2009–10 NCAA Division I women's basketball season

The 2009–10 NCAA Division I women's basketball season began in November 2009 and ended with the 2010 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament's championship game on April 6, 2010 at the Alamodome in San Antonio. The tournament opened with the first and second rounds on Thursday through Sunday, March 18–21, 2010. Regional games were played on Thursday through Sunday, March 28–31, 2010, with the Final Four played on Sunday and Tuesday, April 4 and 6, 2010.

The Connecticut Huskies successfully defended their national title from the previous season, defeating Stanford 53–47 in the final. This was the Huskies' second consecutive unbeaten championship season, unprecedented since the NCAA began to organize women's basketball in the 1981–82 season.

Season headlines May 4: The tenth annual 2009 US Virgin Islands Paradise Jam is a women's basketball tournament that took place on November 26–28, 2009. Eight teams from the NCAA were invited to participate in the tournament. The teams were separated into two brackets, the Reef Division and the Island Division. The Reef Division consisted of Mississippi State, Rutgers, Southern California and Texas. The Island Division consisted of Notre Dame, Oklahoma, San Diego State and South Carolina. May 5: The Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big Ten Conference announced the pairings for the annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge for women's basketball, which was in the third year of a four-year agreement. The 2009 Challenge, which took on a two-day format this year, opened on Wednesday, December 2. The Big Ten/ACC Women's Basketball Challenge matches 11 teams from each conference in head-to-head competition, traditionally on the first Wednesday, Thursday and Friday after Thanksgiving, following the men's basketball Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The Big Ten and ACC have been among the most successful conferences in women's basketball. During the 2008–09 season, the ACC was represented by six teams in the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship. This was the seventh straight year that the league had at least six teams in the tournament. Maryland advanced to the 2009 NCAA Regional Finals, giving the ACC at least one team in the Elite Eight for the eighth consecutive year. In 2005–06, the ACC became the first conference to send three teams – Duke, Maryland and North Carolina – to the same Final Four. Overall, the ACC has made 11 Final Four trips, including six in the past 13 years. May 28, 2009: NBA referee Violet Palmer was hired as coordinator of women's basketball officials for the West Coast Conference and was to remain with the NBA, where she had worked for 12 seasons.NCAA document July 1: Rutgers played in the eighth annual Jimmy V Women's Classic when the Scarlet Knights host Florida on December 7. This marked the fourth straight season that the Scarlet Knights took part in the game. They beat Georgia 45-34 in the previous season. The games are part of the fundraising effort for the V Foundation for Cancer Research, named for the late Jim Valvano, who led North Carolina State to the national championship in 1983. July 7: Pat Summitt and C. Vivian Stringer opposed each other in the fourth annual Maggie Dixon Classic. The women's doubleheader was played on December 13 at Madison Square Garden. The two Hall of Fame coaches teams met in regular season play for the seventh straight year. Baylor and freshman star Brittney Griner faced Boston College in the other contest. The two teams had played once before at Madison Square Garden. Tennessee won 68–54 in 1999. Baylor made its first appearance at MSG. August 4: Joan Bonvicini was introduced as the new women's basketball coach at Seattle University. She is one of only 18 coaches in Division I history with more than 600 victories.NCAA documents August 18: On January. 16, Notre Dame and Connecticut were part of the first-ever ESPN women's basketball College GameDay broadcast. The game was broadcast from Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut. The matchup between the Fighting Irish and Huskies tipped off at 9 p.m. (ET) and was televised live to a national cable audience by ESPN. September 8: The West Coast Conference (WCC) and its multi-media rights partner, IMG College, announced Zappos.com as the official title sponsor of the WCC Men's and Women's Basketball Championships. The deal was effective through the 2011–12 season, and signified the WCC's first-ever title sponsorship.

