2021 WAC women's basketball tournament
The 2021 WAC women's basketball tournament was the postseason women's basketball tournament for the Western Athletic Conference during the 2020–21 season. All tournament games were played at the Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada, March 10–13, 2021. Cal Baptist won the tournament and would have received the WAC's automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA tournament, but, due to transition from Division II to Division I, are ineligible. The WAC automatic bid went to Utah Valley, who finished second in the regular season standings.[1]
| 2021 WAC women's basketball tournament | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Division I |
| Season | 2020–21 |
| Teams | 7 |
| Site | Orleans Arena Paradise, Nevada |
| Champions | California Baptist (1st title) |
| Winning coach | Jarrod Olson (1st title) |
| MVP | Caitlyn Harper (California Baptist) |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| California Baptist* | 14 | – | 0 | 1.000 | 26 | – | 1 | .963 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Utah Valley | 10 | – | 4 | .714 | 13 | – | 6 | .684 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Grand Canyon | 8 | – | 4 | .667 | 18 | – | 7 | .720 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New Mexico State | 6 | – | 6 | .500 | 9 | – | 12 | .429 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Seattle | 6 | – | 8 | .429 | 11 | – | 14 | .440 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tarleton State* | 4 | – | 10 | .286 | 9 | – | 16 | .360 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UTRGV | 2 | – | 8 | .200 | 6 | – | 14 | .300 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chicago State | 0 | – | 10 | .000 | 0 | – | 14 | .000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dixie State* | 0 | – | 0 | – | 1 | – | 2 | .333 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| * ineligible for the 2021 NCAA tournament due to transition period. Dixie State suspended its season on January 6, 2021. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2021 WAC tournament winner As of October 25, 2023 Rankings from AP poll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Seeds
Seven of the 9 teams in the WAC are eligible to compete in the conference tournament for NCAA postseason play. California Baptist is ineligible due to their transition from Division II to Division I, and Dixie State ended their season in January. Teams will be seeded by record within the conference.
| Seed | School | Conference |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | California Baptist | 14–0 |
| 2 | Utah Valley | 10–4 |
| 3 | Grand Canyon | 8–4 |
| 4 | New Mexico State | 6–6 |
| 5 | Seattle | 6–8 |
| 6 | UTRGV | 2–8 |
| 7 | Chicago State | 0–10 |
Schedule and results
| Game | Time | Matchup | Score | Television |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterfinals – Wednesday March 10 | ||||
| 1 | Noon | No. 5 Seattle vs No. 4 New Mexico State | 46–56 | |
| 2 | 2:30 pm | No. 2 Utah Valley vs. No. 7 Chicago State | 61–43 | |
| 3 | 8:30 pm | No. 3 Grand Canyon vs. No. 6 UTRGV | 67–54 | |
| Semifinals – Friday, March 12 | ||||
| 4 | 11:00 am | No. 4 New Mexico State vs. No. 1 California Baptist | 54–79 | |
| 5 | 2:00 pm | No. 2 Utah Valley vs. No. 3 Grand Canyon | 54–57 | |
| Final – Saturday, March 13 | ||||
| 6 | 2:00 pm | No. 1 California Baptist vs. No. 3 Grand Canyon | 78–60 | |
| Game times in PDT. Rankings denote tournament seed. | ||||
Bracket
| Quarterfinals March 10 | Semifinals March 12 | Championship March 13 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | California Baptist | 79 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | New Mexico State | 54 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Seattle | 46 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | New Mexico State | 56 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | California Baptist | 78 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Grand Canyon | 60 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Utah Valley | 61 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Chicago State | 43 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Utah Valley | 54 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Grand Canyon | 57 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Grand Canyon | 67 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | UTRGV | 54 | ||||||||||||