2007 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament

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2007 NCAA Women's Division I
Basketball Tournament
2007WomensFinalFourLogo.png
The birthplace of Rock and Roll was honored with a guitar
on the 2007 Women's Final Four logo.
Teams 64
Finals site Quicken Loans Arena
Cleveland, Ohio
Champions Tennessee (7th title)
Runner-up Rutgers (1st title game)
Semifinalists
Winning coach Pat Summitt (7th title)
MOP Candace Parker (Tennessee)
NCAA Women's Division I Tournaments
«2006 2008»

The 2007 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament began on March 17, 2007 and concluded on April 3 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The Final Four consisted of Tennessee, LSU, Rutgers, and North Carolina, with Tennessee defeating Rutgers 59–46 for their seventh National Title. Tennessee's Candace Parker was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.

Notable events

The Dallas Regional largely followed the seeding, with the top two seeds meeting in the regional final, and the top seed, North Carolina, winning 84–72 to move on to the Final Four, the second consecutive trip to the Final Four for the Tarheels. In the Dayton Regional, seventh-seeded Mississippi upset second-seeded Maryland, and followed that with an upset of third-seeded Oklahoma, but in the regional final faced top-seeded Tennessee, who went on to beat Mississippi by 36 points, and move on to the Final Four.

In the Fresno Regional, the second-seeded Stanford Cardinal fell to Florida State, who then lost to third-seeded LSU. In the regional final, LSU easily beat Connecticut, 73–50. In the Greensboro Regional, neither of the top two seeds made it to the regional final. The top seed, Duke, lost a one-point game to Rutgers, while the second seed, Vanderbilt, was ousted in the second round by Bowling Green. Third-seeded Rutgers beat the fourth seed, Arizona State, by 19 points in the regional final.

The semifinal game between Tennessee and North Carolina was expected to be a high-scoring game, but it turned out to be more disorder than scoring, In a game the New York Times would describe as an "artless grind", the Tarheels held a 48–36 lead with just over eight minutes to play. They would not score another basket. The Lady Vols, who ended up hitting only 27% of the field goal attempts, went on a 20–2 run, and ended up with the win, 56–50.[1]

In the other semifinal, Rutgers faced LSU. Rutgers's appearance in a Final Four game seemed improbable earlier in the season, when the Scarlet Knights lost four of their first six games, and played so poorly that their coach C. Vivian Stringer revoked their access to their locker room. However, their play, particularly their defense, improved, and they were now a game away from a possible appearance in a national championship game, if they could defeat LSU, who had Sylvia Fowles as a dominant center. Fowles, who would go on to be the second overall WNBA draft pick the following year, had just completed a double-double against Connecticut, scoring 23 points, snaring 15 rebounds and blocking 6 shots. Rutgers held her to five points while missing eight of her ten field goal attempts. Rutgers pulled out to a 37–19 lead at halftime, and went on to win, holding LSU to 35 points, an NCAA record low in a Final Four game.[2]

In the championship game, Tennessee was too much for Rutgers. The Lady Vols had an eleven-point lead at halftime, which Rutgers cut to seven, but that was as close as they would get. Candace Parker scored 17 points,[3] but Pat Summitt noted the contribution of their 5-foot 2-inch point guard Shannon Bobbitt, who hit two key three-pointers en route to scoring 13 points of her own. Tennessee won 59–46, bringing the seventh national championship to the school, and increasing the win total of Summitt to 947, which is 33 more than Bob Knight, the most victorious coach on the men's side.[3]

Subregionals

2007 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament is located in USA
Austin
Austin
Minneapolis
Minneapolis
Stanford
Stanford
Los Angeles
Los Angeles
East Lansing
East Lansing
Hartford
Hartford
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh
Raleigh
Raleigh
2007 NCAA subregionals

Once again, the system was the same as the Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, with the exception that only 64 teams go and there is no play-in game. Automatic bids are secured by 31 conference champions and 33 at-large bids.

