament.^[10]

Automatic Bids
		Record
Qualifying School	Conference	Regular Season	Conference	Seed
Alcorn State University	SWAC	22–8	15–3	16
Campbell University	Trans America	22–8	14–4	15
University of Connecticut	Big East	30–1	16–0	1
Dartmouth College	Ivy League	20–7	12–2	13
Drake University	Missouri Valley Conference	23–6	15–3	8
Duke University	ACC	26–5	12–4	2
Furman University	Southern Conference	20–10	13–5	16
University of Wisconsin–Green Bay	Horizon League	21–8	12–2	13
Hampton University	MEAC	16–14	11–7	16
College of the Holy Cross	Patriot League	23–6	11–1	15
Iowa State University	Big 12	25–5	13–3	3
Kent State University	MAC	25–5	15–1	9
Liberty University	Big South Conference	23–7	12–2	14
Louisiana Tech University	Sun Belt Conference	28–2	16–0	1
University of Montana	Big Sky Conference	22–7	13–3	16
Old Dominion University	Colonial	21–8	16–0	4
University of Oregon	Pac-10	23–7	14–4	6
Purdue University	Big Ten	22–7	11–5	4
Rice University	WAC	21–9	10–4	13
University of San Diego	West Coast Conference	17–12	7–7	15
St. Francis (PA)	Northeast Conference	23–7	15–3	14
Saint Peter's College	MAAC	23–7	14–4	14
Stephen F. Austin State University	Southland	27–3	17–1	11
University of Tennessee	SEC	28–3	13–1	1
Tennessee Technological University	Ohio Valley Conference	25–8	16–2	14
Tulane University	Conference USA	26–4	12–4	6
University of California, Santa Barbara	Big West Conference	30–3	15–0	4
University of Vermont	America East	25–5	15–3	11
Xavier University	Atlantic 10	26–4	13–3	6
Youngstown State University	Mid-Continent	22–8	12–4	15

Qualifying teams – at-large

Thirty-four additional teams were selected to complete the sixty-four invitations.^[10]

At-large Bids
		Record
Qualifying School	Conference	Regular Season	Conference	Seed
University of Arizona	Pacific-10	24–6	13–5	8
Auburn University	Southeastern	21–7	9–5	7
Boston College	Big East	25–8	12–4	5
Brigham Young University	Mountain West	22–8	10–4	12
Clemson University	Atlantic Coast	18–11	9–7	9
The George Washington University	Atlantic 10	25–5	14–2	7
University of Georgia	Southeastern	29–3	13–1	1
University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign	Big Ten	22–10	11–5	6
University of Kansas	Big 12	20–9	11–5	8
Louisiana State University	Southeastern	22–6	11–3	3
University of Maine	America East	20–10	14–4	12
Marquette University	Conference USA	22–6	14–2	7
University of Michigan	Big Ten	22–7	13–3	8
Mississippi State University	Southeastern	23–7	8–6	3
Southwest Missouri State University	Missouri Valley	23–8	14–4	10
University of Nebraska–Lincoln	Big 12	18–12	10–6	12
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	Atlantic Coast	18–12	8–8	5
North Carolina State University	Atlantic Coast	20–8	11–5	5
University of Notre Dame	Big East	25–4	15–1	2
University of Oklahoma	Big 12	23–7	13–3	5
Pennsylvania State University	Big Ten	26–4	15–1	2
Pepperdine University	West Coast	21–9	12–2	13
Rutgers University	Big East	22–7	12–4	2
Southern Methodist University	Western Athletic	21–8	12–2	12
Saint Joseph's University	Atlantic 10	24–5	14–2	10
Stanford University	Pacific-10	20–8	13–5	9
University of Texas at Austin	Big 12	21–12	9–7	7
Texas Tech University	Big 12	25–4	13–3	3
University of Alabama at Birmingham	Conference USA	19–12	8–8	11
University of California, Los Angeles	Pacific-10	18–10	12–6	10
University of Utah	Mountain West	23–7	11–3	11
Vanderbilt University	Southeastern	20–12	6–8	9
University of Virginia	Atlantic Coast	23–8	13–3	4
Western Kentucky University	Sun Belt	21–9	13–3	10

