2002 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament

The 2002 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament concluded on March 31, 2002 when Connecticut (aka UConn) won the national title. The Final Four was held at the Alamodome in San Antonio on March 29–31, 2002. UConn, coached by Geno Auriemma, defeated Oklahoma 82-70 in the championship game.

2002 NCAA Division I
women's basketball tournament

2002 Final Four logo
Teams	64
Finals site	Alamodome San Antonio, Texas
Champions	Connecticut Huskies (3rd title, 3rd title game, 6th Final Four)
Runner-up	Oklahoma Sooners (1st title game, 1st Final Four)
Semifinalists	Tennessee Lady Volunteers (13th Final Four) Duke Blue Devils (2nd Final Four)
Winning coach	Geno Auriemma (3rd title)
MOP	Swin Cash (Connecticut)
NCAA Division I women's tournaments «2001 2003»

Notable events

After wins in the first three rounds, Connecticut faced Old Dominion in the Mideast regional finals. The opening 16 minutes were described as "near-perfect", as the Huskies hit over 90% of their shots (19 of 21) and too had a 49–28 lead. That 21 point margin would match the final margin, as the Huskies would move on to the Final Four. Sue Bird scored 26 points, a career high, and eleven assist. The team recorded 25 assists, which brought their season total to 811, a new NCAA season record.^[1]

In the other three regions all the number one seeds, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Duke all advanced to the Final Four. A dozen years earlier, Oklahoma attempted to eliminate the women's basketball program, but now the program had advanced to its first Final Four, and faced Duke in one semifinal game. Duke opened the game with a 13–7 run, but the Sooners responded with 12 consecutive points. Oklahoma managed to get to a 17-point lead in the second half, but Duke cut the lead to only two points with just under eight minutes to go. Oklahoma responded with a 16–3 run to take a decisive lead, and won the game 86–71 to head to the national championship game.^[2]

In the other semifinal, UConn faced Tennessee. Although Tennessee scored first, but that would be the last time they would lead. The Huskies responded, opened up an early lead, and extended it to 13 points at halftime. Connecticut extended the lead in the beginning of the second half, with a 24–11 run, and went on to hold the Lady Vols to 31% shooting. No Tennessee player scored in double digits; Kara Lawson led the team with nine points. The win extended the perfect season by Connecticut to 38 games, while marking the fourth time in the last five meetings that the Huskies had beaten the Lady Vols.^[3][4]

In the championship game, the Sooners were out rebounded and outshot, but did not give up. Oklahoma did not give up a single three point shot, the first time that has occurred in an NCAA title game, and the last time that would happen to the Connecticut team in any game for over a decade. With a minute and a half to go, the Huskies held a lead, but only six points. UConn had the ball, and despite having four seniors on the floor who would go 1,2 4 and 6 in the 2002 WNBA Draft, gave the ball to sophomore Diana Taurasi, who backed down Oklahoma's Stacy Dales then took a turn around jumper then went in, while Dales fouled Taurasi to foul out of the game. Taurasi hit the foul shot to extend the lead to nine points, and the Huskies would go on to be the first team in history to record two undefeated seasons, winning their third national championship.^[5]

The championship game attendance of 29,619 set the still-standing attendance record for an official game in women's basketball history. A 2023 exhibition between Iowa and DePaul held at Kinnick Stadium, home to Iowa football, had an attendance of 55,646.^[6]

Tournament records

• Fewest turnovers – Louisiana Tech committed only three turnovers in the East regional first-round game against UC Santa Barbara, setting the record for fewest turnovers in an NCAA tournament game. Unfortunately for the Lady Techsters, the low number of turnovers could not prevent UCSB from winning.
• Free throws – Sue Bird hit 20 free throws out of 20 attempts, one of several players to hit 100% of their free throws in an NCAA tournament; 20 is the largest such total.
• Assists – Connecticut recorded 128 assists, setting the record for most assists in an NCAA tournament
• Blocks – Connecticut recorded 53 blocks, setting the record for blocks in an NCAA tournament^[7]

Qualifying teams – automatic

Sixty-four teams were selected to participate in the 2002 NCAA Tournament. Thirty-one conferences were eligible for an automatic bid to the 2002 NCAA tournament.^[7]

