Season 2013–14 End date April 8, 2014 MOP Breanna Stewart | Start date 2014 Teams 64 Finals site Bridgestone Arena | |
 | ||
Champions Connecticut (9th title, 9th title game,
15th Final Four) Runner-up Notre Dame (4th title game,
6th Final Four) Semifinalists Stanford (11th Final Four)
Maryland (4th Final Four) Winning coach Geno Auriemma (9th title) Champion Connecticut Huskies women's basketball Similar 2009 NCAA Division I, 2004 NCAA Division I, 2002 NCAA Division I, 2005 NCAA Division I, 1996 NCAA Division I | ||
The 2014 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament was played in March and April 2014, with the Final Four played April 6–8. The Ohio Valley Conference served as the host institution. It was the first time that Nashville had hosted a Women's Final Four Basketball tournament. The Final Four was played at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.
Contents
- Subregionals
- Regionals and Final Four
- Tournament records
- Automatic qualifiers
- Bracket
- Lincoln Regional
- Notre Dame Regional
- National Championship
- All Tournament Team
- Game Officials
- Television
- Studio host analysts
- Radio
- References
Tennessee continued its streak of making every NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at 33 consecutive appearances. Connecticut (who made their seventh straight Final 4 overall) and Notre Dame faced each other in the NCAA Final. Both were undefeated heading into the championship game, making it the first ever match up of two undefeated teams in the championship game. Connecticut prevailed, 79–58, to win their ninth National Championship.
The previous day, Connecticut also won the men's tournament. It was just the second time in NCAA history the same school had won both the men's and women's tournament; UConn accomplished that feat first in 2004.
Subregionals
There were 64 teams in the tournament, placed in a seeded bracket with four regions. Thirty-two teams received automatic bids – thirty-one of which were their conference tournament champions; the other was for the Ivy League regular-season champion. An additional 32 teams were given at-large bids by the selection committee on the basis of their body of work during the regular season. Unlike the Men's Tournament, there was no "First Four" round.
The subregionals were played from March 22 to March 25, 2014. Sites chosen to host first- and second-round games in 2014 were:
Regionals and Final Four
The Regionals, named for the city rather than the region of geographic importance since 2005, were held from March 29 to April 1 at the following sites:
The Final Four was held on April 6 & 8 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.
Tournament records
Automatic qualifiers
The following teams earned automatic qualifiers for the 2014 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's tournament (except for the Ivy League, whose regular-season champion receives the automatic bid):
Bracket
* – Denotes overtime period
Lincoln Regional
In their first round match DePaul and Oklahoma scored a combined 204 points, setting a tournament record for most points in a non-overtime game. Oklahoma's 66 second-half points was also a record a team in a single half.
Connecticut vs. Prairie View A&M aired nationwide on ESPN. Connecticut vs. Saint Joseph's aired nationwide on ESPNU. All other games aired with whip-a-round or regional coverage on ESPN or ESPN2.
Notre Dame Regional
Notre Dame vs. Robert Morris aired nationwide on ESPN. Notre Dame vs. Arizona State aired nationwide on ESPNews. All other games aired with whip-a-round or regional coverage on ESPN or ESPN2.
National Championship
Undefeated Connecticut faced undefeated Notre Dame in the final game, the first ever to feature two undefeated teams. After a hard fought first half, the Connecticut Huskies pulled away in the second for a 79–58 victory. National Player of the Year Breanna Stewart scored 21 points for Connecticut. Stefanie Dolson added 17 points and 16 rebounds for the victors. Kayla McBride had 21 points for the Notre Dame Irish. Connecticut won the rebound battle 54–31 and held Notre Dame to a season low in points. After the game, Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said "I thought we were playing the Miami Heat for a while [Connecticut is] just that good."
By winning, Connecticut moved to 40–0 on the season and claimed their ninth title, surpassing Tennessee's eight titles for the most all-time. Coach Geno Auriemma said he was "flattered and grateful and all the things that come with this kind of accomplishment ... I'm more proud of the legacy that exists and what Connecticut basketball is as opposed to the number of championships." All nine of the school's titles, five with unbeaten records, have come during Auriemma's twenty seasons as head coach. Connecticut became the second school to finish the year 40–0, the other being Baylor. They have now won 46 consecutive games, the third most in NCAA history, but well short of their NCAA record of 90.
For Notre Dame, it was their third loss in the title game in the last four years. They were inhibited by the loss of senior starter Natalie Achonwa to injury in the Regional Final. The Irish had won seven of the previous nine meeting between the two powerhouses. However, Connecticut beat them during the tournament for the second consecutive year, having eliminated them in the Final Four in 2013.
All-Tournament Team
Game Officials
Television
ESPN had US television rights to all games during the tournament. For the first and second round, ESPN aired select games nationally on ESPN, ESPNU, or ESPNews. All other games aired regionally on ESPN or ESPN2 and streamed online via ESPN3. Most of the nation got whip-a-round coverage during this time, which allowed ESPN to rotate between the games and focus the nation on the one that has the closest score. The regional semifinals were split between ESPN and ESPN2, and ESPN aired the regional finals, national semifinals, and championship match.
Studio host & analysts
Radio
Westwood One had nationwide broadcast and streaming radio rights from the regional finals on through the championship. The teams participating in the Regional Finals, Final Four, and Championship were allowed to have their own local broadcasts, but were not allowed to stream their broadcast online.