NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament

The NCAA Division III women's basketball championship is the annual tournament to determine the national champions of women's NCAA Division III collegiate basketball in the United States. It was held annually from 1982, when the NCAA began to sponsor women's sports at all three levels, through 2019. No championship was held in 2020 or 2021 due to COVID-19 issues.

NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2023 NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament
SportCollege basketball
Founded1982
No. of teams64
CountryNCAA Division III (U.S.)
Most recent
champion(s)		Transylvania (2023)
Official websiteNCAA.com

Washington University in St. Louis is the most successful program with five national titles. The most recent champion is Transylvania.

History

1982 Final Four

Held in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, the 1982 Women's Final Four Basketball Tournament was the first sponsored by the NCAA. Featuring host Elizabethtown College, Clark University (Massachusetts), Pomona College and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, the tournament was played in a classic field house over a three-day period. In the first game of the National Semi-Final Elizabethtown took control right from the tip-off against Clark and easily cruised to a 71–51 victory. In the second game of the Final Four Pomona took the lead early in the game, but UNC Greensboro battled back to tie the game at 56 with six minutes to play. UNC Greensboro then went on a run and pulled away for a 77–66 win. Elizabethtown and UNC Greensboro turned the championship game into an epic battle of lead changes and shifts in momentum. Last second heroics by UNC Greensboro sent the game into overtime, but Elizabethtown came up with the final stop in overtime to win 67–66 in overtime. Television coverage was provided by a fledgling ESPN while exclusive radio coverage was provided by KSPC Radio - Pomona College's tiny KSPC sports broadcasting group with Geoff Willis (Pomona '83) and James Timmerman (Pomona '82) providing the play by play and color. ESPN was so embryonic that the game was broadcast multiple times during the following two weeks and ESPN hired the KSPC Radio staff to help with background and color research about the players and the teams.

