1994 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament

The 1994 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament featured 64 teams for the first time ever. The Final Four consisted of North Carolina, Purdue, Louisiana Tech, and Alabama, with North Carolina defeating Louisiana Tech 60–59 to win its first NCAA title on a 3-point shot by Charlotte Smith as time expired. The ball was inbounded with only 00:00.7 left on the clock, making it one of the most exciting finishes in tournament history.

Notable events

The Alabama team was a six seed in the Midwest region. After beating the 11 seed Oregon State, they faced a higher seed, Iowa, who were seeded third in the region. Alabama won that game, and went on to face another higher seed in Texas Tech, the defending national champions. Alabama won again, and went on to face Penn State, the top seed in the region. Alabama won yet again, this time by 14 points, to advance to their first final Four.

In the semi-final game of the Final Four, they faced Louisiana Tech, a team they had played earlier in the year. In their December match-up, Alabama had beaten the Lady Techsters by 22 points, 99–77. In this game La tech opened up a six-point lead at the half. Alabama's All-American guard Niesa Johnson cut her hand on a locker room sink, which required seven stitches. Because it was such an important game, Johnson was bandaged and medicated and returned to the game. The Alabama team fought back from an eleven-point deficit and cut the margin to two points with seconds to play. The plan was to get the ball to Betsy Harris to attempt a three-point play, but Harris stepped out of bounds. After a made free throw, they had one more chance with a three-point attempt but it failed, and La Tech moved on to the championship game.

In the other semifinal game, the North Carolina team faced Purdue. North Carolina's Charlotte Smith was expected to be an important key to the game, and the Purdue coach, Lin Dunn, tried to prepare the team to handle Smith. That planning was ineffective, as Smith scored 23 points, and set a personal career records for assists with eight. The Purdue team was down 13 points in the first half, but fought back and managed to take a two-point lead in the second half. However, the Tar Heels switched to a zone defense after made baskets, and retook the lead, ending up with an 89–74 victory, and the first North Carolina team to make it to the Championship game.

In addition to Charlotte Smith, North Carolina had a freshman guard Marion Jones who would later be known for world class performances in track and field. Jones picked up her third foul only six minutes in the game and had to sit. This "rattled" the North Carolina team but they kept the game close. When the game drew to a close, the La Tech team had a two-point advantage with less than a second on the clock, but North Carolina had the ball. With 0.7 seconds left, there was just enough time to catch and shoot. The ball was inbounded to Charlotte Smith who had made only eight three-pointers on 31 attempts during the season. Smith launched the ball, but never saw what happened as her vision was blocked. Her teammates mobbed her, and she realized she had hit the shot to complete one of the most dramatic finishes in NCAA Championship history. North Carolina won the Championship 60–59.

Tournament records Rebounds - Charlotte Smith recorded 23 rebounds in the championship game between North Carolina and Louisiana Tech, the most number of rebounds recorded in a Final Four game. The result is also a tie for the most number of rebounds in an NCAA tournament game. Winning Margin - Tennessee beat North Carolina A&T by a score of 111–37. The 74 point margin is the largest ever record in an NCAA tournament game. Three-point field goals - Betsy Harris scored 20 three-point attempts in the tournament, tied for the most ever scored in a complete tournament. Harris scored the baskets in five games, while the two other record holders, Diana Taurasi and Maya Moore, accomplished the feat in six games.

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.

Automatic bids     Record   Qualifying school Conference Regular season Conference Seed Bowling Green State University MAC 7 Brown University Ivy League 16 University of Connecticut Big East 1 Florida International University Trans America 8 Fordham University Patriot League 16 Georgia Southern University Southern Conference 14 Grambling State University SWAC 15 University of Wisconsin–Green Bay Mid-Continent 15 Louisiana Tech University Sun Belt Conference 4 Loyola University Maryland MAAC 14 University of Missouri Big Eight 15 Missouri State University Missouri Valley Conference 6 University of Montana Big Sky Conference 7 Mount St. Mary's University Northeast Conference 14 NC A&T MEAC 16 University of North Carolina ACC 3 University of Notre Dame Midwestern Collegiate 7 Old Dominion University Colonial 6 Pennsylvania State University Big Ten 1 University of Portland West Coast Conference 15 Radford University Big South Conference 16 Rutgers University Atlantic 10 5 San Diego State University WAC 5 University of Southern California Pac-10 2 Stephen F. Austin State University Southland 8 University of Tennessee SEC 1 Tennessee State University Ohio Valley Conference 13 University of Texas at Austin Southwest 5 University of Alabama at Birmingham Great Midwest 10 University of Nevada, Las Vegas Big West Conference 10 University of Vermont North Atlantic Conference 13 Virginia Tech Metro 8

Qualifying teams – at-large Thirty-two additional teams were selected to complete the sixty-four invitations.

At-large bids     Record   Qualifying school Conference Regular season Conference Seed University of Alabama Southeastern 6 Auburn University Southeastern 9 Boise State University Big Sky 9 Clemson University Atlantic Coast 9 University of Colorado at Boulder Big Eight 3 Creighton University Missouri Valley 10 University of Florida Southeastern 4 The George Washington University Atlantic 10 7 University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Big West 12 Indiana University Big Ten 12 University of Iowa Big Ten 3 University of Kansas Big Eight 9 Marquette University Great Midwest 14 University of Minnesota Big Ten 10 University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) Southeastern 5 Northern Illinois University Mid-Continent 11 Oklahoma State University–Stillwater Big Eight 12 University of Oregon Pacific-10 6 Oregon State University Pacific-10 11 Purdue University Big Ten 1 Santa Clara University West Coast 11 Seton Hall University Big East 4 Southern Methodist University Southwest 13 University of Southern Mississippi Metro 4 Saint Joseph's University Atlantic 10 11 Stanford University Pacific-10 2 Texas A&M University Southwest 13 Texas Tech University Southwest 2 Vanderbilt University Southeastern 2 University of Virginia Atlantic Coast 3 University of Washington Pacific-10 8 Western Kentucky University Sun Belt 12

Bids by conference Thirty-two conferences earned an automatic bid. In sixteen cases, the automatic bid was the only representative from the conference. Thirty-two additional at-large teams were selected from sixteen of the conferences.

