1995 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament

1995 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament
Teams	64
Finals site	Target Center Minneapolis, Minnesota
Champions	Connecticut (1st title)
Runner-up	Tennessee (5th title game)
Semifinalists	Stanford (4th Final Four) Georgia (3rd Final Four)
NCAA Women's Division I Tournaments «1994 1996»

The 1995 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament featured 64 teams. The Final Four consisted of Connecticut, Tennessee, Stanford, and Georgia. Connecticut defeated Tennessee, 70-64, to win its first NCAA title and complete a 35-0 undefeated season.

The first two rounds were held at the home court of the top four seeds in each region (except for San Diego State, which hosted three games in the West region). The regional semifinals and finals were held at the University of Connecticut for the East region, UCLA for the West region, the University of Tennessee for the Mideast region, and Drake University for the Midwest region. The Final Four was played in Minneapolis, Minnesota.^[1]

Notable events

In a second round game, 4 seed Alabama faced the 5 seed Duke. The game was close throughout the contest, with neither team leading the other by more than seven points. With time winding down in regulation, Alabama's Niesa Johnson hit a three-pointer to send the game to overtime. Not just one overtime, the game would eventually feature four overtimes. Johnson went on to hit two free throws at the end of the fourth overtime to give Alabama a 121–120 victory, setting records for the most overtimes, and the most points scored in an NCAA tournament game. At the time, it was called "the best women's basketball game in history".^[2][3]

In the east regional semi-final involving Louisiana tech and Virginia, confusion reigned momentarily with both teams celebrating at the end of regulation. Louisiana Tech led early, with as much as a 13-point lead in the first half and a ten-point lead at halftime. The Cavaliers came back and had a 63–62 lead with seconds left in the game. With time running out, Louisiana Tech's Debra Williams went to the foul line for a one-and-one shot. She missed it, but the scorekeeper accidentally recorded it, so the scoreboard showed 63–63. Louisiana Tech tried and missed a last second shot, but thought they were headed to overtime based upon the score, while Virginia thought they had won, so both teams were celebrating. The referees met at the scores table to sort it out, then Dee Kantner emerged and pointed to the Virginia bench signaling victory.^[4]

Georgia and Tennessee, both from the SEC, squared off in one of the Final Four match ups. Tennessee was a number 1 seed, while Georgia was a 3 seed, and upset top seed Colorado 82–79 in the Midwest Rational final. The two teams had faced each other in the final game of the regular season, when the Lady Vols beat the Lady Bulldogs by 22 points. Georgia coach Andy Landers complained about lack of effort in that game, but did not have the same complaints in the Final Four game, even though the final margin was identical. Tennessee's Pat Summitt emphasizes rebounds, and Tennessee out rebounded Georgia 51–33. While the Lady Bulldogs were able to get within seven points in the second half, they could get no closer and Tennessee prevailed 73–51, to send them into the champions ship game.^[5]

Despite entering the game against Stanford with an undefeated record, some skeptics weren't convinced that Connecticut could win. Although UConn had beaten Tennessee earlier in the year, they then played in the Big East, which at the time wasn't a strong conference. The Big East earned just two invitations to the NCAA tournament, while eight other conferences had three or more teams in the tournament. Stanford was a representative of the Pacific-10 conference, which had five teams strong enough to earn bids. However, the Huskies jumped out to an early 16–4 lead, and ended the game with a 27-point margin, winning 87–60. Kara Wolters scored 31 points, a single point under her career high while Jamelle Elliott matched her career high with 21 points. Consensus national player of the year Rebecca Lobo added 17 points, prompting coach Auriemma to quip "The reason we're playing [in the final] is I've got these three players [and Tara VanDerveer doesn't.]"^[6]