Results
NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship
Year Finals Site Arena Championship Game Semifinalists
Winner Score Runner-up
1982
Details		 Elizabethtown, PA Thompson Gymnasium Elizabethtown 67–66
(OT)		 UNC Greensboro Pomona-Pitzer, Clark
1983
Details		 Worcester, MA Kneller Athletics Center North Central (IL) 83–71 Elizabethtown Knoxville, Clark
1984
Details		 Scranton, PA John Long Center Rust 51–49 Elizabethtown Salem St, North Central
1985
Details		 De Pere, WI Schuldes Sports Center Scranton 68–59 New Rochelle Millikin, St. Norbert
1986
Details		 Salem, MA Twohig Gymnasium Salem State 89–85 Bishop (TX) Capital, Rust
1987
Details		 Scranton, PA John Long Center UW–Stevens Point 81–74 Concordia–Moorhead Scranton, Kean
1988
Details		 Moorhead, MN Memorial Auditorium Concordia–Moorhead 65–57 St. John Fisher UNC-Greensboro, Southern Maine
1989
Details		 Danville, KY Alumni Gymnasium Elizabethtown 66–65 Cal State Stanislaus Centre, Clarkson
1990
Details		 Holland, MI Holland Civic Center Hope 65–63 St. John Fisher Heidelberg, Centre
1991
Details		 St. Paul, MN Schoenecker Arena St. Thomas (MN) 73–55 Muskingum Eastern Connecticut, Washington University in St. Louis
1992
Details		 Bethlehem, PA Johnston Hall Alma 79–75 Moravian Luther, Eastern Connecticut St
1993
Details		 Pella, IA Kuyper Gymnasium Central (IA) 71–63 Capital Scranton, St. Benedict
1994
Details		 Eau Claire, WI W.L. Zorn Arena Capital 82–63 Washington University in St. Louis UW-Eau Claire, Wheaton (MA)
1995
Details		 Columbus, OH Alumni Gymnasium Capital 59–55 UW–Oshkosh St. Thomas, Salem State
1996
Details		 Oshkosh, WI Kolf Sports Center UW–Oshkosh 66–50 Mount Union St. Thomas, New York University
1997
Details		 New York City, NY Coles Sports Center NYU 72–70 UW–Eau Claire Capital, Scranton
1998
Details		 Gorham, ME Warren Hill Gymnasium Washington University in St. Louis 77–69 Southern Maine Mount Union, Rowan
1999
Details		 Danbury, CT Stephen Feldman Arena Washington University in St. Louis 74–65 St. Benedict Salem State, Scranton
2000
Details		 Washington University in St. Louis 79–33 Southern Maine St. Thomas, Scranton
2001
Details		 Washington University in St. Louis 67–45 Messiah Ohio Wesleyan, Emmanuel
2002
Details		 Terre Haute, IN Hulbert Arena UW–Stevens Point 67–65 St. Lawrence DePauw, Marymount
2003
Details		 Trinity (TX) 60–58[1] Eastern Connecticut State UW-Eau Claire, Rochester
2004
Details		 Virginia Beach, VA Jane P. Batten Student Center Wilmington (OH) 59–53[2] Bowdoin Rochester, UW–Stevens Point
2005
Details		 Millikin 70–50[3] Randolph–Macon Southern Maine, Scranton
2006
Details		 Springfield, MA Springfield Civic Center Hope 69–56 Southern Maine Scranton, Hardin–Simmons
2007
Details		 DePauw 55–52 Washington University in St. Louis Mary Washington, NYU
2008
Details		 Holland, MI DeVos Fieldhouse Howard Payne 68–54 Messiah UW–Whitewater, Oglethorpe
2009
Details		 George Fox 60–53[4] Washington University in St. Louis TCNJ, Amherst
2010
Details		 Bloomington, IL Shirk Center Washington University in St. Louis 65–59[5] Hope Amherst, Rochester
2011
Details		 Amherst 64–55 Washington University in St. Louis Christopher Newport, Illinois Wesleyan
2012
Details		 Holland, MI DeVos Fieldhouse Illinois Wesleyan 57–48[6] George Fox St. Thomas, Amherst
2013
Details		 DePauw 69–51 UW–Whitewater Williams, Amherst
2014
Details		 Stevens Point, WI Bennett Court at Quandt Fieldhouse FDU–Florham 80–72[7] Whitman UW-Whitewater, Tufts
2015
Details		 Grand Rapids, MI Van Noord Arena Thomas More (vacated)[8] 83–63[9] George Fox Montclair State, Tufts
2016
Details		 Indianapolis, IN[n 1] Bankers Life Fieldhouse[n 1] Thomas More 63–51[11] Tufts Amherst, Wartburg
2017
Details		 Grand Rapids, MI Van Noord Arena Amherst 52–29 Tufts Christopher Newport, St Thomas
2018
Details		 Rochester, MN Mayo Civic Center Amherst[12][13] 65–45 Bowdoin Thomas More, Wartburg
2019[14]

Details

 Salem, VA Cregger Center Thomas More 81–67 Bowdoin Scranton, St. Thomas (MN)
2020
Details		 Columbus, OH Capital University Performance Arena Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021
Details		 Salem, VA Cregger Center
2022
Details		 Pittsburgh, PA UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse Hope 71–58 UW-Whitewater Amherst, Trine
2023
Details		 Dallas, TX[n 2] American Airlines Center Transylvania 57–52 Christopher Newport Smith, Rhode Island College
2024 Columbus, OH Capital University Performance Arena
2025 Salem, VA Cregger Center
2026

Championships
NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament is located in the United States
Washington
Washington
Amherst
Amherst
Hope
Hope
DePauw
DePauw
UWSP
UWSP
Capital
Capital
Elizabethtown
Elizabethtown
TMU
TMU
Transylvania
Transylvania
FDUF
FDUF
IWU
IWU
George Fox
George Fox
Howard Payne
Howard Payne
Trinity
Trinity
Concordia
Concordia
Rust
Rust
Central
Central
St. Thomas
St. Thomas
UWO
UWO
SalemState
Salem
State
NYU
NYU
Millikin
Millikin
Wilmington
Wilmington
Alma
Alma
Scranton
Scranton
North Central
North Central
Schools that have won the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship
5, 4, 3, 2, 1