The subregionals, which once again used the "pod system", keeping most teams at or close to the home cities, were held from March 17 to 20 at these locations:

  • March 17 and 19:
Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas (Host: University of Texas at Austin)
Williams Arena, Minneapolis (Host: University of Minnesota, Twin Cities)
Maples Pavilion, Stanford, California (Host: Stanford University)
Galen Center, Los Angeles (Host: University of Southern California)
  • March 18 and 20:
Breslin Student Events Center, East Lansing, Michigan (Host: Michigan State University)
XL Center, Hartford, Connecticut (Host: University of Connecticut)
Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Host: University of Pittsburgh)
RBC Center, Raleigh, North Carolina (Host: North Carolina State University)

Regionals

2007 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament is located in USA
Fresno
Fresno
Greensboro
Greensboro
Dallas
Dallas
Dayton
Dayton
Cleveland
Cleveland
2007 NCAA Regionals and Final Four

The regionals were held from March 24 to 27 in the following regions. The regionals, as they were in the previous two tournaments, were named after the city they were played in.

  • March 24 and 26:
Fresno Regional, Save Mart Center, Fresno, California (Host: Fresno State University)
Greensboro Regional, Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina (Host: Atlantic Coast Conference)
  • March 25 and 27:
Dallas Regional, Reunion Arena, Dallas, Texas (Hosts: Conference USA and Southern Methodist University)
Dayton Regional, University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio (Host: University of Dayton)

The regional winners advanced to the Final Four, held on April 1 and 3, 2007 at Quicken Loans Arena, in Cleveland, Ohio, hosted by both Cleveland State University and the Mid-American Conference.

Tournament records

  • Three pointers—Matee Ajavon, Rutgers high four of five three point field goals. The 80% completion ratio is tied for the best in a Final Four game.
  • Points—LSU scored 35 points in the semifinal game, the fewest points scored in a Final Four game.
  • Three pointers—Nadia Begay, Boise State, hit eight three point field goals in a first round game against George Washington, tied for the most scored in a first or second round game.[4]

Qualifying teams - automatic

Sixty-four teams were selected to participate in the 2007 NCAA Tournament. Thirty-one conferences were eligible for an automatic bid to the 2007 NCAA tournament.[4]

Automatic Bids
    Record  
Qualifying School Conference Regular
Season
Conference Seed
Belmont University Atlantic Sun Conference 25–6 16–2 14
Boise State University WAC 24–8 12–4 12
Bowling Green State University MAC 29–3 15–1 7
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Southern Conference 25–7 15–3 12
Delaware State University MEAC 20–12 12–6 15
Drake University Missouri Valley Conference 14–18 5–13 16
East Carolina University Conference USA 19–13 11–5 13
Gonzaga University West Coast Conference 24–9 13–1 12
University of Wisconsin–Green Bay Horizon League 28–3 16–0 9
Harvard University Ivy League 15–12 13–1 15
College of the Holy Cross Patriot League 15–17 7–7 16
Idaho State University Big Sky Conference 17–13 11–5 15
Marist College MAAC 27–5 17–1 13
Middle Tennessee State University Sun Belt Conference 29–3 18–0 5
University of New Mexico Mountain West 24–8 11–5 8
University of North Carolina ACC 30–3 11–3 1
University of Oklahoma Big 12 26–4 13–3 3
Old Dominion University Colonial 24–8 17–1 7
Oral Roberts University Mid-Continent 22–10 8–6 15
Prairie View A&M University SWAC 19–13 14–4 16
Purdue University Big Ten 28–5 14–2 2
Robert Morris University Northeast Conference 24–7 15–3 13
Rutgers University Big East 22–8 12–4 4
Southeast Missouri State University Ohio Valley Conference 24–7 16–4 14
Stanford University Pac-10 28–4 17–1 2
University of Texas at Arlington Southland 24–8 16–0 13
University of California, Riverside Big West Conference 21–10 12–2 14
University of Maryland, Baltimore County America East 16–16 6–10 16
University of North Carolina at Asheville Big South Conference 21–11 9–5 14
Vanderbilt University SEC 27–5 10–4 2
Xavier University Atlantic 10 26–7 11–3 6