In the championship game, Tennessee had a small lead in the first half 28–25, but more importantly, two of UConn's All-Americans, Jennifer Rizzotti and Rebecca Lobo, had three fouls, while six foot seven inch Kara Wolters had two. Auriemma tried playing small, with six foot Jamelle Elliott the tallest Husky on the floor. The Tennessee lead extended, but only to six points at the half. In the second half, the lead was still four points in the Lady Vols favor when Wolters received her fourth foul. With twelve minutes left to go in the game, Lobo had but six points. Lobo then scored on four possessions, and a with a steal by Rizzotti turned into a layup, the Tennessee nine point lead was down to a single point, prompting coach Summitt to call for a time-out. Jamelle Elliott tied the game with just over two minutes left, then Rizzotti made a play which would be talked about for years afterward. She grabbed a rebound, then drove the length of the court against Michelle Marciniak. Just before reaching the basket, she executed a cross-over dribble and sank a left-handed layup to take a lead that would never be relinquished. UConn won the game 70–64, completing the first undefeated season in NCAA history since the 1986 Texas team, and winning the first national championship for the Connecticut Huskies team.^[7]

Tournament records

• Free Throws—Connecticut made 34 free throws in the semi-final game against Stanford, setting the record for most free throws completed in a Final Four.
• Most points—Alabama scored 121 points in a four overtime game against Duke, setting the record for most points scored in an NCAA tournament game. The 120 pins scored by Duke is the second most scored in an NCAA tournament game, and the most in a losing effort.
• Field goals attempted—Alabama attempted 114 fields goals in the game against Duke, setting the record for most field goals attempted in an NCAA tournament game.
• Most overtimes—Alabama and Duke played in a four overtime game, the most overtimes in an NCAA tournament game.^[8]

Qualifying teams - automatic

Sixty-four teams were selected to participate in the 1994 NCAA Tournament. Thirty-two conferences were eligible for an automatic bid to the 1994 NCAA tournament.^[8]

Automatic Bids
		Record
Qualifying School	Conference	Regular Season	Conference	Seed
University of Colorado at Boulder	Big Eight	27–2	14–0	1
University of Connecticut	Big East	29–0	18–0	1
Dartmouth College	Ivy League	16–10	12–2	14
Drake University	Missouri Valley Conference	24–5	13–5	5
Florida International University	Trans America	26–4	15–1	9
Florida A&M	MEAC	24–5	14–2	16
Furman University	Southern Conference	18–11	10–4	15
The George Washington University	Atlantic 10	24–5	14–2	4
College of the Holy Cross	Patriot League	21–8	12–2	16
Jackson State University	SWAC	22–5	12–2	15
Loyola University Maryland	MAAC	20–8	7–6	10
University of Maine	North Atlantic Conference	24–5	14–2	16
Marquette University	Great Midwest	19–11	9–3	10
University of Montana	Big Sky Conference	25–6	12–2	12
Mount St. Mary's University	Northeast Conference	24–5	17–1	13
University of North Carolina	ACC	28–4	12–4	3
Northern Illinois University	Midwestern Collegiate	17–13	10–6	16
Old Dominion University	Colonial	27–5	13–1	8
Pennsylvania State University	Big Ten	25–4	13–3	2
Radford University	Big South Conference	15–14	10–6	11
University of San Francisco	West Coast Conference	24–4	13–1	11
University of Southern Mississippi	Metro	21–8	7–5	7
Stanford University	Pac-10	26–2	17–1	2
Stephen F. Austin State University	Southland	22–7	15–3	11
Tennessee State University	Ohio Valley Conference	22–6	12–4	12
Texas Tech University	Southwest	30–3	13–1	2
University of Toledo	MAC	24–6	15–3	13
University of California, Irvine	Big West Conference	19–10	12–6	15
University of Utah	WAC	23–6	12–2	8
Vanderbilt University	SEC	26–6	8–3	1
Western Carolina University	Mid-Continent	17–11	14–4	14
Western Kentucky University	Sun Belt Conference	26–3	12–2	4

Qualifying teams - at-large

Thirty-two additional teams were selected to complete the six-four invitations.^[8]

At-large Bids
		Record
Qualifying School	Conference	Regular Season	Conference	Seed
University of Alabama	Southeastern	20–8	7–4	4
University of Arkansas	Southeastern	22–6	7–4	6
DePaul University	Great Midwest	20–8	9–3	13
Duke University	Atlantic Coast	21–8	10–6	5
University of Florida	Southeastern	23–8	7–4	6
University of Georgia	Southeastern	24–4	8–3	3
Indiana University	Big Ten	19–9	8–8	14
University of Kansas	Big Eight	20–10	8–6	7
Louisiana Tech University	Sun Belt	26–4	13–1	2
University of Louisville	Metro	24–7	7–5	11
University of Memphis	Great Midwest	21–7	10–2	8
University of Mississippi	Southeastern	21–7	6–5	12
Missouri State University	Missouri Valley	20–11	14–4	9
North Carolina State University	Atlantic Coast	19–9	11–5	7
Ohio University	Mid-American	23–6	15–3	14
University of Oklahoma	Big Eight	21–8	11–3	7
Oklahoma State University–Stillwater	Big Eight	17–11	7–7	12
University of Oregon	Pacific-10	18–9	11–7	6
Oregon State University	Pacific-10	20–7	12–6	5
University of Portland	West Coast	23–6	12–2	13
Purdue University	Big Ten	21–7	13–3	4
San Diego State University	Western Athletic	24–5	14–0	5
Seton Hall University	Big East	23–8	12–6	6
Southern Methodist University	Southwest	20–9	9–5	10
University of Southern California	Pacific-10	18–9	10–8	9
Saint Joseph's University	Atlantic 10	20–8	11–5	9
University of Tennessee	Southeastern	29–2	11–0	1
Tulane University	Metro	19–9	9–3	15
University of Virginia	Atlantic Coast	24–4	16–0	3
Virginia Tech	Metro	21–8	10–2	8
University of Washington	Pacific-10	23–8	13–5	3
University of Wisconsin–Madison	Big Ten	19–8	11–5	10

Bids by conference

Thirty-two conferences earned an automatic bid. In seventeen cases, the automatic bid was the only representative from the conference. Thirty-two additional at-large teams were selected from fifteen of the conferences.^[8]

Bids	Conference	Teams
7	Southeastern	Vanderbilt, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee
5	Pacific-10	Stanford, Oregon, Oregon St., Southern California, Washington
4	Big Eight	Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma St.
4	Big Ten	Penn St., Indiana, Purdue, Wisconsin
4	Metro	Southern Miss., Louisville, Tulane, Virginia Tech
4	Atlantic Coast	North Carolina, Duke, North Carolina St., Virginia
3	Great Midwest	Marquette, DePaul, Memphis
3	Sun Belt	FIU, Western Ky., Louisiana Tech
2	Atlantic 10	George Washington, St. Joseph’s
2	Big East	Connecticut, Seton Hall
2	Mid-American	Toledo, Ohio
2	Missouri Valley	Drake, Missouri St.
2	Southwest	Texas Tech, SMU
2	West Coast	San Francisco, Portland
2	Western Athletic	Utah, San Diego St.
1	Big Sky	Montana
1	Big South	Radford
1	Big West	UC Irvine
1	Colonial	Old Dominion
1	Ivy	Dartmouth
1	Metro Atlantic	Loyola Md
1	Mid-Continent	Western Ill.
1	Mid-Eastern	Florida A&M
1	Midwestern Collegiate	Northern Ill.
1	North Atlantic	Maine
1	Northeast	Mt. St. Mary’s
1	Ohio Valley	Tennessee St.
1	Patriot	Holy Cross
1	Southern	Furman
1	Southland	Stephen F. Austin
1	Southwestern	Jackson St.