Automatic Bids
		Record
Qualifying School	Conference	Regular Season	Conference	Seed
Arizona State University	Pac-10	24–8	12–6	9
Austin Peay State University	Ohio Valley Conference	19–11	9–7	15
Bucknell University	Patriot League	21–9	11–3	15
Brigham Young University	Mountain West	22–8	10–4	11
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga	Southern Conference	23–7	14–4	13
University of Cincinnati	Conference USA	26–4	11–3	6
University of Connecticut	Big East	33–0	16–0	1
Creighton University	Missouri Valley Conference	24–6	16–2	12
Duke University	ACC	27–3	16–0	1
Florida International University	Sun Belt Conference	26–5	13–1	5
Georgia State University	Atlantic Sun Conference	21–9	14–6	15
University of Wisconsin–Green Bay	Horizon League	24–6	15–1	13
University of Hartford	America East	16–14	9–7	16
Harvard University	Ivy League	22–5	13–1	13
Indiana University Bloomington	Big Ten	17–13	8–8	9
Kent State University	MAC	20–10	13–3	14
Liberty University	Big South Conference	23–7	13–1	14
Louisiana Tech University	WAC	25–4	17–1	5
Norfolk State University	MEAC	22–8	13–5	16
Oakland University	Mid-Continent	17–13	8–6	16
University of Oklahoma	Big 12	27–3	14–2	1
Old Dominion University	Colonial	25–5	18–0	7
Pepperdine University	West Coast Conference	23–7	11–3	8
Southern University	SWAC	26–4	17–1	14
Saint Francis University	Northeast Conference	19–11	14–4	16
Saint Peter's College	MAAC	25–5	15–3	11
Stephen F. Austin State University	Southland	24–5	19–1	13
Temple University	Atlantic 10	20–10	12–4	14
University of California, Santa Barbara	Big West Conference	25–5	16–0	12
Vanderbilt University	SEC	27–6	10–4	1
Weber State University	Big Sky Conference	22–8	11–3	15

Qualifying teams – at-large

Thirty-three additional teams were selected to complete the sixty-four invitations.^[7]

At-large Bids
		Record
Qualifying School	Conference	Regular Season	Conference	Seed
University of Arkansas	Southeastern	19–11	7–7	6
Baylor University	Big 12	26–5	12–4	2
Boston College	Big East	23–7	12–4	5
Clemson University	Atlantic Coast	17–11	9–7	11
University of Colorado Boulder	Big 12	21–9	11–5	3
Colorado State University	Mountain West	24–6	12–2	7
Drake University	Missouri Valley	23–7	15–3	7
University of Florida	Southeastern	18–10	8–6	6
University of Georgia	Southeastern	19–10	6–8	10
University of Iowa	Big Ten	17–10	10–6	9
Iowa State University	Big 12	23–8	9–7	3
Kansas State University	Big 12	24–7	11–5	3
Louisiana State University	Southeastern	17–11	8–6	6
University of Minnesota	Big Ten	21–7	11–5	5
Mississippi State University	Southeastern	18–11	8–6	12
University of New Mexico	Mountain West	22–8	10–4	10
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	Atlantic Coast	24–8	11–5	4
University of Notre Dame	Big East	19–9	13–3	7
Pennsylvania State University	Big Ten	21–11	11–5	4
Purdue University	Big Ten	23–5	13–3	2
Santa Clara University	West Coast	21–9	9–5	11
University of South Carolina	Southeastern	22–6	10–4	3
Stanford University	Pacific-10	30–2	18–0	2
Syracuse University	Big East	18–12	9–7	10
Texas Christian University	Conference USA	23–6	12–2	8
University of Tennessee	Southeastern	25–4	13–1	2
University of Texas at Austin	Big 12	20–9	10–6	4
Texas Tech University	Big 12	18–11	8–8	4
Tulane University	Conference USA	23–10	8–6	10
University of Nevada, Las Vegas	Mountain West	23–7	9–5	12
Villanova University	Big East	19–10	12–4	9
University of Virginia	Atlantic Coast	17–12	9–7	8
University of Wisconsin–Madison	Big Ten	19–11	8–8	8

Bids by conference

Thirty-one conferences earned an automatic bid. In twenty-one cases, the automatic bid was the only representative from the conference. Thirty-three additional at-large teams were selected from ten of the conferences.^[7]

