The 2016 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament involved 64 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the NCAA Division II women's college basketball national champion. It began on March 10, 2016, and concluded with the championship game on April 4, 2016.
The first three rounds were hosted by top-seeded teams in regional play. The eight regional winners met for the quarterfinal and semifinals, better known as the "Elite Eight" and "Final Four" respectively, championship rounds for the second-consecutive year at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The championship game, along with the championship game of the Division I and Division III tournaments, were held at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.
In their first season of NCAA postseason eligibility after transitioning from the NAIA, the Lubbock Christian Lady Chaps completed an undefeated season by defeating the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves 78–73. The only blemish in the Lady Chaps' season was a 95–39 exhibition loss to eventual Division I champion Connecticut that did not count toward either team's official record.
Participants
Automatic qualifiers Twenty-four teams qualified for the tournament by winning their conference's automatic bid.
+List of automatic qualifiersConference TeamAppearance Last bid California Collegiate Athletic Association Cal State East Bay 2nd 1989 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Philadelphia 9th 2015 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Virginia Union 6th 2004 Conference Carolinas Virginia Union 5th 2015 East Coast Conference Queens (NY) 3rd 2015 Great American Conference Arkansas Tech 13th 2015 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Ashland 6th 2015 Great Lakes Valley Conference Bellarmine 15th 2008 Great Midwest Athletic Conference Ursuline 1st — Great Northwest Athletic Conference Alaska–Anchorage 14th 2015 Gulf South Conference Delta State 27th 2014 Heartland Conference Lubbock Christian 1st — Lone Star Conference Angelo State 9th 2008 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Emporia State 18th 2015 Mountain East Conference Wheeling Jesuit 3rd 2006 Northeast-10 Conference Bentley 32nd 2014 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Sioux Falls 1st — Pacific West Conference Azusa Pacific 1st — Peach Belt Conference Lander 10th 2015 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference California (PA) 13th 2015 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Colorado State–Pueblo 8th 2015 South Atlantic Conference Wingate 15th 2015 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Benedict 6th 2015 Sunshine State Conference Tampa 11th 2014
At-large The remaining 40 bids to the tournament were given to teams at-large. +List of at-large bids TeamAppearance Last bid Academy of Art 3rd 2014 American International 11th 2008 Anderson (SC) 10th 2015 Augusta 4th 2008 Black Hills State 1st — Bloomfield 2nd 2014 Cal State Dominguez Hills 8th 2015 Cal Baptist 2nd 2015 Chowan 1st — Clayton State 11th 2014 Colorado Mines 2nd 2010 Colorado Springs 2nd 2015 Columbus State 9th 2015 Drury 13th 2015 Florida Southern 11th 2012 Florida Tech 9th 2012 Fort Hays State 3rd 2015 Francis Marion 10th 2011 Grand Valley State 11th 2011 Holy Family 12th 2015 Indiana (PA) 10th 2015 Kentucky State 4th 2015 Lewis 11th 2015 Missouri Western 12th 2007 Montana State–Billings 13th 2014 New York Tech 2nd 2013 Northern State 8th 2015 Nova Southeastern 5th 2015 Pittsburg State 9th 2015 Quincy 10th 2014 Saginaw Valley State 3rd 1997 Saint Anselm 7th 1999 Shaw 12th 2014 Texas Woman's 2nd 2011 UC San Diego 9th 2013 Union (TN) 2nd 2015 West Chester 6th 2015 West Chester 14th 2015 West Texas A&M 22nd 2015 Winona State 3rd 2011
Regionals
Atlantic - Richmond, Virginia Hosted by Virginia Union University at Arthur Ashe Athletic Center
Central - Pittsburg, Kansas Hosted by Pittsburg State University at John Lance Arena
East - Waltham, Massachusetts Hosted by Bentley University at Dana Center
Midwest - Ashland, Ohio Hosted by Ashland University at Kates Gymnasium
South - Jackson, Tennessee Hosted by Union University at Fred DeLay Gymnasium
Southeast - Gaffney, South Carolina Hosted by Limestone College at Timken Center
South Central - Lubbock, Texas Hosted by Lubbock Christian University at Rip Griffin Center
West - Azusa, California Hosted by Azusa Pacific University at Felix Event Center
Elite Eight - Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Indianapolis, Indiana Quarterfinals and semifinals location: Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls Host: Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference
Championship game location: Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis (along with the Division I and Division III championship games) Hosts: Horizon League and IUPU-Indianapolis
See also 2016 NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament 2016 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament 2016 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament 2016 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament 2016 Women's National Invitation Tournament 2016 National Invitation Tournament 2016 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament 2016 NAIA Division II men's basketball tournament
References 2016 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament jonfmorse.com
External links Official Website