First and second rounds

Charlottesville

Storrs

Tuscaloosa

Ruston

Bowling Green

Seattle

Knoxville

Lubbock

Athens

University Park

Boulder

Washington

Chapel Hill

Nashville

Stanford

San Diego

1995 NCAA first and second round venues

In 1995, 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 most cases, the higher seed accepted the opportunity. The exception:^[9]

• Fourth seeded Purdue was eligible to host, but unable to, so fifth seeded San Diego State hosted three first and second round games

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

Region	Rnd	Host	Venue	City	State
East	1&2	University of Virginia	University Hall (University of Virginia)	Charlottesville	Virginia
East	1&2	University of Connecticut	Harry A. Gampel Pavilion	Storrs	Connecticut
East	1&2	University of Alabama	Coleman Coliseum	Tuscaloosa	Alabama
East	1&2	Louisiana Tech University	Thomas Assembly Center	Ruston	Louisiana
Mideast	1&2	Western Kentucky University	E.A. Diddle Arena	Bowling Green	Kentucky
Mideast	1&2	University of Washington	Hec Edmundson Pavilion	Seattle	Washington
Mideast	1&2	University of Tennessee	Thompson-Boling Arena	Knoxville	Tennessee
Mideast	1&2	Texas Tech University	Lubbock Municipal Coliseum	Lubbock	Texas
Midwest	1&2	University of Georgia	Georgia Coliseum (Stegeman Coliseum)	Athens	Georgia
Midwest	1&2	Pennsylvania State University	Recreation Building (Rec Hall)	University Park	Pennsylvania
Midwest	1&2	University of Colorado	CU Events Center (Coors Events Center)	Boulder	Colorado
Midwest	1&2	George Washington University	Charles E. Smith Athletic Center	Washington	District of Columbia
West	1&2	University of North Carolina	Carmichael Auditorium	Chapel Hill	North Carolina
West	1&2	Vanderbilt University	Memorial Gymnasium (Vanderbilt University)	Nashville	Tennessee
West	1&2	Stanford University	Maples Pavilion	Stanford	California
West	1&2	San Diego State	Peterson Gym	San Diego	California

Regionals and Final Four

Storrs

Knoxville

Los Angeles

Des Moines

Minneapolis

1995 NCAA Regionals and Final Four

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

• East Regional Harry A. Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, Connecticut (Host: University of Connecticut)
• Mideast Regional Thompson-Boling Arena, Knoxville, Tennessee (Host: University of Tennessee)
• West Regional Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, California (Host: University of California, Los Angeles)
• Midwest Regional Knapp Center, Des Moines, Iowa (Host: Drake University)

Each regional winner advanced to the Final Four held April 1 and April 2 in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the Target Center,

Bids by state

The sixty-four teams came from thirty-three states, plus Washington, D.C. California had the most teams with five bids. Seventeen states did not have any teams receiving bids.^[8]

NCAA Women's basketball Tournament invitations by state 1995

Bids	State	Teams
5	California	San Francisco, Stanford, UC Irvine, San Diego St., Southern California
4	North Carolina	North Carolina, Western Ill., Duke, North Carolina St.
4	Tennessee	Tennessee St., Vanderbilt, Memphis, Tennessee
4	Virginia	Old Dominion, Radford, Virginia, Virginia Tech
3	Florida	FIU, Florida A&M, Florida
3	Mississippi	Jackson St., Southern Miss., Mississippi
3	Oregon	Oregon, Oregon St., Portland
3	Texas	Stephen F. Austin, Texas Tech, SMU
2	Illinois	Northern Ill., DePaul
2	Indiana	Indiana, Purdue
2	Kentucky	Western Ky., Louisville
2	Louisiana	Louisiana Tech, Tulane
2	Maryland	Loyola Md, Mt. St. Mary’s
2	Ohio	Toledo, Ohio
2	Oklahoma	Oklahoma, Oklahoma St.
2	Pennsylvania	Penn St., St. Joseph’s
2	Wisconsin	Marquette, Wisconsin
1	Alabama	Alabama
1	Arkansas	Arkansas
1	Colorado	Colorado
1	Connecticut	Connecticut
1	District of Columbia	George Washington
1	Georgia	Georgia
1	Iowa	Drake
1	Kansas	Kansas
1	Maine	Maine
1	Massachusetts	Holy Cross
1	Missouri	Missouri St.
1	Montana	Montana
1	New Hampshire	Dartmouth
1	New Jersey	Seton Hall
1	South Carolina	Furman
1	Utah	Utah
1	Washington	Washington