Bids Conference Teams 6

Southeastern

Tennessee, Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt 5

Big Ten

Penn St., Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Purdue 5

Pacific-10

Southern California, Oregon, Oregon St., Stanford, Washington 4

Big Eight

Missouri, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma St. 4

Southwest

Texas, SMU, Texas A&M, Texas Tech 3

Atlantic 10

Rutgers, George Washington, St. Joseph's 3

Atlantic Coast

North Carolina, Clemson, Virginia 2

Big East

Connecticut, Seton Hall 2

Big Sky

Montana, Boise St. 2

Big West

UNLV, Hawaii 2

Great Midwest

UAB, Marquette 2

Metro

Virginia Tech, Southern Miss. 2

Mid-Continent

Green Bay, Northern Ill. 2

Missouri Valley

Missouri St., Creighton 2

Sun Belt

Louisiana Tech, Western Ky. 2

West Coast

Portland, Santa Clara 1

Big South

Radford 1

Colonial

Old Dominion 1

Ivy

Brown 1

Metro Atlantic

Loyola Md. 1

Mid-American

Bowling Green 1

Mid-Eastern

N.C. A&T 1

Midwestern

Notre Dame 1

North Atlantic

Vermont 1

Northeast

Mt. St. Mary's 1

Ohio Valley

Tennessee St. 1

Patriot

Fordham 1

Southern

Ga. Southern 1

Southland

Stephen F. Austin 1

Southwestern

Grambling 1

Trans America

FIU 1

Western Athletic

San Diego St.

Bids by state

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

Bids State Teams 5

Texas

Stephen F. Austin, Texas, SMU, Texas A&M, Texas Tech 4

California

San Diego State, Southern California, Santa Clara, Stanford 4

Virginia

Old Dominion, Radford, Virginia, Virginia Tech 3

Alabama

UAB, Alabama, Auburn 3

Indiana

Notre Dame, Indiana, Purdue 3

Oregon

Portland, Oregon, Oregon State 3

Tennessee

Tennessee, Tennessee State, Vanderbilt 2

Florida

Florida, Florida International 2

Louisiana

Grambling, Louisiana Tech 2

Maryland

Loyola Md., Mount St. Mary's 2

Mississippi

Ole Miss, Southern Mississippi 2

Missouri

Missouri, Missouri State 2

New Jersey

Rutgers, Seton Hall 2

North Carolina

North Carolina A&T, North Carolina 2

Pennsylvania

Penn State, St. Joseph's 2

Wisconsin

Green Bay, Marquette 1

Colorado

Colorado 1

Connecticut

Connecticut 1

District of Columbia

George Washington 1

Georgia

Georgia Southern 1

Hawaii

Hawaii 1

Idaho

Boise State 1

Illinois

Northern Illinois 1

Iowa

Iowa 1

Kansas

Kansas 1

Kentucky

Western Kentucky 1

Minnesota

Minnesota 1

Montana

Montana 1

Nebraska

Creighton 1

Nevada

UNLV 1

New York

Fordham 1

Ohio

Bowling Green 1

Oklahoma

Oklahoma State 1

Rhode Island

Brown 1

South Carolina

Clemson 1

Vermont

Vermont 1

Washington

Washington

Brackets First- and second-round games played at higher seed except where noted.

East Region

West Region

Mideast Region

Midwest Region

Final Four – Richmond, Virginia

E-East; ME-Mideast; MW-Midwest; W-West.

Record by conference Eighteen conferences had more than one bid, or at least one win in NCAA Tournament play: Conference# of BidsRecordWin %Round of 32Sweet SixteenElite EightFinal FourChampionship Game Southeastern

6

.625

5

3

1

1

– Big Ten

5

.643

4

2

2

1

– Pacific-10

5

.615

4

2

2

–

– Southwest

4

.556

3

2

–

–

– Big Eight

4

.429

2

1

–

–

– Atlantic Coast

3

.818

3

2

1

1

1 Atlantic 10

3

.250

1

–

–

–

– Sun Belt

2

.750

2

1

1

1

1 Big East

2

.714

2

2

1

–

– Metro

2

.500

1

1

–

–

– Missouri Valley

2

.500

2

–

–

–

– Big Sky

2

.333

1

–

–

–

– Big West

2

–

–

–

–

–

– Great Midwest

2

–

–

–

–

–

– Mid-Continent

2

–

–

–

–

–

– West Coast

2

–

–

–

–

–

– Colonial

1

.500

1

–

–

–

– Western Athletic

1

.500

1

–

–

–

–

Fourteen conferences went 0-1: Big South Conference, Ivy League, MAAC, MAC, MEAC, Midwestern Collegiate, North Atlantic Conference, Northeast Conference, Ohio Valley Conference, Patriot League, Southern Conference, Southland, SWAC, and Trans America.

All-Tournament team

Charlotte Smith, North Carolina Tonya Sampson, North Carolina Vickie Johnson, Louisiana Tech Pam Thomas, Louisiana Tech Betsy Harris, Alabama

Game officials

Dee Kantner (semifinal) Violet Palmer (semifinal) Sally Bell (semifinal) Sidney Bunch (semifinal) June Courteau (final) John Morningstar (final)

See also 1994 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament 1994 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament 1994 NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament