2003 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament

The 2003 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament began on March 22, 2003, and concluded on April 8, 2003, when the Connecticut Huskies (UConn) won their second straight national title. The Final Four was held at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia on April 6–8, 2003. UConn, coached by Geno Auriemma, defeated archrival Tennessee, coached by Pat Summitt, 73–68 in the championship game. UConn's Diana Taurasi was named Most Outstanding Player.

This was the first year of a new format, in which the final game is held on the Tuesday following the men's championship, in contrast to prior years, when it was held on Sunday evening, between the men's semi-final and final. The game now is the final game of the Division 1 collegiate basketball season.

Tournament records

Rebounds – Connecticut recorded 22 rebounds in the Championship game against Tennessee, setting the record for fewest rebounds in an NCAA tournament Championship game.
Free throws – Villanova attempted zero free throws in the Mideast Regional final game against Tennessee, one of only two times a team has attempted zero free throws in an NCAA Regional game
Three-point field goals made – Diana Taurasi made 20 three-point field goals, tying the record for most three-point field goals in an NCAA tournament
Free throws – Tennessee completed 128 free throws, setting the record for made free throws in an NCAA tournament

Qualifying teams – automatic

Sixty-four teams were selected to participate in the 2003 NCAA Tournament. Thirty-one conferences were eligible for an automatic bid to the 2003 NCAA tournament.

Automatic bids
		Record
Qualifying school	Conference	Regular Season	Conference	Seed
Alabama State University	SWAC	20–10	15–3	16
Austin Peay State University	Ohio Valley Conference	27–3	16–0	14
Boston University	America East	16–14	10–6	16
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga	Southern Conference	26–4	16–2	12
Duke University	ACC	31–1	16–0	1
The George Washington University	Atlantic 10	24–6	15–1	7
Georgia State University	Atlantic Sun Conference	20–10	12–4	16
University of Wisconsin–Green Bay	Horizon League	27–3	15–1	8
Hampton University	MEAC	23–8	16–1	15
Harvard University	Ivy League	22–4	14–0	14
College of the Holy Cross	Patriot League	24–7	13–1	13
Liberty University	Big South Conference	26–3	14–0	13
Louisiana Tech University	WAC	29–2	18–0	5
Louisiana State University	SEC	27–3	11–3	1
Manhattan College	MAAC	20–9	15–3	14
Missouri State University	Missouri Valley Conference	18–12	11–7	15
University of New Mexico	Mountain West	22–8	9–5	6
Old Dominion University	Colonial	21–10	15–3	12
Pepperdine University	West Coast Conference	22–7	12–2	12
Purdue University	Big Ten	26–5	12–4	2
St. Francis (PA)	Northeast Conference	23–7	16–2	15
Stanford University	Pac-10	26–4	15–3	3
Texas Christian University	Conference USA	19–13	8–6	9
University of Texas at Austin	Big 12	25–5	15–1	2
Texas State University	Southland	18–13	14–6	16
University of California, Santa Barbara	Big West Conference	26–4	15–1	7
Valparaiso University	Mid-Continent	18–12	8–6	15
Villanova University	Big East	25–5	12–4	2
Weber State University	Big Sky Conference	21–8	11–3	13
Western Kentucky University	Sun Belt Conference	22–8	12–2	13
Western Michigan University	MAC	20–11	10–6	14

Qualifying teams – at-large

Thirty-three additional teams were selected to complete the sixty-four invitations.

At-large Bids
		Record
Qualifying school	Conference	Regular season	Conference	Seed
University of Arizona	Pacific-10	22–8	13–5	6
University of Arkansas	Southeastern	21–10	7–7	7
Boston College	Big East	20–8	12–4	5
Brigham Young University	Mountain West	19–11	8–6	11
University of North Carolina at Charlotte	Conference USA	21–8	12–2	12
University of Cincinnati	Conference USA	23–7	11–3	10
University of Colorado at Boulder	Big 12	22–7	11–5	6
University of Connecticut	Big East	31–1	16–0	1
DePaul University	Conference USA	22–9	10–4	9
University of Georgia	Southeastern	19–9	10–4	5
Georgia Institute of Technology	Atlantic Coast	20–10	8–8	10
University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign	Big Ten	17–11	9–7	9
Kansas State University	Big 12	28–4	14–2	3
University of Miami	Big East	18–12	8–8	11
Michigan State University	Big Ten	17–11	10–6	8
University of Minnesota	Big Ten	23–5	12–4	6
Mississippi State University	Southeastern	23–7	10–4	3
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	Atlantic Coast	27–5	13–3	3
University of Notre Dame	Big East	19–10	10–6	11
Ohio State University	Big Ten	21–9	10–6	4
University of Oklahoma	Big 12	19–12	9–7	10
Pennsylvania State University	Big Ten	24–8	13–3	4
Rutgers University	Big East	20–7	13–3	4
University of South Carolina	Southeastern	22–7	9–5	5
University of Tennessee	Southeastern	28–4	14–0	1
Texas Tech University	Big 12	26–5	13–3	2
Tulane University	Conference USA	19–9	10–4	11
University of Utah	Mountain West	23–6	12–2	8
Vanderbilt University	Southeastern	21–9	9–5	4
University of Virginia	Atlantic Coast	16–13	9–7	8
Virginia Tech	Big East	21–9	10–6	7
University of Washington	Pacific-10	22–7	13–5	9
Xavier University	Atlantic 10	20–9	11–5	10

Bids by conference

Thirty-one conferences earned an automatic bid. In twenty-two cases, the automatic bid was the only representative from the conference. Thirty-three additional at-large teams were selected from nine of the conferences.

Bids	Conference	Teams
7	Big East	Villanova, Boston College, Connecticut, Miami Fla., Notre Dame, Rutgers, Virginia Tech
7	Southeastern	LSU, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi St., South Carolina, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
6	Big Ten	Purdue, Illinois, Michigan St., Minnesota, Ohio St., Penn St.
5	Big 12	Texas, Colorado, Kansas St., Oklahoma, Texas Tech
5	Conference USA	TCU, Charlotte, Cincinnati, DePaul, Tulane
4	Atlantic Coast	Duke, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Virginia
3	Mountain West	New Mexico, BYU, Utah
3	Pacific-10	Stanford, Arizona, Washington
2	Atlantic 10	George Washington, Xavier
1	America East	Boston U.
1	Atlantic Sun	Georgia St.
1	Big Sky	Weber St.
1	Big South	Liberty
1	Big West	UC Santa Barb.
1	Colonial	Old Dominion
1	Horizon	Green Bay
1	Ivy	Harvard
1	Metro Atlantic	Manhattan
1	Mid-American	Western Mich.
1	Mid-Continent	Valparaiso
1	Mid-Eastern	Hampton
1	Missouri Valley	Missouri St.
1	Northeast	St. Francis Pa.
1	Ohio Valley	Austin Peay
1	Patriot	Holy Cross
1	Southern	Chattanooga
1	Southland	Texas St.
1	Southwestern	Alabama St.
1	Sun Belt	Western Ky.
1	West Coast	Pepperdine
1	Western Athletic	Louisiana Tech

2003 NCAA tournament schedule and venues

West Lafayette

Storrs

Manhattan

Norfolk

Norman

Knoxville

Boulder

University Park

Athens

Raleigh

Albuquerque

Lubbock

Eugene

Stanford

Cincinnati

Rustonclass=notpageimage| 2003 NCAA NCAA first and second round venues

Dayton

Knoxville

Albuquerque

Stanford

Atlantaclass=notpageimage| 2003 NCAA regionals and Final Four

In 2003, 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 2003, a change was implemented in the way first and second round sites were determined. From 1982 (the year of the first NCAA women's basketball tournament) through 2002, the first rounds sites were offered to the top seeds. Starting in 2003, sixteen sites for the first two rounds were determined approximately a year before the team selections and seedings were completed.