Bids	Conference	Teams
8	Southeastern	Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Tennessee
7	Big 12	Oklahoma, Baylor, Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas State, Texas, Texas Tech
6	Big Ten	Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Penn State, Purdue, Wisconsin
5	Big East	Connecticut, Boston College, Notre Dame, Syracuse, Villanova
4	Atlantic Coast	Duke, Clemson, North Carolina, Virginia
4	Mountain West	BYU, Colorado State, New Mexico, UNLV
3	Conference USA	Cincinnati, TCU, Tulane
2	Missouri Valley	Creighton, Drake
2	Pacific-10	Arizona State, Stanford
2	West Coast	Pepperdine, Santa Clara
1	America East	Hartford
1	Atlantic 10	Temple
1	Atlantic Sun	Georgia State
1	Big Sky	Weber State
1	Big South	Liberty
1	Big West	UC Santa Barbara
1	Colonial	Old Dominion
1	Horizon	Green Bay
1	Ivy	Harvard
1	Metro Atlantic	Saint Peter’s
1	Mid-American	Kent State
1	Mid-Continent	Oakland
1	Mid-Eastern	Norfolk State
1	Northeast	Saint Francis (PA)
1	Ohio Valley	Austin Peay
1	Patriot	Bucknell
1	Southern	Chattanooga
1	Southland	Stephen F. Austin
1	Southwestern	Southern U.
1	Sun Belt	FIU
1	Western Athletic	Louisiana Tech

2002 NCAA tournament schedule and venues

Austin

Durham

Waco

Columbia

West Lafayette

Storrs

State College

Manhattan

Chapel Hill

Knoxville

Nashville

Ames

Norman

Boulder

Stanford

Lubbock

2002 NCAA NCAA first and second round venues

Ames

Raleigh

Milwaukee

Boise

San Antonio

2002 NCAA regionals and Final Four

In 2002, 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 all cases, the higher seed accepted the opportunity.^[8]

First and Second rounds

The following table lists the region, host school, venue and the sixteen first and second round locations:

• March 15 and 17
  • East Region
    • Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas (Host: University of Texas at Austin)
    • Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, North Carolina (Host: Duke University)
    • Ferrell Center, Waco, Texas (Host: Baylor University)
  • Mideast Region
    • Bryce Jordan Center, State College, Pennsylvania (Host: Pennsylvania State University)
    • Bramlage Coliseum, Manhattan, Kansas (Host: Kansas State University)
  • Midwest Region
    • Thompson–Boling Arena, Knoxville, Tennessee (Host: University of Tennessee)
  • West Region
    • CU Events Center, Boulder, Colorado (Host: University of Colorado Boulder)
    • United Spirit Arena, Lubbock, Texas (Host: Texas Tech University)
• March 16 and 18
  • East Region
    • Carolina Coliseum, Columbia, South Carolina (Host: University of South Carolina)
  • Mideast Region
    • Mackey Arena, West Lafayette, Indiana (Host: Purdue University)
    • Harry A. Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, Connecticut (Host: University of Connecticut)
  • Midwest Region
    • Carmichael Auditorium, Chapel Hill, North Carolina (Host: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
    • Memorial Gymnasium, Nashville, Tennessee (Host: Vanderbilt University)
    • Hilton Coliseum, Ames, Iowa (Host: Iowa State University)
  • West Region
    • Lloyd Noble Center, Norman, Oklahoma (Host: University of Oklahoma)
    • Maples Pavilion, Stanford, California (Host: Stanford University)

Regional semifinals and finals

The Regionals, named for the general location, were held from March 23 to March 25 at these sites:

• March 23 and 25
  • Midwest Regional, Hilton Coliseum, Ames, Iowa (Host: Iowa State University)
  • East Regional, Raleigh Entertainment & Sports Arena, Raleigh, North Carolina (Host: North Carolina State University)
  • Mideast Regional, U.S. Cellular Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Host: Marquette University)
  • West Regional, BSU Pavilion, Boise, Idaho (Host: Boise State University)

Each regional winner advanced to the Final Four held March 29 and March 31 in San Antonio, Texas at the Alamodome, (Host: University of Texas at San Antonio)

Bids by state

The sixty-four teams came from thirty states. Texas had the most teams with five bids. Twenty states did not have any teams receiving bids.^[7]