Major rule changes

Preseason Preseason "Wade Watch" list On July 30, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), on behalf of the Wade Coalition, announced the 2009–2010 preseason "Wade Watch" list for the State Farm Wade Trophy Division I Player of the Year. The nominees were top NCAA Division I student-athletes who best embody the spirit of Lily Margaret Wade. This is based on the following criteria: game and season statistics, leadership, character, effect on their team and overall playing ability. The list is as follows:

Jayne Appel, Stanford Jessica Breland, North Carolina Tina Charles, Connecticut Alysha Clark, Middle Tennessee Allyssa DeHaan, Michigan State Alexis Gray-Lawson, California Tiffany Hayes, Connecticut Allison Hightower, LSU Ashley Houts, Georgia Jantel Lavender, Ohio StateOhio Buckeyes Danielle McCray, Kansas Jacinta Monroe, Florida State Maya Moore, Connecticut Jené Morris, San Diego State Deirdre Naughton, DePaul Kayla Pedersen, Stanford Ta'Shia Phillips, Xavier Jeanette Pohlen, Stanford Samantha Prahalis, Ohio State Andrea Riley, Oklahoma State Danielle Robinson, Oklahoma Jenna Smith, Illinois Carolyn Swords, Boston College Courtney Vandersloot, Gonzaga Monica Wright, Virginia

Preseason Wooden Award nominees August 21: The 2009–10 preseason candidates list for the Women's Wooden Award was released, naming 31 student athletes.NCAA Document

Name Height Class Position SchoolJayne Appel 6-4 Sr. F/C StanfordErica Beverly 6-0 Sr. F HartfordAngie Bjorklund 6-0 Jr. G/F TennesseeHeather Bowman 6-2 Sr. F GonzagaJessica Breland* 6-3 Sr. F North CarolinaTina Charles 6-4 Sr. C ConnecticutAlysha Clark 5-10 Sr. F Middle TennesseeAllyssa DeHaan 6-9 Sr. C Michigan StateTyra Grant 5-11 Sr. G Penn StateAlexis Gray-Lawson 5-8 Sr. G CaliforniaAllison Hightower 5-10 Sr. G LSUAshley Houts 5-6 Sr. G GeorgiaIfy Ibekwe 6-1 Jr. F ArizonaJantel Lavender 6-4 Jr. C Ohio StateGabriela Marginean 6-1 Sr. F DrexelDanielle McCray 5-11 Sr. G/F KansasNicole Michael 6-2 Sr. F SyracuseJacinta Monroe 6-4 Sr. F/C Florida StateMaya Moore 6-0 Jr. F ConnecticutJené Morris 5-9 Sr. G San Diego StateDierdre Naughton 5-10 Sr. G DePaulTa‘Shia Phillips 6-6 Jr. C XavierJeanette Pohlen 6-0 Jr. G StanfordSamantha Prahalis 5-7 So. G Ohio StateAndrea Riley 5-5 Sr. G Oklahoma StateDanielle Robinson 5-9 Jr. G OklahomaJenna Smith 6-3 Sr. C IllinoisAshley Sweat 6-2 Sr. F Kansas StateCarolyn Swords 6-6 Jr. C Boston CollegeCourtney Vandersloot 5-8 Jr. G GonzagaMonica Wright 5-11 Sr. G Virginia

Preseason WNIT Ohio State headlines a field of 16 teams for the 2009 Preseason Women's National Invitation Tournament. The field includes 11 teams that played in the postseason the previous spring: Arkansas-Little Rock, Bowling Green, Florida Gulf Coast, Georgia Tech, Marist, New Mexico, North Carolina A&T, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, West Virginia, and Winthrop. They were joined in the Preseason WNIT field by Chicago State, Eastern Illinois, Northern Colorado, Towson, and UTEP.

The Preseason WNIT featured a three-game guarantee format. The event opened Friday, November 13 with first-round games. Second-round games were played November 15 and 16. The semifinals were on November 18 and 19. The championship was set for Sunday, November 22. Teams that lose in the first two rounds would play consolation games on the second weekend, November 20–22. All games were hosted by participating schools, and sites were announced by the end of the preceding round. In last year's Preseason WNIT, North Carolina defeated Oklahoma 80-79.

