2009 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament

2009 NCAA Division I
women's basketball tournament

Teams	64
Finals site	Scottrade Center St. Louis, Missouri
Champions	Connecticut Huskies (6th title, 6th title game, 10th Final Four)
Runner-up	Louisville Cardinals (1st title game, 1st Final Four)
Semifinalists	Oklahoma Sooners (2nd Final Four) Stanford Cardinal (8th Final Four)
Winning coach	Geno Auriemma (6th title)
MOP	Tina Charles (Connecticut)
NCAA Division I women's tournaments «2008 2010»

The 2009 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament commenced 21 March 2009 and concluded 7 April 2009 when the University of Connecticut Huskies defeated the Louisville Cardinals 76–54.

Michigan State's upset over Duke in the second round would be the last time until 2023 that all four 1 seeds did not progress to at least the Sweet Sixteen.

Subregionals

Albuquerque

Baton Rouge

Columbus

College Park

Duluth

Lubbock

Los Angeles

Piscataway

Bowling Green

East Lansing

Iowa City

South Bend

Seattle

San Diego

Storrs

Chattanooga

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2009 NCAA subregionals

Once again, the system is the same as the Division I men's basketball tournament, with the exception that only 64 teams went and there was no play-in game. Automatic bids were secured by 31 conference champions and 33 at-large bids.

The subregionals, which used the "pod system", keeping most teams either at or close to the home cities, was held from 21 March to 24 at sixteen sites. The following were chosen in July 2006, prior to the re-expansion of the subregional sites from eight to sixteen:

• The Pit, Albuquerque, New Mexico (Host: University of New Mexico)
• Pete Maravich Assembly Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (Host: Louisiana State University)
• Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio (Host: The Ohio State University)
• Comcast Center, College Park, Maryland (Host: University of Maryland, College Park)
• Arena at Gwinnett Center, Duluth, Georgia (Host: University of Georgia)
• United Spirit Arena, Lubbock, Texas (Host: Texas Tech University)
• Galen Center, Los Angeles (Host: University of Southern California)
• Louis Brown Athletic Center, Piscataway, New Jersey (Host: Rutgers University)

As per the return to the 16-site subregional format, the following sites were added in 2008:

• E. A. Diddle Arena, Bowling Green, Kentucky (Host: Western Kentucky University)
• Jack Breslin Student Events Center, East Lansing, Michigan (Host: Michigan State University)
• Carver–Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City, Iowa (Host: University of Iowa)
• Edmund P. Joyce Center, South Bend, Indiana (Host: University of Notre Dame)
• Bank of America Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion, Seattle (Host: University of Washington)
• Cox Arena, San Diego (Host: San Diego State University)
• Harry A. Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, Connecticut (Host: University of Connecticut)
• McKenzie Arena, Chattanooga, Tennessee (Host: University of Tennessee at Chattanooga)

Regionals

Oklahoma City

Berkeley

Raleigh

Trenton

St. Louis

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2009 NCAA Regionals and Final Four

The regionals, held in the city rather than the geographic area as a practice that has been used since 2005, were held there from 28 March to 31 at these sites:

• Trenton Regional: Sovereign Bank Arena, Trenton, New Jersey (Hosts: Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and Rider University).
• Raleigh Regional: RBC Center, Raleigh, North Carolina (Host: North Carolina State University).
• Oklahoma City Regional: Ford Center, Oklahoma City (Host: Big 12 Conference).
• Berkeley Regional: Haas Pavilion, Berkeley, California (Hosts: University of California, Berkeley and Pac-10 Conference).

The regional winners advanced to the Final Four, held 5 and 7 April 2009 at the Scottrade Center, in St. Louis, Missouri, hosted by the Missouri Valley Conference.

Tournament records

• Three-pointers—Iowa State hit 16 three-point field goals in a first-round game against East Tennessee State, tied for the most number of three-point shots completed in an NCAA Tournament game.
• Three-pointers—South Dakota State hit 16 three-point field goals in a first-round game against TCU, tied for the most number of three-point shots completed in an NCAA Tournament game.
• Three-pointers—Connecticut hit 47 three-point field goals, tied for the most number of three-point shots completed in an NCAA Tournament.^[1]

Qualifying teams – automatic

Sixty-four teams were selected to participate in the 2009 NCAA Tournament. Thirty-one conferences were eligible for an automatic bid to the 2009 NCAA tournament.^[1]