NCAA Women's basketball Tournament invitations by state 2002

Bids	State	Teams
5	Pennsylvania	Bucknell, Temple, Penn State, Saint Francis, Villanova
5	Texas	Stephen F. Austin, Baylor, TCU, Texas, Texas Tech
4	California	Pepperdine, UC Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Stanford
4	Louisiana	Louisiana Tech, Southern U., LSU, Tulane
4	Tennessee	Austin Peay, Chattanooga, Vanderbilt, Tennessee
4	Virginia	Liberty, Norfolk State, Old Dominion, Virginia
3	Indiana	Indiana, Notre Dame, Purdue
3	Iowa	Drake, Iowa, Iowa State
2	Colorado	Colorado, Colorado State
2	Connecticut	Connecticut, Hartford
2	Florida	FIU, Florida
2	Georgia	Georgia State, Georgia
2	Massachusetts	Harvard, Boston College
2	North Carolina	Duke, North Carolina
2	Ohio	Cincinnati, Kent State
2	South Carolina	Clemson, South Carolina
2	Utah	BYU, Weber State
2	Wisconsin	Green Bay, Wisconsin
1	Arizona	Arizona State
1	Arkansas	Arkansas
1	Kansas	Kansas State
1	Michigan	Oakland
1	Minnesota	Minnesota
1	Mississippi	Mississippi State
1	Nebraska	Creighton
1	Nevada	UNLV
1	New Jersey	Saint Peter’s
1	New Mexico	New Mexico
1	New York	Syracuse
1	Oklahoma	Oklahoma

Brackets

Data Source^[9]

* – Denotes overtime period

Mideast Region - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

	First round March 15–16					Second round March 17–18					Regional semifinals March 23					Regional finals March 25
	1	Connecticut	86
	16	Saint Francis (PA)	37
						1	Connecticut	86
	Storrs, Connecticut – Sat/Mon
						9	Iowa	48
	8	Virginia	62
	9	Iowa	69
											1	Connecticut	82
											4	Penn State	64
	5	Florida International	73
	12	Creighton	58
						5	Florida International	79
	State College, Pennsylvania – Fri/Sun
						4	Penn State	96
	4	Penn State	82
	13	Chattanooga	67
																1	Connecticut	85
																7	Old Dominion	64
	6	Arkansas	78
	11	Clemson	68
						6	Arkansas	68
	Manhattan, Kansas – Fri/Sun
						3	Kansas State	82
	3	Kansas State	93
	14	Kent State	65
											3	Kansas State	62
											7	Old Dominion	82
	7	Old Dominion	68
	10	Georgia	54
						7	Old Dominion	74*
	West Lafayette, Indiana – Sat/Mon
						2	Purdue	70
	2	Purdue	80
	15	Austin Peay	49

Midwest Region - Ames, Iowa

	First round March 15–16					Second round March 17–18					Regional semifinals March 23					Regional finals March 25
	1	Vanderbilt	63
	16	Oakland	38
						1	Vanderbilt	61
	Nashville, Tennessee – Sat/Mon
						9	Arizona State	35
	8	Wisconsin	70
	9	Arizona State	73
											1	Vanderbilt	70
											4	North Carolina	61
	5	Minnesota	71
	12	UNLV	54
						5	Minnesota	69
	Chapel Hill, North Carolina – Sat/Mon
						4	North Carolina	72
	4	North Carolina	85
	13	Harvard	58
																1	Vanderbilt	63
																2	Tennessee	68
	6	Florida	52
	11	BYU	90
						11	BYU	75
	Ames, Iowa – Sat/Mon
						3	Iowa State	69
	3	Iowa State	72
	14	Temple	57
											11	BYU	57
											2	Tennessee	68
	7	Notre Dame	71
	10	New Mexico	61
						7	Notre Dame	50
	Knoxville, Tennessee – Fri/Sun
						2	Tennessee	89
	2	Tennessee	98
	15	Georgia State	68

West Region - Boise, Idaho

	First round March 15–16					Second round March 17–18					Regional semifinals March 23					Regional finals March 25
	1	Oklahoma	84
	16	Hartford	52
						1	Oklahoma	66
	Norman, Oklahoma – Sat/Mon
						9	Villanova	53
	8	Pepperdine	46
	9	Villanova	67
											1	Oklahoma	72
											4	Texas Tech	62
	5	Boston College	59
	12	Mississippi State	65
						12	Mississippi State	55
	Lubbock, Texas – Fri/Sun
						4	Texas Tech	77
	4	Texas Tech	84
	13	Stephen F. Austin	63
																1	Oklahoma	94
																3	Colorado	60
	6	LSU	84
	11	Santa Clara	78
						6	LSU	58
	Boulder, Colorado – Fri/Sun
						3	Colorado	69
	3	Colorado	88
	14	Southern	61
											3	Colorado	62
											2	Stanford	59
	7	Colorado State	69
	10	Tulane	73
						10	Tulane	55
	Stanford, California – Sat/Mon
						2	Stanford	77
	2	Stanford	76
	15	Weber State	51

