2013 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament

The 2013 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament was played from March 23 through April 9, 2013. Tennessee continued its streak of making every NCAA women's basketball tournament at 32 consecutive appearances. Kansas made the regional semifinals for the second year in a row as a double-digit seed, UConn made it into the Final Four for the sixth consecutive year, the longest such streak, and Louisville became the first team seeded lower than fourth in a region to advance to the championship game. For the first time in tournament history, the same four teams were #1 seeds as in the previous year.

Tournament procedure

Pending any changes to the format, a total of 64 teams will enter the 2019 tournament. 32 automatic bids shall be awarded to each program that wins their conference's tournament. The remaining 32 bids are "at-large", with selections extended by the NCAA Selection Committee. The tournament is split into four regional tournaments, and each regional has teams seeded from 1 to 16, with the committee ostensibly making every region as comparable to the others as possible. The top-seeded team in each region plays the #16 team, the #2 team plays the #15, etc. (meaning where the two seeds add up to 17, that team will be assigned to play another).

The Selection Committee will also seed the entire field from 1 to 64.

Schedule and venues The format is similar to the men's tournament, except that there are 64 teams; this in turn means there is no "First Four" round. Thirty-one automatic bids for conference champions and 33 at-large bids were available.

The subregionals were played from March 23 through March 26. Sites chosen to host first- and second-round games in 2013 include:

First round and Second Rounds (Subregionals)

March 23 and 25 Coors Events Center, Boulder, Colorado, Host: University of Colorado Comcast Center, College Park, Maryland, Host: University of Maryland Reed Arena, College Station, Texas, Host: Texas A&M University St. John Arena, Columbus, Ohio, Host: Ohio State University Thompson-Boling Arena, Knoxville, Tennessee, Host: University of Tennessee United Spirit Arena, Lubbock, Texas, Host: Texas Tech University McCarthey Athletic Center, Spokane, Washington, Host: Gonzaga University Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, Connecticut, Host: University of Connecticut March 24 and 26 Pete Maravich Assembly Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Host: Louisiana State University Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, North Carolina, Host: Duke University Carver–Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City, Iowa, Host: The University of Iowa KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Kentucky, Host: University of Louisville Bob Carpenter Center, Newark, Delaware, Host: University of Delaware Carnesecca Arena, Queens, New York, Host: St. John's University Maples Pavilion, Stanford, California, Host: Stanford University Ferrell Center, Waco, Texas, Host: Baylor University

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)

The Regionals, named for the city rather than the region of geographic importance since 2005, held from March 30 to April 2, were at these sites:

March 30 and April 1 Spokane Regional Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, Spokane, Washington, Host: Washington State University Bridgeport Regional Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard, Bridgeport, Connecticut, Host: Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and Fairfield University March 31 and April 2 Norfolk Regional Ted Constant Convocation Center, Norfolk, Virginia, Host: Old Dominion University Oklahoma City Regional Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Host: Big 12 Conference

A regional had been scheduled at Sun National Bank Center in Trenton, New Jersey. However, the NCAA moved the regional to Connecticut because of a recently passed state law allowing single-game betting for professional and collegiate games. NCAA rules do not allow tournament events to be held in states that allow single-game betting.

National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship) April 7 and 9 Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana (Hosts: University of New Orleans, Tulane University, and Southland Conference/Sun Belt Conference)

This is the third time that New Orleans has been selected as a women's Final Four location (previously, in 1991 and 2004) and second time at the Smoothie King Center (previously named Kiefer Lakefront UNO Arena); the 1991 Final Four was contested at the University of New Orleans' Lakefront Arena.

Tournament records Points in a Final Four game—Connecticut scored 93 points against Louisville in the Championship game, tied for the second most points scored in a Final Four game Winning margin—Connecticut defeated Louisville 93–60 in the Championship game; the margin of 33 points is the largest in Final Four history Three-pointers made—Connecticut hit 13 three-pointers in the Championship game, which is the most ever made in a Final Four game Assists—Connecticut recorded 24 assists in the Championship game against Louisville, the most ever recorded in a Final Four game since the NCAA began recording assists in 1985. (Broken by Connecticut in 2014) Blocked shots—Connecticut recorded 12 blocked shots in the Championship game against Louisville; the most ever recorded in a Final Four game Three-pointer percentage—Breanna Stewart hit seven of her eight three-point attempts in the final two games; the percentage of 87.5% is the highest recorded in the two Final Four games

Qualified teams

Automatic qualifiers The following teams were automatic qualifiers for the 2013 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's tournament (except for the Ivy League, whose regular-season champion received the automatic bid).

ConferenceSchoolLast Appearance# of AppearancesAmerica East20122Atlantic 10200012ACC201220Atlantic Sun20113Big 12Baylor201212Big EastNotre Dame201220Big Sky201120Big South201215Big Ten201223Big WestNever1ColonialDelaware20124C-USA20062Horizon201214Ivy League20124MAAC20129MAC19843MEAC20127Missouri ValleyNever1Mountain West20125NortheastNever1Ohio Valley20123Pac-12201227Patriot20123SEC201210Southern201011Southland20086SWAC20125Summit20125Sun Belt201216West CoastGonzaga20126WAC19852