Automatic Bids
		Record
Qualifying School	Conference	Regular Season	Conference	Seed
Austin Peay State University	Ohio Valley Conference	17–15	10–8	16
Ball State University	MAC	25–8	14–2	12
Baylor University	Big 12 Conference	27–5	12–4	2
University of North Carolina at Charlotte	Atlantic 10	23–8	13–1	11
University of Connecticut	Big East	33–0	16–0	1
Dartmouth College	Ivy League	18–10	13–1	16
Drexel University	Colonial	24–8	16–2	12
East Tennessee State University	Atlantic Sun Conference	20–10	16–4	13
University of Evansville	Missouri Valley Conference	15–18	4–14	15
California State University, Fresno	WAC	24–8	12–4	13
Gonzaga University	West Coast Conference	26–6	12–2	12
University of Wisconsin–Green Bay	Horizon League	29–3	18–0	11
Lehigh University	Patriot League	26–6	12–2	15
Liberty University	Big South Conference	24–8	15–1	14
Marist College	MAAC	29–3	16–2	12
University of Maryland, College Park	ACC	28–4	12–2	1
Middle Tennessee State University	Sun Belt Conference	28–5	17–1	8
University of Montana	Big Sky Conference	28–4	15–1	13
North Carolina A&T	MEAC	26–6	15–1	14
Ohio State University	Big Ten	27–5	15–3	3
Prairie View A&M University	SWAC	23–10	17–1	16
Sacred Heart University	Northeast Conference	25–7	18–0	14
South Dakota State University	The Summit League	31–2	17–1	7
Stanford University	Pac-10	29–4	17–1	2
University of California, Santa Barbara	Big West Conference	22–9	15–1	15
University of Central Florida	Conference USA	17–16	11–5	14
University of Utah	Mountain West	22–9	13–3	9
University of Texas at San Antonio	Southland	24–8	14–2	15
Vanderbilt University	SEC	24–8	10–4	4
University of Vermont	America East	21–11	12–4	16
Western Carolina University	Southern Conference	21–11	14–6	13

Qualifying teams – at-large

Thirty-three additional teams were selected to complete the sixty-four invitations.^[1]

At-large Bids
		Record
Qualifying School	Conference	Regular Season	Conference	Seed
Arizona State University	Pacific-10	23–8	15–3	6
Auburn University	Southeastern	29–3	12–2	2
University of California, Berkeley	Pacific-10	25–6	15–3	4
DePaul University	Big East	23–9	10–6	7
Duke University	Atlantic Coast	26–5	11–3	1
University of Florida	Southeastern	23–7	9–5	8
Florida State University	Atlantic Coast	25–7	12–2	3
University of Georgia	Southeastern	18–13	7–7	11
Georgia Tech	Atlantic Coast	21–9	8–6	9
University of Iowa	Big Ten	21–10	13–5	8
Iowa State	Big 12	24–8	11–5	4
Kansas State	Big 12	24–7	10–6	5
Louisville	Big East	29–4	14–2	3
LSU	Southeastern	18–10	10–4	6
Michigan State University	Big Ten	20–10	13–5	9
Minnesota	Big Ten	19–11	11–7	10
Mississippi State University	Southeastern	22–9	8–6	11
University of North Carolina	Atlantic Coast	27–6	10–4	3
University of Notre Dame	Big East	22–8	10–6	7
University of Oklahoma	Big 12	28–4	15–1	1
University of Pittsburgh	Big East	23–7	12–4	4
Purdue University	Big Ten	22–10	13–5	6
Rutgers University	Big East	19–12	9–7	7
San Diego State University	Mountain West	23–7	13–3	10
TCU	Mountain West	20–10	12–4	10
Temple University	Atlantic 10	21–9	11–3	9
University of Tennessee	Southeastern	22–10	9–5	5
University of Texas at Austin	Big 12	21–11	8–8	6
Texas A&M University	Big 12	25–7	11–5	2
VCU	Colonial	26–6	15–3	10
Villanova University	Big East	19–13	10–6	8
University of Virginia	Atlantic Coast	23–9	8–6	5
Xavier University	Atlantic 10	25–6	13–1	5

Tournament seeds

Trenton Regional Sovereign Bank Arena, Trenton, New Jersey Seed School Conference Record Berth type 1 Connecticut Big East 33–0 Automatic 2 Texas A&M Big 12 25–7 At-large 3 Florida State ACC 25–7 At-large 4 California Pac-10 25–6 At-large 5 Virginia ACC 23–9 At-large 6 Arizona State Pac-10 23–8 At-large 7 Notre Dame Big East 22–8 At-large 8 Florida SEC 23–7 At-large 9 Temple Atlantic 10 21–9 At-large 10 Minnesota Big 10 19–11 At-large 11 Georgia SEC 18–13 At-large 12 Marist MAAC 29–3 Automatic 13 Fresno State WAC 24–8 Automatic 14 North Carolina A&T MEAC 26–6 Automatic 15 Evansville Missouri Valley 15–18 Automatic 16 Vermont America East 21–11 Automatic