Bids by conference

Thirty conferences earned an automatic bid. In fifteen cases, the automatic bid was the only representative from the conference. Thirty-four additional at-large teams were selected from fifteen of the conferences.^[10]

Bids	Conference	Teams
6	Big 12	Iowa St., Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech
6	Southeastern	Tennessee, Auburn, Georgia, LSU, Mississippi St., Vanderbilt
5	Atlantic Coast	Duke, Clemson, North Carolina, North Carolina St., Virginia
4	Big East	Connecticut, Boston College, Notre Dame, Rutgers
4	Big Ten	Purdue, Illinois, Michigan, Penn St.
4	Pacific-10	Oregon, Arizona, Stanford, UCLA
3	Atlantic 10	Xavier, George Washington, St. Joseph's
3	Conference USA	Tulane, Marquette, UAB
2	America East	Vermont, Maine
2	Missouri Valley	Drake, Missouri St.
2	Mountain West	BYU, Utah
2	Northeast	St. Francis Pa., St. Peter's
2	Sun Belt	Louisiana Tech, Western Kentucky
2	West Coast	San Diego, Pepperdine
2	Western Athletic	Rice, SMU
1	Big Sky	Montana
1	Big South	Liberty
1	Big West	UC Santa Barb.
1	Colonial	Old Dominion
1	Horizon	Green Bay
1	Ivy	Dartmouth
1	Mid-American	Kent St.
1	Mid-Continent	Youngstown St.
1	Mid-Eastern	Hampton.
1	Ohio Valley	Tennessee Tech
1	Patriot	Holy Cross
1	Southern	Furman
1	Southland	Stephen F. Austin
1	Southwestern	Alcorn St.
1	Trans America	Campbell

2000 NCAA tournament schedule and venues

Baton Rouge

West Lafayette

Storrs

Durham

Notre Dame

Knoxville

Lubbock

Charlottesville

Norfolk

Ruston

Ames

State College

Athens

Piscataway

Eugene

Santa Barbara

2000 NCAA NCAA first and second round venues

Richmond

Memphis

Kansas City

Portland

Philadelphia

2000 NCAA regionals and Final Four

In 2000, the field remained at 64 teams. The teams were seeded, and assigned to four geographic regions, with seeds 1-16 in each region. In Round 1, seeds 1 and 16 faced each other, as well as seeds 2 and 15, seeds 3 and 14, seeds 4 and 13, seeds 5 and 12, seeds 6 and 11, seeds 7 and 10, and seeds 8 and 9. In the first two rounds, the top four seeds were given the opportunity to host the first-round game. In most cases, the higher seed accepted the opportunity. The exception:

• Third seeded Mississippi State was unable to host, so sixth-seeded Oregon hosted three first- and second-round games

First and Second rounds

The following lists the region, host school, venue and the sixteen first- and second-round locations:^[11]

• March 17 and 19
  • East Region
    • Pete Maravich Assembly Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (Host: Louisiana State University)
    • Harry A. Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, Connecticut (Host: University of Connecticut)
  • Mideast Region
    • Joyce Center, Notre Dame, Indiana (Host: University of Notre Dame)
    • University Hall, Charlottesville, Virginia (Host: University of Virginia)
  • Midwest Region
    • Hilton Coliseum, Ames, Iowa (Host: Iowa State University)
    • Bryce Jordan Center, State College, Pennsylvania (Host: Pennsylvania State University)
  • West Region
    • Louis Brown Athletic Center, Piscataway, New Jersey (Host: Rutgers University)
    • McArthur Court, Eugene, Oregon (Host: University of Oregon)
• March 18 and 20
  • East Region
    • Mackey Arena, West Lafayette, Indiana (Host: Purdue University)
    • Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, North Carolina (Host: Duke University)
  • Mideast Region
    • Thompson–Boling Arena, Knoxville, Tennessee (Host: University of Tennessee)
    • United Spirit Arena, Lubbock, Texas (Host: Texas Tech University)
  • Midwest Region
    • Old Dominion University Fieldhouse, Norfolk, Virginia (Host: Old Dominion University)
    • Thomas Assembly Center, Ruston, Louisiana (Host: Louisiana Tech University)
  • West Region
    • Stegeman Coliseum, Athens, Georgia (Host: University of Georgia)
    • UC Santa Barbara Events Center, Santa Barbara, California (Host: University of California, Santa Barbara)