First-round Preseason WNIT games to be held on Friday, November 13, 2009 Eastern Illinois (24-9) at Ohio State (29-6), 5 p.m. ET UTEP (18-12) at Florida Gulf Coast (26-5), 7 p.m. ET Arkansas-Little Rock (26-7) at Oklahoma State (17-16), 7 p.m. ET Towson (17-13) at West Virginia (18-15), 7 p.m. ET Winthrop (16-16) at Georgia Tech (22-10), 7:30 p.m. ET Chicago State (16-13) at Bowling Green (29-5), 7:30 p.m. ET North Carolina A&T (26-7) at Marist (29-4), 7:30 p.m. ET Northern Colorado (12-18) at New Mexico (25-11), 9 p.m. ET

Season outlook Nov. 11: The Big Ten and Big 12 Conferences announced the formation of an annual inter-conference challenge for women's basketball. The challenge was to span at least two years, and began in the fall of 2010. The series would feature a home-and-home format over the initial two-year agreement, and each of the Big 12's teams would play in each challenge, while one Big Ten team, Wisconsin, will play two challenge games each year.

Pre-season polls Associated PressRankingSchoolPoints1Connecticut 10002 Stanford 9513 Ohio State 8624 Notre Dame 7995 North Carolina 7986 Duke 7727 Baylor 7448 Tennessee 6769 LSU 60010 Michigan State 52111Xavier 49212 Texas 48713 Oklahoma 44414 Virginia 39415 Florida State 38516 Arizona State 31717 DePaul 30118 California 29419 Georgia Tech 26220 Kansas 24121Georgia 20122 Vanderbilt 16523 Louisville 15624 Middle Tennessee 14325 Rutgers 138

USA TodayRankingSchoolPoints1Connecticut 7752 Stanford 7393 Ohio State 6534 Baylor 6495 North Carolina 5616 Duke 5477 Notre Dame 4388 Oklahoma 4169 Tennessee 41210 Michigan State 35311Arizona State 32812 Florida State 32313 California 31414 Texas 31115 Xavier 30316 Texas A&M 30217 LSU 29818 Virginia 24619 Louisville 23220 Vanderbilt 22321Maryland 20922 Pittsburgh 12723 Purdue 12624 Iowa State 12525 DePaul 121

Preseason All-Americans Jayne Appel, Stanford Tina Charles, Connecticut Jantel Lavender, Ohio State Maya Moore, Connecticut Monica Wright, Virginiahttps://www.ncaa.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/110309aaa.html November 3: Maya Moore became just the seventh unanimous choice on the Associated Press' preseason All-America team. She received all 40 votes from a national media panel. This was the third straight year a player had been a unanimous choice in the preseason. Moore was joined on the preseason squad by teammate Tina Charles. This was the fifth time that two players from the same team made the All-America squad. Connecticut has also had two of the four other pairs of teammates on a preseason team – Jen Rizzotti and Kara Wolters in 1995–96, and Shea Ralph and Svetlana Abrosimova in 2000–01.

Preseason All-Conference teams

Big Ten 2009–10 Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year Jantel Lavender Preseason All-Big Ten Coaches Team Jenna Smith, Sr., F, ILL Allyssa DeHaan, Sr., C, MSU Jantel Lavender, Jr., C, OSU Samantha Prahalis, So., G, OSU Tyra Grant, Sr., F, PSU Preseason All-Big Ten Media Team Jenna Smith, Sr., F, ILL Allyssa DeHaan, Sr., C, MSU Jantel Lavender, Jr., C, OSU Samantha Prahalis, So., G, OSU Tyra Grant, Sr., F, PSU

Conference USA 2009–10 C-USA Preseason Player of the Year Emma Cannon, UCF 2009–10 C-USA Preseason Team Courtney Taylor, Houston Brittany Gilliam, SMU Pauline Love, Southern Miss Emma Cannon, UCF Jareica Hughes, UTEPhttps://www.ncaa.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/101409aaa.html

Regular season

2009 Big Ten/ACC Challenge schedule