Berkeley Regional Haas Pavilion, Berkeley, California Seed School Conference Record Berth type 1 Duke ACC 26–5 At-large 2 Stanford Pac-10 29–4 Automatic 3 Ohio State Big 10 27–5 Automatic 4 Iowa State Big 12 24–8 At-large 5 Tennessee SEC 22–10 At-large 6 Texas Big 12 21–11 At-large 7 DePaul Big East 23–9 At-large 8 Middle Tennessee State Sun Belt 28–5 Automatic 9 Michigan State Big Ten 20–10 At-large 10 San Diego State Mountain West 23–7 At-large 11 Mississippi State SEC 22–9 At-large 12 Ball State MAC 25–8 Automatic 13 East Tennessee State Atlantic Sun 20–10 Automatic 14 Sacred Heart Northeast 25–7 Automatic 15 UCSB Big West 22–9 Automatic 16 Austin Peay Ohio Valley 17–15 Automatic

Raleigh Regional RBC Center, Raleigh, North Carolina Seed School Conference Record Berth type 1 Maryland ACC 28–4 Automatic 2 Baylor Big 12 27–5 Automatic 3 Louisville Big East 29–4 At-large 4 Vanderbilt SEC 24–8 Automatic 5 Kansas State Big 12 24–7 At-large 6 LSU SEC 18–10 At-large 7 South Dakota State Summit 31–2 Automatic 8 Villanova Big East 19–13 At-large 9 Utah Mountain West 22–9 Automatic 10 TCU Mountain West 20–10 At-large 11 Green Bay Horizon 29–3 Automatic 12 Drexel CAA 24–8 Automatic 13 Western Carolina Southern 21–11 Automatic 14 Liberty Big South 24–8 Automatic 15 UTSA Southland 24–8 Automatic 16 Dartmouth Ivy 18–10 Automatic

Oklahoma City Regional Ford Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Seed School Conference Record Berth type 1 Oklahoma Big 12 28–4 At-large 2 Auburn SEC 29–3 At-large 3 North Carolina ACC 27–6 At-large 4 Pittsburgh Big East 23–7 At-large 5 Xavier Atlantic 10 25–6 At-large 6 Purdue Big 10 22–10 At-large 7 Rutgers Big East 19–12 At-large 8 Iowa Big 10 21–10 At-large 9 Georgia Tech ACC 21–9 At-large 10 VCU CAA 26–6 At-large 11 Charlotte Atlantic 10 23–8 Automatic 12 Gonzaga West Coast 26–6 Automatic 13 Montana Big Sky 28–4 Automatic 14 UCF Conference USA 17–16 Automatic 15 Lehigh Patriot 26–6 Automatic 16 Prairie View A&M SWAC 23–10 Automatic

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.^[1]

Bids	Conference	Teams
7	Big East	Connecticut, DePaul, Louisville, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Villanova
7	Southeastern	Vanderbilt, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Mississippi St., Tennessee
6	Atlantic Coast	Maryland, Duke, Florida St., Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Virginia
6	Big 12	Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M
5	Big Ten	Ohio State, Iowa, Michigan State, Minnesota, Purdue
3	Atlantic 10	Charlotte, Temple, Xavier
3	Mountain West	Utah, San Diego State, TCU
3	Pacific-10	Stanford, Arizona State, California
2	Colonial	Drexel, VCU
1	America East	Vermont
1	Atlantic Sun	East Tennessee State
1	Big Sky	Montana
1	Big South	Liberty
1	Big West	UC Santa Barbara
1	Conference USA	UCF
1	Horizon	Green Bay
1	Ivy	Dartmouth
1	Metro Atlantic	Marist
1	Mid-American	Ball State
1	Mid-Eastern	North Carolina A&T
1	Missouri Valley	Evansville
1	Northeast	Sacred Heart
1	Ohio Valley	Austin Peay
1	Patriot	Lehigh
1	Southern	Western Carolina
1	Southland	UTSA
1	Southwestern	Prairie View
1	Summit	South Dakota State
1	Sun Belt	Middle Tennessee State
1	West Coast	Gonzaga
1	Western Athletic	Fresno State

Bids by state

The sixty-four teams came from thirty-two states. Texas had the most teams with six bids. Eighteen states did not have any teams receiving bids.^[1]