East Region - Raleigh, North Carolina

	First round March 15–16					Second round March 17–18					Regional semifinals March 23					Regional finals March 25
	1	Duke	95
	16	Norfolk State	48
						1	Duke	76
	Durham, North Carolina – Fri/Sun
						8	TCU	66
	8	TCU	55
	9	Indiana	45
											1	Duke	62
											4	Texas	46
	5	Louisiana Tech	56
	12	UC Santa Barbara	57
						12	UC Santa Barbara	60
	Austin, Texas – Fri/Sun
						4	Texas	76
	4	Texas	60
	13	Green Bay	55
																1	Duke	77
																3	South Carolina	68
	6	Cincinnati	76*
	11	Saint Peter's	63
						6	Cincinnati	56
	Columbia, South Carolina – Sat/Mon
						3	South Carolina	75
	3	South Carolina	69
	14	Liberty	61
											3	South Carolina	79
											7	Drake	65
	7	Drake	87
	10	Syracuse	69
						7	Drake	76
	Waco, Texas – Fri/Sun
						2	Baylor	72
	2	Baylor	80
	15	Bucknell	56

Final Four – San Antonio, Texas

	National semifinals March 29					National championship March 31
	ME1	Connecticut	79
	MW2	Tennessee	56
						ME1	Connecticut	82
						W1	Oklahoma	70
	W1	Oklahoma	86
	E1	Duke	71

E-East; ME-Mideast; MW-Midwest; W-West

Record by conference

Conference	# of Bids	Record	Win %	Round of 32	Sweet Sixteen	Elite Eight	Final Four	Championship Game
Southeastern	8	13–8	.619	6	3	3	1	0
Big 12	7	16–7	.696	7	5	2	1	1
Big Ten	6	5–6	.455	4	1	0	0	0
Big East	5	8–4	.667	3	1	1	1	1
Atlantic Coast	4	6–4	.600	2	2	1	1	0
Mountain West	4	2–4	.333	1	1	0	0	0
Conference USA	3	3–3	.500	3	0	0	0	0
Pacific-10	2	3–2	.600	2	1	0	0	0
Missouri Valley	2	2–2	.500	1	1	0	0	0
West Coast	2	0–2	.000	0	0	0	0	0
Colonial	1	3–1	.750	1	1	1	0	0
Big West	1	1–1	.500	1	0	0	0	0
Sun Belt	1	1–1	.500	1	0	0	0	0

Eighteen conferences went 0–1: America East, Atlantic 10, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Horizon League, Ivy League, MAAC, MAC, Mid-Continent, MEAC, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot League, Southern, Southland, SWAC, and WAC

All-Tournament team

• Swin Cash, Connecticut
• Sue Bird, Connecticut
• Asjha Jones, Connecticut
• Stacey Dales, Oklahoma
• Rosalind Ross, Oklahoma ^[7]

Game officials

• Dennis DeMayo (semifinal)
• Barb Smith (semifinal)
• Bryan Enterline (semifinal)
• Sally Bell (semifinal)
• Lawson Newton (semifinal)
• Angie Lewis (semifinal)
• Scott Yarbrough (final)
• Melissa Barlow (final)
• Lisa Mattingly (final) ^[7]

See also

• NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship
• 2002 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
• 2002 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament

Notes

1. Jauss, Bill (March 26, 2002). "Huskies flying behind Bird - Connecticut nears perfection". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
2. Kent, Milton (March 30, 2002). "Okla. rockets by Duke, 86-71". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
3. Kent, Milton (March 30, 2002). "No. 1 UConn stays perfect, thumps Tenn". The Baltimore Sun. Tribune Company. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
4. TERRY, MIKE (March 30, 2002). "Huskies Remove Suspense". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
5. TERRY, MIKE (April 1, 2002). "Huskies Remove Suspense". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
6. "Iowa draws 55,646 to set record for women's basketball game". ESPN.com. Associated Press. October 15, 2023. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
7. Nixon, Rick. "Official 2022 NCAA Women's Final Four Records Book" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
8. "Attendance and Sites" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
9. "Official 2012 NCAA Women's Final Four Records Book". NCAA. February 2012. Retrieved April 17, 2012.