First and Second rounds

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

March 22 and 24
- East Region
  - Mackey Arena, West Lafayette, Indiana (Host: Purdue University)
  - Ted Constant Convocation Center, Norfolk, Virginia (Host: Old Dominion University)
- Mideast Region
  - Thompson–Boling Arena, Knoxville, Tennessee (Host: University of Tennessee)
  - CU Events Center, Boulder, Colorado (Host: University of Colorado Boulder)
- Midwest Region
  - Stegeman Coliseum, Athens, Georgia (Host: University of Georgia)
  - The Pit, Albuquerque, New Mexico (Host: University of New Mexico)
- West Region
  - McArthur Court, Eugene, Oregon (Host: University of Oregon)
  - Maples Pavilion, Stanford, California (Host: Stanford University)
March 23 and 25
- East Region
  - Harry A. Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, Connecticut (Host: University of Connecticut)
  - Bramlage Coliseum, Manhattan, Kansas (Host: Kansas State University)
- Mideast Region
  - Lloyd Noble Center, Norman, Oklahoma (Host: University of Oklahoma)
  - Bryce Jordan Center, State College, Pennsylvania (Host: Pennsylvania State University)
- Midwest Region
  - Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, North Carolina (Host: North Carolina State University)
  - United Spirit Arena, Lubbock, Texas (Host: Texas Tech University)
- West Region
  - Shoemaker Center, Cincinnati, Ohio (Host: University of Cincinnati)
  - Thomas Assembly Center, Ruston, Louisiana (Host: Louisiana Tech University)

Regional semifinals and finals

The Regionals, named for the general location, were held from March 29 to April 1 at these sites:

March 29 and 31
- Mideast Regional, Thompson–Boling Arena, Knoxville, Tennessee (Host: University of Tennessee)
- Midwest Regional, The Pit, Albuquerque, New Mexico (Host: University of New Mexico)
March 30 and April 1
- East Regional, University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio (Host: University of Dayton)
- West Regional, Maples Pavilion, Stanford, California (Host: Stanford University)

Each regional winner advanced to the Final Four held April 6 and April 8 in Atlanta, Georgia at the Georgia Dome, (Host: Georgia Institute of Technology)

Bids by state

The sixty-four teams came from thirty-two states, plus Washington, D.C. Virginia had the most teams with five bids. Eighteen states did not have any teams receiving bids.

Bids	State	Teams
5	Virginia	Hampton, Liberty, Old Dominion, Virginia, Virginia Tech
4	Massachusetts	Boston U., Harvard, Holy Cross, Boston College
4	Tennessee	Austin Peay, Chattanooga, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
4	Texas	TCU, Texas, Texas St., Texas Tech
3	California	Pepperdine, Stanford, UC Santa Barb.
3	Georgia	Georgia St., Georgia, Georgia Tech
3	Indiana	Purdue, Valparaiso, Notre Dame
3	Louisiana	Louisiana Tech, LSU, Tulane
3	North Carolina	Duke, Charlotte, North Carolina
3	Ohio	Cincinnati, Ohio St., Xavier
3	Utah	Weber St., BYU, Utah
2	Illinois	DePaul, Illinois
2	Michigan	Western Mich., Michigan St.
2	New York	Manhattan, St. Francis Pa.
2	Pennsylvania	Villanova, Penn St.
1	Alabama	Alabama St.
1	Arizona	Arizona
1	Arkansas	Arkansas
1	Colorado	Colorado
1	Connecticut	Connecticut
1	District of Columbia	George Washington
1	Florida	Miami Fla.
1	Kansas	Kansas St.
1	Kentucky	Western Ky.
1	Minnesota	Minnesota
1	Mississippi	Mississippi St.
1	Missouri	Missouri St.
1	New Jersey	Rutgers
1	New Mexico	New Mexico
1	Oklahoma	Oklahoma
1	South Carolina	South Carolina
1	Washington	Washington
1	Wisconsin	Green Bay

Brackets

Data Source

Mideast Region – Knoxville, Tennessee

First round March 22 and 23			Second round March 24 and 25			Regional semifinals March 29			Regional finals March 31