NCAA Women's basketball Tournament invitations by state 2009

Bids	State	Teams
6	Texas	Baylor, Prairie View, UTSA, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M
5	California	Fresno State, Stanford, UC Santa Barbara, California, San Diego State
5	North Carolina	Charlotte, North Carolina A&T, Western Carolina, Duke, North Carolina
5	Pennsylvania	Drexel, Lehigh, Pittsburgh, Temple, Villanova
5	Tennessee	Austin Peay, East Tennessee State, Middle Tennessee State, Vanderbilt, Tennessee
4	Indiana	Ball State, Evansville, Notre Dame, Purdue
3	Florida	UCF, Florida, Florida State
3	Virginia	Liberty, VCU, Virginia
2	Connecticut	Connecticut, Sacred Heart
2	Georgia	Georgia, Georgia Tech
2	Iowa	Iowa, Iowa State
2	Ohio	Ohio State, Xavier
1	Alabama	Auburn
1	Arizona	Arizona State
1	Illinois	DePaul
1	Kansas	Kansas State
1	Kentucky	Louisville
1	Louisiana	LSU
1	Maryland	Maryland
1	Michigan	Michigan State
1	Minnesota	Minnesota
1	Mississippi	Mississippi State
1	Montana	Montana
1	New Hampshire	Dartmouth
1	New Jersey	Rutgers
1	New York	Marist
1	Oklahoma	Oklahoma
1	South Dakota	South Dakota State
1	Utah	Utah
1	Vermont	Vermont
1	Washington	Gonzaga
1	Wisconsin	Green Bay

Game summaries

Berkeley Region

First round

Second seeded Stanford easily beat the 15th seeded Gauchos of UC Santa Barbara behind a double-double by Jayne Appel.^[2] Third seeded Ohio State beat Sacred Heart by 14 points, but led by only two well into the second half. Freshman guard Samantha Prahalis scored 23 to help lead the Buckeyes to victory.^[3] Tenth seeded San Diego State upset seventh seeded DePaul behind Jene Morris's career tying 35 points.^[4] Eleventh seed Mississippi State used 21 of 22 free throw shooting to upset the sixth seeded Texas Longhorns.^[5] Middle Tennessee's Alysha Clark, the nations D1 scoring leader, scored 34 points, but it wasn't enough to defeat ninth seeded Michigan State, who broke a late tie and held on to win by one point.^[6] One seeded Duke easily disposed of sixteen seeded Austin Peay.^[7] Fourth seeded Iowa State tied an NCAA tournament record with 16 three-point goals in an easy win over thirteen seed East Tennessee State.^[8]

Twelfth seeded Ball State upset defending national champion Tennessee, which had never lost an opening game in the tournament before. Tennessee has been in every one of the 29 NCAA Tournaments, and prior to this year, had never failed to make the Sweet Sixteen.^[9]

Second round

Third seeded Ohio State narrowly defeated eleventh seeded Mississippi State 64–58. OSU held MSU scoreless for the last 6:43 of the game.^[10] Second seeded Stanford beat San Diego State by 28, but the game was tied 8 minutes into the game. Stanford's Nneka Ogwumike had career highs of 27 points and 13 rebounds.^[11]

Ninth seeded Michigan State upsets top-seeded Duke on the home floor of Michigan State, in a match up between Duke head coach Joanne P. McCallie and her former team. Michigan State shot under 40% from the floor, but held Duke to under 27%.^[12] Twelfth seeded Ball State stayed with Iowa State for 30 minutes, but couldn't maintain the pace. Iowa State extended a four-point lead to win 71–57.^[13]

Regional semifinals (Sweet Sixteen)

Fourth seeded Iowa State beat ninth seeded Michigan State by a single point. MSU had a seven-point lead with 1:26 to go, but the Cyclones scored the final eight points of the game. They took the lead on a three-point shot by Alison Lacey for three of her 29 points. The Spartans had a chance to retake the lead, but missed their last three shots.^[14]

Two seed Stanford beat Ohio State behind Jayne Appel's double-double. OSU freshman Samantha Prahalis scored 19, but it wasn't enough to overcome the Cardinal shooting.^[15]

Regional final (Elite Eight)

Two seed Stanford easily beat four seed Iowa State behind Jayne Appel's 46 points. Jayne's 46 points sets a new school record and places her in the NCAA Tournament record book with the third highest point total in NCAA tournament history. Appel's 27 first half points exceeded the first half total for Iowa State.^[16]