Qualifying teams - at-large

Thirty-three additional teams were selected to complete the sixty-four invitations.[4]

At-large Bids
    Record  
Qualifying School Conference Regular
Season
Conference Seed
Arizona State University Pacific-10 28–4 16–2 3
Baylor University Big 12 25–7 11–5 5
Brigham Young University Mountain West 23–9 12–4 11
University of California, Berkeley Pacific-10 23–8 12–6 8
University of Connecticut Big East 29–3 16–0 1
University of Delaware Colonial 26–5 16–2 12
DePaul University Big East 19–12 8–8 10
Duke University Atlantic Coast 30–1 14–0 1
Florida State University Atlantic Coast 22–9 10–4 10
The George Washington University Atlantic 10 26–3 14–0 5
University of Georgia Southeastern 25–6 11–3 3
Georgia Institute of Technology Atlantic Coast 20–11 9–5 7
Iowa State University Big 12 25–8 10–6 6
James Madison University Colonial 27–5 16–2 9
University of Louisiana at Lafayette Sun Belt 25–8 14–4 11
University of Louisville Big East 26–7 10–6 6
Louisiana State University Southeastern 26–7 10–4 3
Marquette University Big East 25–6 12–4 6
University of Maryland, College Park Atlantic Coast 27–5 10–4 2
Michigan State University Big Ten 23–8 13–3 5
University of Mississippi Southeastern 21–10 9–5 7
University of Nebraska–Lincoln Big 12 22–9 10–6 9
North Carolina State University Atlantic Coast 23–9 10–4 4
University of Notre Dame Big East 19–11 10–6 9
Ohio State University Big Ten 28–3 15–1 4
Oklahoma State University–Stillwater Big 12 20–10 8–8 10
University of Pittsburgh Big East 23–8 10–6 8
Texas Christian University Mountain West 21–10 11–5 10
Temple University Atlantic 10 24–7 13–1 8
University of Tennessee Southeastern 28–3 14–0 1
Texas A&M University Big 12 24–6 13–3 4
University of Washington Pacific-10 18–12 11–7 11
West Virginia University Big East 20–10 11–5 11

Bids by conference

Thirty-one conferences earned an automatic bid. In twenty-one cases, the automatic bid was the only representative from the conference. Thirty-three additional at-large teams were selected from ten of the conferences.[4]

Bids Conference Teams
8 Big East Rutgers, Connecticut, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, West Virginia
6 Atlantic Coast North Carolina, Duke, Florida St., Georgia Tech, Maryland, North Carolina St.
6 Big 12 Oklahoma, Baylor, Iowa St., Nebraska, Oklahoma St., Texas A&M
5 Southeastern Vanderbilt, Georgia, LSU, Mississippi, Tennessee
4 Pacific-10 Stanford, Arizona St., California, Washington
3 Atlantic 10 Xavier, George Washington, Temple
3 Big Ten Purdue, Michigan St., Ohio St.
3 Colonial Old Dominion, Delaware, James Madison
3 Mountain West New Mexico, BYU, TCU
2 Sun Belt Middle Tenn., La.-Lafayette
1 America East UMBC
1 Atlantic Sun Belmont
1 Big Sky Idaho St.
1 Big South UNC Asheville
1 Big West UC Riverside
1 Conference USA East Carolina
1 Horizon Green Bay
1 Ivy Harvard
1 Metro Atlantic Marist
1 Mid-American Bowling Green
1 Mid-Continent Oral Roberts
1 Mid-Eastern Delaware St.
1 Missouri Valley Drake
1 Northeast Robert Morris
1 Ohio Valley Southeast Mo. St.
1 Patriot Holy Cross
1 Southern Chattanooga
1 Southland Texas-Arlington
1 Southwestern Prairie View
1 West Coast Gonzaga
1 Western Athletic Boise St.