1	Tennessee	95

16	Alabama State	43
			1	Tennessee	81
Knoxville, Tennessee – Sat/Mon
			8	Virginia	51
8	Virginia	72

9	Illinois	56
						1	Tennessee	86

						4	Penn State	58
5	South Carolina	68

12	UT-Chattanooga	54
			5	South Carolina	67
State College, Pennsylvania – Sun/Tue
			4	Penn State	77
4	Penn State	64

13	Holy Cross	33
									1	Tennessee	73

									2	Villanova	49
6	Colorado	84

11	BYU	45
			6	Colorado	86
Boulder, Colorado – Sat/Mon
			3	North Carolina	67
3	North Carolina	72

14	Austin Peay	70
						6	Colorado	51

						2	Villanova	53
7	George Washington	71

10	Oklahoma	61
			7	George Washington	57
Norman, Oklahoma – Sun/Tue
			2	Villanova	70
2	Villanova	51

15	St. Francis (PA)	36

Midwest Region – Albuquerque, New Mexico

First round March 22 and 23			Second round March 24 and 25			Regional semifinals March 29			Regional finals March 31

1	Duke	66

16	Georgia State	48
			1	Duke	65
Raleigh, North Carolina – Sun/Tue
			8	Utah	54
8	Utah	73

9	DePaul	64
						1	Duke	66

						5	Georgia	63
5	Georgia	80

12	Charlotte	61
			5	Georgia	74
Athens, Georgia – Sat/Mon
			4	Rutgers	64
4	Rutgers	64

13	Western Kentucky	52
									1	Duke	80

									2	Texas Tech	79
6	New Mexico	91

11	Miami (FL)	85
			6	New Mexico	73
Albuquerque, New Mexico – Sat/Mon
			3	Mississippi State	61
3	Mississippi State	73

14	Manhattan	47
						6	New Mexico	76

						2	Texas Tech	81
7	UC Santa Barbara	71

10	Xavier	62
			7	UC Santa Barbara	48
Lubbock, Texas – Sun/Tue
			2	Texas Tech	71
2	Texas Tech	67

15	Missouri State	59

East Region – Dayton, Ohio

First round March 22 and 23			Second round March 24 and 25			Regional semifinals March 30			Regional finals April 1

1	Connecticut	91

16	Boston University	44
			1	Connecticut	81
Storrs, Connecticut – Sun/Tue
			9	TCU	66
8	Michigan State	47

9	TCU	50
						1	Connecticut	70

						5	Boston College	49
5	Boston College	73

12	Old Dominion	72
			5	Boston College	86
Norfolk, Virginia – Sat/Mon
			4	Vanderbilt	85
4	Vanderbilt	54

13	Liberty	44
									1	Connecticut	73

									2	Purdue	64
6	Arizona	47

11	Notre Dame	59
			11	Notre Dame	59
Manhattan, Kansas – Sun/Tue
			3	Kansas State	53
3	Kansas State	79

14	Harvard	69
						11	Notre Dame	47

						2	Purdue	66
7	Virginia Tech	61

10	Georgia Tech	59
			7	Virginia Tech	62
West Lafayette, Indiana – Sat/Mon
			2	Purdue	80
2	Purdue	66

15	Valparaiso	51

West Region – Stanford, California

First round March 22 and 23			Second round March 24 and 25			Regional semifinals March 30			Regional finals April 1