Oklahoma City Region

First round

Third seeded North Carolina beat Fourteenth seeded Central Florida. UNC had a 14-point lead with 30 seconds left in the game, but UCF scored the final nine points of the game to make the final margin five points.^[17] Second seeded Auburn easily beat fifteen seed Lehigh, behind DeWanna Bonner's 26 points.^[18] Sixth seeded Purdue beat eleventh seeded Charlotte to win their twelfth consecutive first-round game.^[19] Fourth seeded Pittsburgh beat thirteenth seeded Montana behind Shavonte Zellous's 31 points.^[20] Twelfth seeded Gonzaga upset fifth seed Xavier, giving the Bulldogs their first ever NCAA Tournament win.^[21] Seventh seeded Rutgers beat Virginia Commonwealth to spoil VCU's NCAA Tournament debut.^[22] Top seeded Oklahoma struggled early, but ended up winning easily over Prairie View A&M.^[23] Ninth seeded Georgia Tech, playing without leading scorer Alex Montgomery, beat eighth seeded Iowa.^[24]

Second round

Seventh seeded Rutgers upsets second seeded Auburn. Playing on their home court, the Scarlet Knights scored the first nine points and lead 13–2 at the first media timeout. Rutgers held Auburn to 29% shooting and ended the game with a 28-point margin.^[25]

Fourth seeded Pittsburgh and twelfth seeded Gonzaga were tied at halftime, and with three and a half minutes to go in the game, but the Panthers outscored the Bulldogs in the final minutes to win by five.^[26]

Sixth seeded Purdue upsets third seeded North Carolina. Purdue had lost its last three games to UNC, but hit 57% of the field goals to win by fifteen.^[27]

Top seeded Oklahoma held Georgia Tech to 27% shooting in a win that advanced the Sooners to a Sweet Sixteen game in Oklahoma City.^[28]

Regional semifinals (Sweet Sixteen)

Sixth seeded Purdue holds off a determined Rutgers team. The Scarlet Knights fell behind early but came back to within two with less than two minutes remaining. Purdue shot 55% in the first half, ending with over 52% shooting.^[29]

Top seeded Oklahoma beat fourth seed Pittsburgh. Whitney Hand had a career-high 22 points, which helped overcome foul trouble for Courtney Paris. All five Sooner starters scored in double digits.^[30]

Regional final (Elite Eight)

Oklahoma beat Purdue to advance to their second ever Final Four. Courtney Paris had 19 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks, while Danielle Robinson scored 23 points to lead the team over the Boilermakers. Purdue had three players in double-figures, led by Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton with 20, but it wasn't enough.^[31]

Raleigh Region

First round

Fourth seeded Vanderbilt beat Western Carolina.^[32] Fifth seeded Kansas State beat Drexel. Shalee Lehning tied a career high with 13 assists.^[33] Seventh seeded South Dakota State tied an NCAA record with 16 three-point goals to help beat the Horned Frogs of TCU.^[34] Ninth seed Utah overwhelmed Villanova, winning by 30.^[35] Top seeded Maryland easily beat Dartmouth. Kristi Toliver had as many points at halftime (23) as Dartmouth.^[36] Sixth-seeded LSU beats Wisconsin-Green Bay behind Allison Hightower's career-best 26 points.^[37]

Second seeded Baylor needed overtime to prevail against fifteen seed UTSA. Head coach Kim Mulkey was not at the game, having been hospitalized earlier in the day due to a reaction to medication.^[38] Third seeded Louisville forced 27 turnovers in a win over Liberty.^[39]

Second round

Fourth seeded Vanderbilt beat fifth seeded Kansas State behind a career-high 27 points by Jennifer Risper, and 24 points by Christina Wirth. Kansas State held a one-point lead at halftime, but Vanderbilt scored eleven consecutive points in a second half run to take a lead they would not relinquish.^[40]

Second seeded Baylor beats South Dakota State on a last second shot. Kelli Griffin scored with 0.5 seconds remaining in the game to break a 58–58 tie, and move the Bears into the regional semi-final.^[41]

Marissa Coleman has 18 points and 18 rebounds to lead top seeded Maryland over Utah on their home floor. Over ten thousand fans watched Maryland win its 35th consecutive game at home.^[42]

Third seeded Louisville beat LSU on LSU's home floor. LSU had won twelve consecutive victories on their home floor. LSU's will not advance to the Final Four, ending an NCAA record-tying streak of five consecutive appearances. The win was the 31st of the year for Louisville, a school record.^[43]

Regional semifinals (Sweet Sixteen)