Bids by state

The sixty-four teams came from thirty-one states, plus Washington, D.C. Texas, Tennessee, and North Carolina had the most teams with five bids each. Nineteen states did not have any teams receiving bids.[4]

File:NCAA Women's basketball Tournament invitations by state 2007.svg
NCAA Women's basketball Tournament invitations by state 2007
Bids State Teams
5 North Carolina East Carolina, North Carolina, UNC Asheville, Duke, North Carolina St.
5 Tennessee Belmont, Chattanooga, Middle Tenn., Vanderbilt, Tennessee
5 Texas Prairie View, Texas-Arlington, Baylor, TCU, Texas A&M
3 California Stanford, UC Riverside, California
3 Ohio Bowling Green, Xavier, Ohio St.
3 Oklahoma Oklahoma, Oral Roberts, Oklahoma St.
3 Pennsylvania Robert Morris, Pittsburgh, Temple
2 Delaware Delaware St., Delaware
2 Florida Southeast Mo. St., Florida St.
2 Georgia Georgia, Georgia Tech
2 Idaho Boise St., Idaho St.
2 Indiana Purdue, Notre Dame
2 Iowa Drake, Iowa St.
2 Louisiana La.-Lafayette, LSU
2 Maryland UMBC, Maryland
2 Massachusetts Harvard, Holy Cross
2 Virginia Old Dominion, James Madison
2 Washington Gonzaga, Washington
2 Wisconsin Green Bay, Marquette
1 Arizona Arizona St.
1 Connecticut Connecticut
1 District of Columbia George Washington
1 Illinois DePaul
1 Kentucky Louisville
1 Michigan Michigan St.
1 Mississippi Mississippi
1 Nebraska Nebraska
1 New Jersey Rutgers
1 New Mexico New Mexico
1 New York Marist
1 Utah BYU
1 West Virginia West Virginia

Brackets

Data source[5]

(*) – Number of asterisks denotes number of overtimes.

Dallas Regional

First round
March 17–18
Second round
March 19–20
Regional semifinals
March 25
Regional finals
March 27
                       
1 North Carolina 95
16 Prairie View A&M 38
1 North Carolina 60
Pittsburgh, PA
9 Notre Dame 51
8 California 59
9 Notre Dame 62
1 North Carolina 70
5 George Washington 56
5 George Washington 76
12 Boise State 67
5 George Washington 59
Los Angeles, CA
4 Texas A&M 47
4 Texas A&M 58
13 Texas – Arlington 50
1 North Carolina 84
2 Purdue 72
6 Iowa State 79
11 Washington 60
6 Iowa State 56
Minneapolis, MN
3 Georgia 76
3 Georgia 53
14 Belmont 36
3 Georgia 65
2 Purdue 78
7 Georgia Tech 55
10 DePaul 54
7 Georgia Tech 63
Minneapolis, MN
2 Purdue 76
2 Purdue 63
15 Oral Roberts 42

Dayton Regional

First round
March 17–18
Second round
March 19–20
Regional semifinals
March 25
Regional finals
March 27
                       
1 Tennessee 76
16 Drake 37
1 Tennessee 68
Pittsburgh, PA
8 Pittsburgh 54
8 Pittsburgh 71
9 James Madison 61
1 Tennessee 65
13 Marist 46
5 Middle Tennessee St. 85
12 Gonzaga 46
5 Middle Tennessee State 59
Stanford, CA
13 Marist 73
4 Ohio State 63
13 Marist 67
1 Tennessee 98
7 Mississippi 62
6 Marquette 87
11 LA-Lafeyette 58
6 Marquette 47
Austin, TX
3 Oklahoma 78
3 Oklahoma 74
14 SE Missouri State 60
3 Oklahoma 82
7 Mississippi 90
7 Mississippi 88
10 TCU 74
7 Mississippi 89
Hartford, CT
2 Maryland 78
2 Maryland 89
15 Harvard 65

Fresno Regional

First round
March 17–18
Second round
March 19–20
Regional semifinals
March 24
Regional finals
March 26
                       