School Titles Years
Washington University in St. Louis 5 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2010
Amherst 3 2011, 2017, 2018
Hope 3 1990, 2006, 2022
DePauw 2 2007, 2013
Wisconsin–Stevens Point 2 1987, 2002
Capital 2 1994, 1995
Elizabethtown 2 1982, 1989
Thomas More[lower-alpha 1] 2 2016, 2019
Transylvania 1 2023
Fairleigh Dickinson–Florham 1 2014
Illinois Wesleyan 1 2012
George Fox 1 2009
Howard Payne 1 2008
Millikin 1 2005
Wilmington (OH) 1 2004
Trinity (TX) 1 2003
NYU 1 1997
Wisconsin–Oshkosh 1 1996
Central (IA) 1 1993
Alma 1 1992
St. Thomas (MN)[lower-alpha 2] 1 1991
Concordia (Moorhead) 1 1988
Salem State 1 1986
Scranton 1 1985
Rust 1 1984
North Central (IL) 1 1983
  • Schools in italics no longer compete in NCAA Division III.
  1. 2015 championship vacated by Thomas More, which returned to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in July 2019, but rejoined the NCAA in July 2022, that time as a Division II provisional member, albeit on a one-year dual membership with the NAIA.
  2. St. Thomas moved to Division I in July 2021.

Final Fours

Schools in italics no longer compete in NCAA Division III.

Appearances School
10 Washington University in St. Louis
8 Amherst, Scranton
6 St. Thomas (MN)
5 Capital, Southern Maine
4 Elizabethtown, Salem State, Thomas More, Tufts, UW-Whitewater
3 Christopher Newport, DePauw, Eastern Connecticut, George Fox, Hope, NYU, Rochester, UW–Eau Claire, UW–Stevens Point
2 Centre, Clark, Concordia–Moorhead, Illinois Wesleyan, Messiah, Millikin, Mount Union, North Central (IL), Rust, Saint Benedict, St. John Fisher, UNC Greensboro, UW–Oshkosh, Bowdoin, Wartburg

See also

Footnotes
  1. Only the final game was held in Indianapolis. The semifinals were held at Performance Arena at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio.[10]
  2. Only the final game was held in Dallas. The semifinals were held at Oosting Gymnasium on the campus of Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.[15][16]

References
  1. "Wooley's jump shot proves to be game-winner". ESPN. Associated Press. March 22, 2003. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  2. "Lady Quakers win first national title". ESPN. AP. March 21, 2004. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  3. "Ippel leads Millikin with 25 points". ESPN. AP. March 20, 2005. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  4. "George Fox finishes perfect season". ESPN. AP. March 22, 2009. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  5. "Washington University wins fifth Division III title since 1998". ESPN. AP. March 20, 2010. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  6. ESPNBoston.com (March 17, 2012). "Amherst College women lose consolation". Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  7. Bates, Greg (March 22, 2014). "Fairleigh Dickinson-Florham wins NCAA Division 3 women's national championship". Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  8. "D3 team has to vacate a title because Randy Moss' daughter stayed with a coach while recovering from injury". SBNation. Vox Media. November 17, 2016. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
  9. "Thomas More College vs. George Fox U." www.d3hoops.com. March 21, 2015. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  10. "Women's basketball championship play dates decided" (Press release). NCAA. December 15, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  11. "Thomas More caps off second-straight undefeated season with second-straight title". NCAA.com. April 5, 2016. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  12. "Perfect Champions! Amherst Completes Undefeated Season as National Champs". Amherst College. March 17, 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  13. "No ESPN, no endorsement deals, no problem for Amherst College basketball champs". BostonGlobe.com. March 23, 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  14. Sarver, Troy (March 16, 2019). "Division III women's basketball: Thomas More wins national championship". Roanoke Times. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  15. "Combined championships for NCAA basketball planned" (Press release). NCAA. April 24, 2019. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  16. "Future NCAA host site selections through 2026" (Press release). NCAA. October 22, 2020. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
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