Three seed Louisville holds two seed Baylor to 39 points, in a surprisingly easy upset. Both Angel McCoughtry and Candyce Bingham had double-doubles to help lead the Cardinals to the first regional championship game in school history.^[44]

Top seed Maryland survived a challenge from fourth seeded Vanderbilt. The Commodores started strong with an opening 12–2, which they extended to a 33–15 margin with six minutes left in the first half. Vanderbilt's Christina Wirth had a career-high 28 points, but it wasn't enough as Maryland's Marissa Coleman scored 42. Coleman scored the basket to give Maryland the lead with just under 30 seconds left in the game, and the clinching free throws.^[45]

Regional final (Elite Eight)

Third seeded Louisville knocks off top-seeded Maryland to head to their first ever Final Four. Angel McCoughtry had a double-double to lead the Cardinals to the win. Maryland hurt themselves with 21 turnovers. Louisville head coach Jeff Walz was a former assistant coach of Maryland.^[46]

Trenton Region

First round

Fifth seed Virginia trailed at halftime, but came back to beat Marist.^[47] Sixth seeded Arizona State beat Georgia, despite playing without injured Dymond Simon.^[48] Third seeded Florida State had five players in double figure, helping win over North Carolina A&T.^[49] Fourth seeded California beats Fresno State.^[50] Top seed Connecticut easily beat Vermont behind Tina Charles's 32 points on 13–14 from the field.^[51]

Eighth seeded Florida beats Temple for its 24th win of the year, tying a school record.^[52] Second seeded Texas A&M forces 30 turnovers in a win over Evansville.^[53] Tenth seeded Minnesota upsets Notre Dame.^[54]

Second round

Sixth seeded Arizona State's Danielle Orsillo hit a three-pointer with 32 seconds left to break a 54–54 tie. ASU hung on to upset third seeded Florida State.^[55]

Fourth seeded California won easily over fifth seeded Virginia. Ashley Walker tied a career high with 32 points, while Devanei Hampton and Alexis Gray-Lawson each added 22 points.^[56]

Second seeded Texas A&M beat tenth seeded Minnesota behind a season-high 20 steals. The Aggies forced 32 turnovers to beat the Gophers by 31.^[57]

Top seeded Connecticut beat eighth seeded Florida. Renee Montgomery, playing on her home court for the last time in her career, scored 25. The win moves Connecticut in the Sweet Sixteen for the 16th consecutive time, the longest active streak.^[58]

Regional semifinals (Sweet Sixteen)

Connecticut faced their largest deficit of the year (eight points) against California, and went into halftime with only a two-point margin. UConn outscored California by 40–12, starting at the time of the eight-point deficit, to take control of the game. UConn's Tiffany Hayes had a career-high 28 points, shooting 9–10 from the field, including 5–6 from beyond the three-point arc.^[59]

Sixth seeded Arizona State upsets two seed Texas A&M. Briann January and Danielle Orsillo were both perfect from the floor, helping the Sun Devils to a season-high 62 percent shooting percentage. The Texas &M team was also shooting well, hitting 55% of their first 29 shots. They were within three as late as 7:12 left in the game, but ASU outscored them and ended with a fifteen-point margin.^[60]

Regional final (Elite Eight)

Top-seeded Connecticut beat Arizona State to advance to their tenth Final Four. The game was close early – UConn led at one point 20–19, but UConn went on a 9–2 run to open up the margin. After a score by ASU, Maya Moore scored the next five points, which broke the single-season scoring record held by Kara Wolters. Kara was sitting courtside, doing commentary for a Connecticut radio station. The Sun Devils got to within eight at one point in the second half, but Moore and Montgomery combined for eight consecutive points to stretch the lead to 16. ASU would not get within double digits again.^[61]

Final Four

Two very different games in terms of Final Four experience. In the first game, Oklahoma is in only its second Final Four (the first in 2002) and Louisville is making its first ever Final Four.

Only four coaches in NCAA history have multiple NCAA championships, and two of them, Tara VanDerveer and Geno Auriemma, coach the second game.

Louisville versus Oklahoma

Louisville plays the role of newcomer to the Final Four by missing its first 13 shots. Over seven minutes into the game, Louisville has taken their second full timeout, has yet to hit a basket, and is losing 16–2. Louisville shook off the opening jitters and began scoring. Just after the final media timeout of the first half, two Angel McCoughtry free throws would cut the lead to six, but Oklahoma would outscore Louisville 10–4 to take a twelve-point lead into the half.