1 Connecticut 82
16 UMBC 33
1 Connecticut 94
Hartford, CT
9 Wisconsin–Green Bay 70
8 New Mexico 52
9 Wisconsin–Green Bay 59
1 Connecticut 78
4 N.C. State 71
5 Baylor 68
12 Chattanooga 55
5 Baylor 72
Raleigh, NC
4 N.C. State 78*
4 N.C. State 84
13 Robert Morris 52
1 Connecticut 50
3 LSU 73
6 Xavier 52
11 West Virginia 65
11 West Virginia 43
Austin, TX
3 LSU 49
3 LSU 77
14 UNC-Asheville 39
3 LSU 55
10 Florida State 43
7 Old Dominion 75
10 Florida State 85
10 Florida State 68
Stanford, CA
2 Stanford 61
2 Stanford 96
15 Idaho State 58

Greensboro Regional

First round
March 17–18
Second round
March 19–20
Regional semifinals
March 24
Regional finals
March 26
                       
1 Duke 81
16 Holy Cross 44
1 Duke 62
Raleigh, NC
8 Temple 52
8 Temple 64
9 Nebraska 61
1 Duke 52
4 Rutgers 53
5 Michigan State 69
12 Delaware 58
5 Michigan State 57
East Lansing, MI
4 Rutgers 70
4 Rutgers 77
13 East Carolina 34
4 Rutgers 64
3 Arizona State 45
6 Louisville 80
11 BYU 54
6 Louisville 58
Los Angeles, CA
3 Arizona State 67
3 Arizona State 57
14 UC Riverside 50
3 Arizona State 67
7 Bowling Green 49
7 Bowling Green 70
10 Oklahoma State 66
7 Bowling Green 60
East Lansing, MI
2 Vanderbilt 59
2 Vanderbilt 62
15 Delaware State 47

Final Four – Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio

National Semifinals
April 1
National Championship
April 3
           
DAL 1 North Carolina 50
DAY 1 Tennessee 56
DAY 1 Tennessee 59
GRE 4 Rutgers 46
FRE 3 LSU 35
GRE 4 Rutgers 59

Regional Initials: DAL-Dallas; DAY-Dayton; FRE-Fresno; GRE-Greensboro.

Television and radio

As it had every year since 2003, ESPN and ESPN2 televised all 63 games. The first two rounds were presented on a regional basis. In some cases, a complete game of interest to a particular region were shown. However, most of the telecasts were in a "whip-around" format, with the specific game being shown changed on occasion and the endings to all close games or potential major upsets included.[1] [2][3][4] All games not shown on either ESPN or ESPN2 in a local market area were available to subscribers of ESPN Full Court, a pay-per-view package available on most major cable and satellite providers. Select games were also simulcast on ESPNU and ESPN360.

All games from the regional semifinals forward were televised nationally on either ESPN or ESPN2, in both standard-definition and high-definition formats. The Final Four was on ESPN. In addition, the championship game was presented in the ESPN Full Circle format.

ESPN had three announcers at each site: a play-by-play announcer, a color commentator, and a sideline reporter. (In contrast, CBS Sports, which covers nearly every game of the men's tournament, did not use sideline reporters until the Final Four.) Mike Patrick, Doris Burke, Holly Rowe and Mark Jones had those respective roles at the Final Four site in Cleveland. Patrick, Burke and Rowe also covered the Greensboro regional.

Burke, who had been a sideline reporter at previous Final Fours, replaced Ann Meyers, who had that role for at least the last four years. Meyers is now the general manager of the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA.

Other regional broadcast teams were:

Some of the other ESPN commentators during earlier rounds included Linda Cohn, Dave Revsine, Dave Barnett, Fran Fraschilla, and Van Chancellor.

Trey Wingo was the studio host, with analysts Kara Lawson and Stacey Dales.

Mowins and Debbie Antonelli called the Final Four action on Westwood One radio.