Bracket

East region - Storrs, Connecticut

	First round March 16 and 17					Second round March 18 and 19					Regional semifinals March 23					Regional finals March 25
	1	Connecticut	105
	16	Maine	75
						1	Connecticut	91
	Storrs, CT
						8	Virginia Tech	45
	8	Virginia Tech	62
	9	St. Joseph's	52
											1	Connecticut	87
											4	Alabama	56
	5	Duke	76
	12	Oklahoma State	64
						5	Duke	120
	Tuscaloosa, AL
						4	Alabama	121****
	4	Alabama	82
	13	Mt. St. Mary's	55
																1	Connecticut	67
																3	Virginia	63
	6	Florida	89
	11	Radford	49
						6	Florida	67
	Charlottesville, VA
						3	Virginia	72
	3	Virginia	71
	14	Dartmouth	68
											3	Virginia	63
											2	Louisiana Tech	62
	7	Oklahoma	90
	10	Loyola-MD	55
						7	Oklahoma	36
	Ruston, LA
						2	Louisiana Tech	48
	2	Louisiana Tech	90
	15	Furman	52

West region - Los Angeles, California

	First round March 16 and 17					Second round March 18 and 19					Regional semifinals March 23					Regional finals March 25
	1	Vanderbilt	90
	16	Northern Illinois	54
						1	Vanderbilt	95
	Nashville, TN
						8	Memphis	68
	8	Memphis	74
	9	USC	72
											1	Vanderbilt	66
											4	Purdue	67
	5	San Diego St.	46
	12	Montana	57
						12	Montana	51
	San Diego, CA
						4	Purdue	62
	4	Purdue	74
	13	Portland	59
																4	Purdue	58
																2	Stanford	69
	6	Seton Hall	73
	11	Stephen F. Austin	63
						6	Seton Hall	45
	Chapel Hill, NC
						3	North Carolina	59
	3	North Carolina	89
	14	Western Illinois	48
											3	North Carolina	71
											2	Stanford	81
	7	Southern Mississippi	95
	10	Southern Methodist	96*
						10	Southern Methodist	73
	Stanford, CA
						2	Stanford	95
	2	Stanford	88
	15	UC-Irvine	55

Mideast region - Knoxville, Tennessee

	First round March 16 and 17					Second round March 18 and 19					Regional semifinals March 23					Regional finals March 25
	1	Tennessee	96
	16	Florida A&M	59
						1	Tennessee	70
	Knoxville, TN
						9	Florida International	44
	8	Old Dominion	76
	9	Florida International	81
											1	Tennessee	87
											4	Western Kentucky	65
	5	Oregon State	88*
	12	Tennessee State	75
						5	Oregon State	78
	Bowling Green, KY
						4	Western Kentucky	85
	4	Western Kentucky	77
	13	Toledo	63
																1	Tennessee	80
																2	Texas Tech	59
	6	Arkansas	67
	11	San Francisco	58
						6	Arkansas	50
	Seattle, WA
						3	Washington	54
	3	Washington	73
	14	Ohio	57
											3	Washington	52
											2	Texas Tech	67
	7	Kansas	72
	10	Wisconsin	73
						10	Wisconsin	65
	Lubbock, TX
						2	Texas Tech	88
	2	Texas Tech	87
	15	Tulane	72

Midwest region - Des Moines, Iowa

	First round March 16 and 17					Second round March 18 and 19					Regional semifinals March 23					Regional finals March 25
	1	Colorado	83
	16	Holy Cross	49
						1	Colorado	78
	Boulder, CO
						9	Southwest Missouri State	34
	8	Utah	47
	9	Southwest Missouri State	49
											1	Colorado	77
											4	George Washington	61
	5	Drake	87*
	12	Mississippi	81
						5	Drake	93
	Washington, DC
						4	George Washington	96*
	4	George Washington	87
	13	DePaul	79
																1	Colorado	79
																3	Georgia	82
	6	Oregon	65
	11	Louisville	67
						11	Louisville	68
	Athens, GA
						3	Georgia	81
	3	Georgia	81
	14	Indiana	64
											3	Georgia	98
											7	North Carolina State	71
	7	North Carolina State	77
	10	Marquette	62
						7	North Carolina State	76
	University Park, PA
						2	Penn State	74
	2	Penn State	75
	15	Jackson State	62

Final Four - Minneapolis, Minnesota

	National Semifinals April 1					National Finals April 2
	1E	Connecticut	87
	2W	Stanford	60
						1E	Connecticut	70
						1ME	Tennessee	64
	1ME	Tennessee	73
	3MW	Georgia	51

* denotes number of overtime periods

Record by conference

Seventeen conferences had more than one bid, or at least one win in NCAA Tournament play:^[8]

Conference	# of Bids	Record	Win %	Round of 32	Sweet Sixteen	Elite Eight	Final Four	Championship Game
Southeastern	7	15–7	.682	6	4	2	2	1
Pacific-10	5	7–5	.583	3	2	1	1	–
Atlantic Coast	4	8–4	.667	4	3	1	–	–
Big Ten	4	5–4	.556	3	1	1	–	–
Big Eight	4	4–4	.500	2	1	1	–	–
Metro	4	2–4	.333	2	–	–	–	–
Great Midwest	3	1–3	.250	1	–	–	–	–
Big East	2	7–1	.875	2	1	1	1	1
Southwest	2	4–2	.667	2	1	1	–	–
Sun Belt	2	4–2	.667	2	2	–	–	–
Atlantic 10	2	2–2	.500	1	1	–	–	–
Missouri Valley	2	2–2	.500	2	–	–	–	–
Mid-American	2	0–2	–	–	–	–	–	–
West Coast	2	0–2	–	–	–	–	–	–
Western Athletic	2	0–2	–	–	–	–	–	–
Big Sky	1	1–1	.500	1	–	–	–	–
Trans America	1	1–1	.500	1	–	–	–	–

Fifteen conferences went 0-1: Big South Conference, Big West Conference, Colonial, Ivy League, MAAC, Mid-Continent, MEAC, Midwestern Collegiate, North Atlantic Conference, Northeast Conference, Ohio Valley Conference, Patriot League, Southern Conference, Southland, and SWAC ^[8]

All-Tournament Team

• Rebecca Lobo, Connecticut
• Jamelle Elliott, Connecticut
• Jennifer Rizzotti, Connecticut
• Kara Wolters, Connecticut
• Nikki McCray, Tennessee ^[8]

Game Officials

• Sally Bell (Semi-Final)
• Art Bomengen (Semi-Final)
• Violet Palmer (Semi-Final)
• Sidney Bunch (Semi-Final)
• Dee Kantner (Final)
• Larry Sheppard (Final) ^[8]

See also

• NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship
• 1995 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

References

1. Gregory Cooper. "1995 NCAA National Championship Tournament". Archived from the original on 2009-10-21. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
2. Wichman, Dan (March 20, 1995). "Game goes down as one of the best in basketball history". Duke Chronicle. Retrieved 16 Feb 2013.
3. "Alabama escapes Duke, 121-120, in longest playoff game". Lakeland Ledger. March 20, 1995. Retrieved 16 Feb 2013.
4. VOEPEL, MECHELLE (March 24, 1995). "Confusion, Cavs Reign Over La. Tech". Daily Press. Retrieved 16 Feb 2013.
5. Kent, Milton (April 2, 1995). "Tennessee overpowers Georgia, 73-51 NCAA TOURNAMENT WOMEN'S FINAL FOUR". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 16 Feb 2013.
6. Greenberg, Mel (April 2, 1995). "Uconn Shows Skeptics 87-60 Blowout Of Stanford". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 16 Feb 2013.
7. Murphy, Austin (April 10, 1995). "Storybook Ending". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 16 Feb 2013.
8. Nixon, Rick. "Official 2022 NCAA Women's Final Four Records Book" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
9. "Attendance and Sites" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved 19 March 2012.