The second half would open up almost a mirror image of the first half. Louisville outscored Oklahoma 15–1 to take their first lead. Oklahoma did not get a basket until more than seven minutes had elapsed. The game would stay close from then on, with never more than a six-point margin by either team. With 18 seconds left in the game Courtney Paris would hit a basket to bring the margin to one. After Candyce Bingham hit one of two free throws, Nyeshia Stevenson took a three-point shot with two seconds left in the game. Her shot rimmed out, and Louisville hung on to win 61–59.^[62]

Stanford versus Connecticut

Connecticut entered the game having won its last 37 games, but their opponent Stanford was the last team to have beaten them. Just over nine minutes into the game, Stanford led 14–13. Jayne Appel scored ten of Stanford's 14 points, and assisted on one of the other two baskets. Then Renee Montgomery scored nine of UConn's next eleven points and assisted on the other basket in the stretch. Maya Moore added five points, part of an 18–4 run to bring the score to 31–18. Connecticut entered the halftime break with a 13-point lead, one more than they had had the last time they had played a Final Four game in St. Louis: a 2001 game in which, despite the large halftime lead, Notre Dame went to win the game and the Championship.

This time was different however. Connecticut scored the first eleven points of the second half, to double up Stanford 48–24. Connecticut led by at least 20 until the last five minutes and won 81–64. Jayne Appel matched Renee Montgomery for high scoring honors with 26, but Connecticut also got 24 from Maya Moore.^[63]

Championship game – Louisville versus Connecticut

The players, coaches, and other staff of the 2008–2009 UConn Huskies, winners of the 2009 national championship, are honored at the White House by President Barack Obama on 27 April 2009.

Louisville would meet Connecticut for the third time in the season, but it would be the first ever all Big East Championship game. UConn prevailed in the first meeting by 28 points, and won by 39 in the Big East Tournament Championship game.^[64]

Angel McCoughtry tried to change the outcome this time, scoring eleven of Louisville's first 15 points, and assisting on two others, to take a 15–13 lead just over eight minutes into the game. UConn began feeding Tina Charles, who helped pull them to a 14-point lead 39–24, at halftime.

Tina would end the game with 25 points, 19 rebounds, and a trophy for the Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament. Connecticut hit 50% of their field goal tries, holding Louisville to just under 31%.

Connecticut won 76–54, winning its sixth National Championship, and completing its third perfect season. They would win every game by double digits for the first time in NCAA history.^[65]

Brackets

Results to date^[66]

* – Denotes overtime period

Trenton Regional – Trenton, New Jersey

	First round 21–22 March 2009					Second round 23–24 March 2009					Regional semifinals 29 March 2009					Regional finals 31 March 2009
	1	Connecticut	104
	16	Vermont	65
						1	Connecticut	87
	Storrs, Connecticut
						8	Florida	59
	8	Florida	70
	9	Temple	57
											1	Connecticut	77
											4	California	53
	5	Virginia	68
	12	Marist	61
						5	Virginia	73
	Los Angeles, California
						4	California	99
	4	California	70
	13	Fresno St.	47
																1	Connecticut	83
																6	Arizona St.	64
	6	Arizona St.	58
	11	Georgia	47
						6	Arizona St.	63
	Duluth, Georgia
						3	Florida St.	58
	3	Florida St.	83
	14	North Carolina A&T	71
											6	Arizona St.	84
											2	Texas A&M	69
	7	Notre Dame	71
	10	Minnesota	79
						10	Minnesota	42
	South Bend, Indiana
						2	Texas A&M	73
	2	Texas A&M	80
	15	Evansville	45

Berkeley Regional – Berkeley, California

	First round 21–22 March 2009					Second round 23–24 March 2009					Regional semifinals 28 March 2009					Regional finals 30 March 2009
	1	Duke	83
	16	Austin Peay	42
						1	Duke	49
	East Lansing, Michigan
						9	Michigan St.	63
	8	Middle Tenn.	59
	9	Michigan St.	60
											9	Michigan St.	68
											4	Iowa St.	69
	5	Tennessee	55
	12	Ball St.	71
						12	Ball St.	57
	Bowling Green, Kentucky
						4	Iowa St.	71
	4	Iowa St.	85
	13	East Tenn. St.	53
																4	Iowa St.	53
																2	Stanford	74
	6	Texas	63
	11	Mississippi St.	71
						11	Mississippi St.	58
	Columbus, Ohio
						3	Ohio St.	64
	3	Ohio St.	77
	14	Sacred Heart	63
											3	Ohio St.	66
											2	Stanford	84
	7	DePaul	70
	10	San Diego St.	76
						10	San Diego St.	49
	San Diego, California
						2	Stanford	77
	2	Stanford	74
	15	UCSB	39