Comments

  • Judy Southard, an athletics administrator at Louisiana State University, is the head of the Division I Women's Basketball Committee, which selected and seeded the teams for this event. Southard carried on her duties despite an ongoing scandal in which the head women's basketball coach, Pokey Chatman, resigned after it was alleged that she had an inappropriate sexual relationship with one of her former players. When asked about the scandal on the ESPN program announcing the tournament field and matchups, Southard declined to comment, saying that she wanted the focus to be on the players and teams in the tourney.
  • This was the first tournament since the NCAA began sanctioning women's basketball in which Louisiana Tech is not a participant. This leaves Tennessee as the only program to appear in all 26 events.
  • Texas was not in the tournament in consecutive seasons for the first time in its history. (At about the same moment that the selections were announced, Jody Conradt, who won 900 games and a championship during her tenure, resigned as the team's head coach.)
  • Marist College was the first current MAAC participant to win in the NCAA tournament. The MAAC was previously 0–21 in the tournament under its current membership. Marist also matched the record for the lowest seed to advance to the Sweet Sixteen as a 13 seed. Texas A&M did so in 1994 and Liberty also accomplished this in 2005.
  • The Final Four logo features a guitar that resembles the Fender Stratocaster, marking the fact that Cleveland serves as the home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Also, the opening teases on the ESPN telecasts featured an actress playing a disc jockey and mock-up vinyl album covers with players and coaches pictured, to further advance the theme. At the Final Four, a picture of a guitar was applied onto the playing surface with a wood finish, and ESPN used classic rock and roll and R&B songs to lead out into some of the commercial breaks.
  • Rutgers' cinderella performance in the NCAA tournament was the indirect catalyst of a chain of events that led to CBS Radio firing nationally syndicated radio host Don Imus and to a car accident that nearly killed New Jersey governor Jon Corzine. After their underdog performance, Don Imus mentioned the Rutgers women's basketball team in his radio program, where he referred to the team as "nappy-headed hos." This led to CBS radio firing Don Imus. In an attempt to apologize to the Rutgers' basketball team, Don Imus apologized to the Rutgers team in person at the New Jersey governor's mansion in Princeton, New Jersey. The meeting was also to be attended by New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, but on his way to the meeting, he was involved in an auto accident that left him in critical condition.

Record by conference

Conference # of Bids Record Win % Round
of 32
Sweet
Sixteen
Elite
Eight
Final
Four
Championship
Game
Big East 8 13–8 .619 7 2 2 1 1
Atlantic Coast 6 12–6 .667 6 4 1 1 0
Big 12 6 5–6 .455 4 1 0 0 0
Southeastern 5 16–4 .800 5 4 3 2 1
Pacific-10 4 4–4 .500 2 1 1 0 0
Big Ten 3 4–3 .571 2 1 1 0 0
Atlantic 10 3 3–3 .500 2 1 0 0 0
Colonial 3 0–3 .000 0 0 0 0 0
Mountain West 3 0–3 .000 0 0 0 0 0
Sun Belt 2 1–2 .333 1 0 0 0 0
Metro Atlantic 1 2–1 .667 1 1 0 0 0
Mid-American 1 2–1 .667 1 1 0 0 0
Horizon 1 1–1 .500 1 0 0 0 0

Eighteen conferences went 0-1: America East, Atlantic Sun Conference, Big Sky Conference, Big South Conference, Big West Conference, Conference USA, Ivy League, Mid-Continent, MEAC, Missouri Valley Conference, Northeast Conference, Ohio Valley Conference, Patriot League, Southern Conference, Southland, SWAC, West Coast Conference, and WAC

All-Tournament Team

Game Officials

  • Bob Trammell (Semi-Final)
  • Clarke Stevens (Semi-Final)
  • Eric Brewton (Semi-Final)
  • Dee Kantner (Semi-Final)
  • Denise Brooks-Clauser (Semi-Final)
  • Mary Day (Semi-Final)
  • Lisa Mattingly (Final)
  • Michael Price (Final)
  • Tina Napier (Final) [4]

See also

Notes

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External links