Regional semifinals and finals

The Regionals, named for the general location, were held from March 25 to March 27 at these sites:

• March 25 and 27
  • East Regional, Siegel Center, Richmond, Virginia (Host: Virginia Commonwealth University)
  • Mideast Regional, Pyramid Arena, Memphis, Tennessee (Host: University of Memphis)
  • Midwest Regional, Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Missouri (Host: University of Kansas)
  • West Regional, Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Portland, Oregon (Host: Portland State University)

Each regional winner advanced to the Final Four held March 31 and April 2 in Philadelphia at the Wells Fargo Center (Co-hosts: St. Joseph's University and University of Pennsylvania)

Bids by state

The sixty-four teams came from thirty-three states, plus Washington, D.C. Two states, California and Texas, had the most teams with five bids. Seventeen states did not have any teams receiving bids.^[10]

NCAA Women's basketball Tournament invitations by state 2000

Bids	State	Teams
5	California	San Diego, UC Santa Barb., Pepperdine, Stanford, UCLA
5	Texas	Rice, Stephen F. Austin, SMU, Texas, Texas Tech
4	North Carolina	Campbell, Duke, North Carolina, North Carolina St.
4	Virginia	Hampton., Liberty, Old Dominion, Virginia
3	Louisiana	Louisiana Tech, Tulane, LSU
3	Ohio	Kent St., Xavier, Youngstown St.
3	Tennessee	Tennessee, Tennessee Tech, Vanderbilt
2	Alabama	Auburn, UAB
2	Indiana	Purdue, Notre Dame
2	Iowa	Drake, Iowa St.
2	Massachusetts	Holy Cross, Boston College
2	Mississippi	Alcorn St., Mississippi St.
2	New Jersey	St. Peter's, Rutgers
3	Pennsylvania	Penn St., St. Joseph's, St Francis
2	South Carolina	Furman, Clemson
2	Utah	BYU, Utah
2	Wisconsin	Green Bay, Marquette
1	Arizona	Arizona
1	Connecticut	Connecticut
1	District of Columbia	George Washington
1	Georgia	Georgia
1	Illinois	Illinois
1	Kansas	Kansas
1	Kentucky	Western Kỳ.
1	Maine	Maine
1	Michigan	Michigan
1	Missouri	Missouri St.
1	Montana	Montana
1	Nebraska	Nebraska
1	New Hampshire	Dartmouth
1	Oklahoma	Oklahoma
1	Oregon	Oregon
1	Vermont	Vermont

Brackets

Data source^[12]

* – Denotes overtime period

East regional – Richmond, Virginia

	First round March 17–18					Second round March 19–20					Regional semifinals March 25					Regional finals March 27
	1	Connecticut	116
	16	Hampton	45
						1	Connecticut	83
	Storrs, Connecticut – Fri/Sun
						9	Clemson	45
	8	Drake	50
	9	Clemson	64
											1	Connecticut	102
											5	Oklahoma	80
	5	Oklahoma	86
	12	BYU	81
						5	Oklahoma	76
	West Lafayette, Indiana – Sat/Mon
						4	Purdue	74
	4	Purdue	70
	13	Dartmouth	66
																1	Connecticut	86
																3	LSU	71
	6	Xavier	72
	11	Stephen F. Austin	73
						11	Stephen F. Austin	45
	Baton Rouge, Louisiana – Fri/Sun
						3	LSU	57
	3	LSU	77
	14	Liberty	54
											3	LSU	79
											2	Duke	66
	7	Marquette	65
	10	Western Kentucky	68
						10	Western Kentucky	70
	Durham, North Carolina – Sat/Mon
						2	Duke	90
	2	Duke	71
	15	Campbell	42