Tournament seeds +Oklahoma City Regional+Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, OklahomaSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth type1BaylorBig 1232–1Tournament Champion2SEC24–7At-Large3Pac-1225–7 At-Large4Big Ten24–8Tournament Champion5LouisvilleBig East24–8At-Large6Big 1222–10At-Large7Big East24–7At-Large8ACC22–9At-Large9Ivy League22–6Reg. Season Champion10Missouri Valley24–7At-Large11Mid American21–11Tournament Champion12Middle TennesseeSun Belt25–7Tournament Champion13Big South27–6Tournament Champion14StetsonAtlantic Sun24–8Tournament Champion15Oral RobertsSouthland18–12Tournament Champion16Prairie View A&MSWAC17–14Tournament Champion+Spokane Regional+Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, Spokane, WashingtonSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth Type1Pac-1231–2Tournament Champion2CaliforniaPac-1228–3At-Large3Big Ten25–5At-Large4SEC25–6At-Large5Big 1223–8At-Large6SEC20–11At-Large7Big 1221–10At-Large8Big Ten21–10At-Large9Big East21–10At-Large10Big East21–10At-Large11Green BayHorizon29–2Tournament Champion12GonzagaWCC27–5Tournament Champion13MontanaBig Sky24–7Tournament Champion14Cal PolyBig West21–10Tournament Champion15Fresno StateMountain West24–8Tournament Champion16TulsaConference USA17–16Tournament Champion+Norfolk Regional+Ted Constant Convocation Center, Norfolk, VirginiaSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth Type1Notre DameBig East31–1Tournament Champion2ACC30–2Tournament Champion3SEC24–9Tournament Champion4SEC24–7At-Large5Pac-1225–6At-Large6Big Ten23–8At-Large7Big 1221–10At-Large8ACC21–10At-Large9IowaBig Ten20–12At-Large10Big East21–11At-Large11Southern29–3Tournament Champion12Big 1218–13At-Large13South Dakota StateSummit25–7Tournament Champion14Wichita StateMissouri Valley24–9Tournament Champion15HamptonMEAC28–5Tournament Champion16Tennessee-MartinOhio Valley19–14Tournament Champion+Bridgeport Regional+Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard, Bridgeport, ConnecticutSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth Type1ConnecticutBig East29–4At-Large2KentuckySEC27–5At-Large3ACC28–6At-Large4ACC24–7At-Large5Big Ten24–8At-Large6DelawareColonial30–3Tournament Champion7Atlantic 1027–2At-Large8SEC20–11At-Large9Atlantic 1023–8Tournament Champion10Big East18–12At-Large11Big 1217–13At-Large12MaristMAAC26–6Tournament Champion13QuinnipiacNortheast30–2Tournament Champion14AlbanyAmerica East27–3Tournament Champion15NavyPatriot21–11Tournament Champion16IdahoWAC17–15Tournament Champion Kentucky vs. Navy, Oklahoma State vs. Duke, and Notre Dame vs. Iowa aired on ESPNU. Purdue vs. Louisville aired on ESPNEWS. All other first and second round games aired on ESPN2

Game summaries

Oklahoma City Regional Almost all first-round games were won by the higher-seeded team except for Creighton, the 10 seed who upset Syracuse 61–56. The top seed, Baylor won easily, by 42 points over Prairie View A&M. The only other game within single digit margin was 6 seed Oklahoma beating Central Michigan by five points.

In the second round, three of the four games followed expectations, with the only upset being the 5 seed Louisville over 4 seed Purdue. In the third round, 2 seed Tennessee beat 6 seed Oklahoma as expected, but Louisville upset top seeded Baylor in a result some have called one of the greatest upsets in women's basketball history. Baylor won the national championship in 2012, going undefeated during the season, and had returned every starter. While they lost one game in the current regular season, point guard Odyssey Sims was injured early in that game. The team had not lost a game in two years when playing at full strength. Louisville, the third best team in the Big East, hit sixteen of 25 three-point attempts, and held Griner to 14 points, after she had averaged 33 points in the first two games.

Bracket * – Denotes overtime period

Oklahoma City Regional

Spokane Regional

Norfolk Regional

Bridgeport Regional

Final Four – New Orleans, Louisiana

All-Tournament team Breanna Stewart, Connecticut Bria Hartley, Connecticut Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, Connecticut Kelly Faris, Connecticut Antonita Slaughter, Louisville

Game officials Dennis DeMayo (semifinal) Charles Gonzalez (semifinal) Felicia Grinter (semifinal) Dee Kantner (semifinal) Tina Napier (semifinal) Mark Zentz (semifinal) Denise Brooks (final) Lisa Mattingly (final) Brenda Pantoja (final)

Record by conference Source Conference Bids Record Win % R64 R32 S16 E8 F4 CG NCBig East816–70.6968433321Colonial12–10.6671110000SEC714–70.6677743000Pac-1247–40.6364321100ACC57–50.5835421000Big Ten67–60.5386610000Big 1278–70.5337530000Atlantic 1021–20.3332100000Missouri Valley21–20.3332100000 The R64, R32, S16, E8, F4, CG, and NC columns indicate how many teams from each conference were in the round of 64 (first round), round of 32 (second round), Sweet 16, Elite Eight, Final Four, championship game, and national champion, respectively. The America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Conference USA, Horizon, Ivy, MEAC, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American (MAC), Mountain West, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Summit, Sun Belt, SWAC, West Coast and WAC conferences each had one representative that was eliminated in the first round.

Media coverage

Television ESPN had US television rights to all games during the tournament. For the first and second round, ESPN aired select games nationally on ESPN, ESPNU, or ESPNews. All other games were aired regionally on ESPN or ESPN2 and streamed online via ESPN3. Most of the nation got whip-a-round coverage during this time, which allowed ESPN to rotate between the games and focus the nation on the one that was the closest. The regional semifinals were split between ESPN and ESPN2, and ESPN aired the regional finals, national semifinals, and championship match.

Studio host and analysts Kevin Negandhi (Host)