1	LSU	86

16	Texas State	50
			1	LSU	80
Eugene, Oregon – Sat/Mon
			8	Green Bay	69
8	Green Bay	78

9	Washington	65
						1	LSU	69

						5	Louisiana Tech	63
5	Louisiana Tech	94

12	Pepperdine	60
			5	Louisiana Tech	74
Ruston, Louisiana – Sun/Tue
			4	Ohio State	61
4	Ohio State	66

13	Weber State	44
									1	LSU	60

									2	Texas	78
6	Minnesota	68

11	Tulane	48
			6	Minnesota	68
Stanford, California – Sat/Mon
			3	Stanford	56
3	Stanford	82

14	Western Michigan	66
						6	Minnesota	60

						2	Texas	73
7	Arkansas	71

10	Cincinnati	57
			7	Arkansas	50
Cincinnati, Ohio – Sun/Tue
			2	Texas	67
2	Texas	90

15	Hampton	46

Final Four – Atlanta, Georgia

National semifinals April 6			National championship April 8

ME1	Tennessee	66

MW1	Duke	56
			ME1	Tennessee	68

			E1	Connecticut	73
E1	Connecticut	71

W2	Texas	69

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
Big East	L	15–6	.714	L	L	2	1	1
Southeastern	7	14–7	.667	7	3	2	1	1
Big Ten	6	8–6	.571	4	3	1	0	0
Big 12	5	10–5	.667	4	3	2	1	0
Conference USA	5	1–5	.167	1	0	0	0	0
Atlantic Coast	4	6–4	.600	3	1	1	1	0
Mountain West	3	3–3	.500	2	1	0	0	0
Pacific-10	3	1–3	.250	1	0	0	0	0
Atlantic 10	2	1–2	.333	1	0	0	0	0
Western Athletic	1	2–1	.667	1	1	0	0	0
Big West	1	1–1	.500	1	0	0	0	0
Horizon	1	1–1	.500	1	0	0	0	0

Nineteen conferences went 0–1: America East, Atlantic Sun Conference, Big Sky Conference, Big South Conference, Colonial, Ivy League, MAAC, MAC, Mid-Continent, MEAC, Missouri Valley Conference, Northeast Conference, Ohio Valley Conference, Patriot League, Southern Conference, Southland, SWAC, Sun Belt Conference, and West Coast Conference

All-Tournament team

Diana Taurasi, Connecticut
Ann Strother, Connecticut
Alana Beard, Duke
Gwen Jackson, Tennessee
Kara Lawson, Tennessee

Game officials

Scott Yarbrough (semifinal)
Joe Cunningham (semifinal)
June Courteau (semifinal)
Sally Bell (semifinal)
Dee Kantner (semifinal)
Eric Larson (semifinal)
Wesley Dean (final)
Melissa Barlow (final)
Lisa Mattingly (final)

Notes

^ Nixon, Rick. "Official 2022 NCAA Women's Final Four Records Book" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
HAVEL, CARRIE J. (2005). "The NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship: an analysis of first and second rounds and the change to predetermined sites" (PDF). p. 1. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
"Attendance and Sites" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
"2003 DIVISION I WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP HANDBOOK" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
"Official 2012 NCAA Women's Final Four Records Book". NCAA. February 2012. Retrieved April 17, 2012.

NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament

Tournaments

AIAW	1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982
NCAA	1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

Structure

Champions & awards

Media

Broadcasters

Records & statistics

v t e 2002–03 NCAA Division I championships
Baseball Men's basketball Women's basketball Cross country Fencing Field hockey I-A Football † I-AA Football Men's golf Women's golf Men's gymnastics Women's gymnastics Men's ice hockey Women's ice hockey Indoor track and field Men's lacrosse Women's lacrosse Outdoor track and field Rifle Rowing Skiing Men's soccer Women's soccer Softball Men's swimming and diving Women's swimming and diving Men's Tennis Women's Tennis Men's volleyball Women's volleyball Men's water polo Women's water polo Wrestling
† Not an officially sanctioned NCAA championship

2002–03 NCAA Division I championships

† Not an officially sanctioned NCAA championship

v t e Connecticut Huskies women's basketball 2002–03 NCAA champions
3 Diana Taurasi (MOP) 20 Morgan Valley 22 Ashley Battle 31 Jessica Moore 33 Barbara Turner 43 Ann Strother Head coach: Geno Auriemma Assistant coaches: Tonya Cardoza Chris Dailey Jamelle Elliott

Connecticut Huskies women's basketball 2002–03 NCAA champions

Head coach: Geno Auriemma

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