Midwest regional – Kansas City, Missouri

	First round March 17–18					Second round March 19–20					Regional semifinals March 25					Regional finals March 27
	1	Louisiana Tech	95
	16	Alcorn State	53
						1	Louisiana Tech	66
	Ruston, Louisiana – Sat/Mon
						9	Vanderbilt	65
	8	Kansas	69
	9	Vanderbilt	71**
											1	Louisiana Tech	86
											4	Old Dominion	74
	5	NC State	63
	12	SMU	64
						12	SMU	76
	Norfolk, Virginia – Sat/Mon
						4	Old Dominion	96
	4	Old Dominion	94
	13	Green Bay	85
																1	Louisiana Tech	65
																2	Penn State	86
	6	Illinois	73
	11	Utah	58
						6	Illinois	68
	Ames, Iowa – Fri/Sun
						3	Iowa State	79
	3	Iowa State	92
	14	St. Francis (PA)	63
											3	Iowa State	65
											2	Penn State	66
	7	Auburn	78
	10	Southwest Missouri State	74
						7	Auburn	69
	State College, Pennsylvania – Fri/Sun
						2	Penn State	75
	2	Penn State	83
	15	Youngstown State	63

Mideast regional – Memphis, Tennessee

	First round March 17–18					Second round March 19–20					Regional semifinals March 25					Regional finals March 27
	1	Tennessee	90
	16	Furman	38
						1	Tennessee	75
	Knoxville, Tennessee – Sat/Mon
						8	Arizona	60
	8	Arizona	73
	9	Kent State	61
											1	Tennessee	77
											4	Virginia	56
	5	Boston College	93
	12	Nebraska	76
						5	Boston College	70
	Charlottesville, Virginia – Fri/Sun
						4	Virginia	74
	4	Virginia	74
	13	Pepperdine	62
																1	Tennessee	57
																3	Texas Tech	44
	6	Tulane	65
	11	Vermont	60
						6	Tulane	59
	Lubbock, Texas – Sat/Mon
						3	Texas Tech	76
	3	Texas Tech	83
	14	Tennessee Tech	54
											3	Texas Tech	69
											2	Notre Dame	65
	7	George Washington	79
	10	UCLA	72
						7	George Washington	60
	Notre Dame, Indiana – Fri/Sun
						2	Notre Dame	95
	2	Notre Dame	87
	15	San Diego	61

West regional – Portland, Oregon

	First round March 17–18					Second round March 19–20					Regional semifinals March 25					Regional finals March 27
	1	Georgia	74
	16	Montana	46
						1	Georgia	83
	Athens, Georgia – Sat/Mon
						9	Stanford	64
	8	Michigan	74
	9	Stanford	81*
											1	Georgia	83
											5	North Carolina	57
	5	North Carolina	62
	12	Maine	57
						5	North Carolina	83
	Santa Barbara, California – Sat/Mon
						13	Rice	50
	4	UC Santa Barbara	64
	13	Rice	67
																1	Georgia	51
																2	Rutgers	59
	6	Oregon	79
	11	UAB	80*
						11	UAB	78
	Eugene, Oregon – Fri/Sun
						3	Mississippi St.	72
	3	Mississippi State	94
	14	St. Peter's	60
											11	UAB	45
											2	Rutgers	60
	7	Texas	48
	10	St. Joseph's	69
						10	St. Joseph's	39
	Piscataway, New Jersey – Fri/Sun
						2	Rutgers	59
	2	Rutgers	91
	15	Holy Cross	70