Raleigh Regional – Raleigh, North Carolina

	First round 21–22 March 2009					Second round 23–24 March 2009					Regional semifinals 28 March 2009					Regional finals 30 March 2009
	1	Maryland	82
	16	Dartmouth	53
						1	Maryland	71
	College Park, Maryland
						9	Utah	56
	8	Villanova	30
	9	Utah	60
											1	Maryland	78
											4	Vanderbilt	74
	5	Kansas St.	68
	12	Drexel	44
						5	Kansas St.	61
	Albuquerque, New Mexico
						4	Vanderbilt	74
	4	Vanderbilt	73
	13	Western Carolina	44
																1	Maryland	60
																3	Louisville	77
	6	LSU	69
	11	Green Bay	59
						6	LSU	52
	Baton Rouge, Louisiana
						3	Louisville	62
	3	Louisville	62
	14	Liberty	42
											3	Louisville	56
											2	Baylor	39
	7	South Dakota St.	90
	10	TCU	55
						7	South Dakota St.	58
	Lubbock, Texas
						2	Baylor	60
	2	Baylor	87*
	15	UTSA	82

Oklahoma City Regional – Oklahoma City

	First round 21–22 March 2009					Second round 23–24 March 2009					Regional semifinals 29 March 2009					Regional finals 31 March 2009
	1	Oklahoma	76
	16	Prairie View A&M	47
						1	Oklahoma	69
	Iowa City, Iowa
						9	Georgia Tech	50
	8	Iowa	62
	9	Georgia Tech	76
											1	Oklahoma	70
											4	Pittsburgh	59
	5	Xavier	59
	12	Gonzaga	74
						12	Gonzaga	60
	Seattle, WA
						4	Pittsburgh	65
	4	Pittsburgh	64
	13	Montana	35
																1	Oklahoma	74
																6	Purdue	68
	6	Purdue	65
	11	Charlotte	52
						6	Purdue	85
	Chattanooga, Tennessee
						3	North Carolina	70
	3	North Carolina	85
	14	UCF	80
											6	Purdue	67
											7	Rutgers	61
	7	Rutgers	57
	10	VCU	51
						7	Rutgers	80
	Piscataway, New Jersey
						2	Auburn	52
	2	Auburn	85
	15	Lehigh	49

Final Four – St. Louis, Missouri

	National Semifinals 5 April					National Championship 7 April
	T1	Connecticut	83
	B2	Stanford	64
						T1	Connecticut	76
						R3	Louisville	54
	R3	Louisville	61
	O1	Oklahoma	59

Record by conference

Conference	# of Bids	Record	Win %	Sweet Sixteen	Elite Eight	Final Four	Championship Game
Pac-10	3	9–3	.750	3	2	1	0
Big East	7	15–6	.714	4	2	2	2
Big 12	6	12–6	.667	4	2	1	0
Big Ten	5	8–5	.615	3	1	0	0
ACC	6	8–6	.571	1	1	0	0
MAC	1	1–1	.500	0	0	0	0
Summit League	1	1–1	.500	0	0	0	0
West Coast	1	1–1	.500	0	0	0	0
SEC	7	6–7	.462	1	0	0	0
Mountain West	3	2–3	.400	0	0	0	0
Atlantic 10	3	0–3	.000	0	0	0	0
Colonial	2	0–2	.000	0	0	0	0

Nineteen conferences went 0-1: America East, Atlantic Sun Conference, Big Sky Conference, Big South Conference, Big West Conference, Conference USA, Horizon League, Ivy League, MAAC, MEAC, Missouri Valley Conference, Northeast Conference, Ohio Valley Conference, Patriot League, Southern Conference, Southland, Sun Belt Conference, SWAC, and WAC

All-Tournament Team

• Tina Charles, Connecticut
• Maya Moore, Connecticut
• Renee Montgomery, Connecticut
• Angel McCoughtry, Louisville
• Jayne Appel, Stanford^[1]

Game officials

• Tina Napier(semifinal)
• Cameron Inouye (semifinal)
• Lisa Jones (semifinal)
• Eric Brewton (semifinal)
• Melissa Barlows (semifinal)
• Felicia Grinter (semifinal)
• Dee Kantner (final)
• Lisa Mattingly (final)
• Clarke Stevens (final)^[1]

See also

• 2009 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament
• 2009 NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament
• 2009 NAIA Division I women's basketball tournament
• 2009 NAIA Division II women's basketball tournament
• 2009 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

References

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External links

• NCAA official site