Final Four – Philadelphia

	National semifinals March 31					National championship April 2
	E1	Connecticut	89
	MW2	Penn St.	67
						E1	Connecticut	71
						ME1	Tennessee	52
	ME1	Tennessee	64
	W2	Rutgers	54

Record by conference

Seventeen conferences had more than one bid, or at least one win in NCAA Tournament play:

Conference	# of Bids	Record	Win %	Round of 32	Sweet Sixteen	Elite Eight	Final Four	Championship Game
Southeastern	6	14–6	.700	6	3	3	1	1
Big 12	6	7–6	.538	3	3	1	–	–
Atlantic Coast	5	7–5	.583	4	3	–	–	–
Big East	4	13–3	.813	4	3	2	2	1
Big Ten	4	6–4	.600	3	1	1	1	–
Pacific-10	4	2–4	.333	2	–	–	–	–
Conference USA	3	3–3	.500	2	1	–	–	–
Atlantic 10	3	2–3	.400	2	–	–	–	–
Sun Belt	2	4–2	.667	2	1	1	–	–
Western Athletic	2	2–2	.500	2	–	–	–	–
America East	2	0–2	–	–	–	–	–	–
Missouri Valley	2	0–2	–	–	–	–	–	–
Mountain West	2	0–2	–	–	–	–	–	–
Northeast	2	0–2	–	–	–	–	–	–
West Coast	2	0–2	–	–	–	–	–	–
Colonial	1	2–1	.667	1	1	–	–	–
Southland	1	1–1	.500	1	–	–	–	–

Thirteen conferences went 0-1: Big Sky Conference, Big South Conference, Big West Conference, Horizon League, Ivy League, MAC, Mid-Continent, MEAC, Ohio Valley Conference, Patriot League, Southern Conference, SWAC, and Trans America

All-Tournament team

• Shea Ralph, Connecticut
• Svetlana Abrosimova, Connecticut
• Sue Bird, Connecticut
• Asjha Jones, Connecticut
• Tamika Catchings, Tennessee ^[10]

Game officials

• Scott Yarbrough (semifinal)
• Ron Dressander (semifinal)
• Carla Fujimoto (semifinal)
• Bob Trammel (semifinal)
• Wesley Dean (semifinal)
• Bob Trammel (semifinal)
• Sally Bell (final)
• Dennis DeMayo (final)
• Art Bomengen (final) ^[10]

See also

• 2000 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
• 2000 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament
• 2000 NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament
• 2000 NAIA Division I women's basketball tournament
• 2000 NAIA Division II women's basketball tournament

Notes

1. Gregory Cooper. "2000 NCAA National Championship Tournament". Archived from the original on October 20, 2009. Retrieved April 16, 2007.
2. "CHN Basketball History: Most Outstanding Player". Archived from the original on January 25, 2008. Retrieved April 16, 2007.
3. Hirsley, Michael (April 1, 2000). "Catchings Rebounds In Every Way For Tennessee Women". Chicage Tribune. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
4. GUSTKEY, EARL (April 1, 2000). "Connecticut Bullies Past Penn State, 89-67". LA Times. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
5. ROBBINS, LIZ (April 2, 2000). "N.C.A.A. BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT; UConn-Tennessee: Game 3 Today Is What Counts". New York Times. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
6. GUSTKEY, EARL (April 3, 2000). "Connecticut Women Rule". LA Times. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
7. "Best ever?". CNN SI. April 3, 2000. Archived from the original on August 16, 2000. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
8. "Connecticut 71, Tennessee 52". CNN SI. April 3, 2000. Archived from the original on June 16, 2013. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
9. Shipley, Amy (April 3, 2000). "In Title Roll, Connecticut Routs Tennessee, 71-52". Washington Post. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
10. Nixon, Rick. "Official 2022 NCAA Women's Final Four Records Book" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
11. "Attendance and Sites" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
12. "Official 2012 NCAA Women's Final Four Records Book". NCAA. February 2012. Retrieved April 17, 2012.