The 2019 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 64 teams to determine the national champion for the 2018–19 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The 38th annual edition of the tournament began on March 22, and concluded with the championship game on April 7 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, with the University of South Florida serving as host. The tournament field was announced on March 18.

Three schools, Colonial champion Towson, MEAC champion Bethune–Cookman and Southland champion Abilene Christian, made their first appearance in the tournament. Meanwhile, Tennessee continued its record streak of making every NCAA women's basketball tournament at 38 consecutive appearances. UConn also continued its record streak of 12 consecutive Final Four appearances.

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 36 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 first two rounds, also referred to as the subregionals, were played at the sites of the top 16 seeds, as was done since 2015. However, the subregional that would otherwise have been hosted by South Carolina was moved to Charlotte, North Carolina due to the Gamecocks' home, Colonial Life Arena, being used for the men's tournament.

Subregionals (first and second rounds) March 22–24 KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Kentucky (Host: University of Louisville) Dale F. Halton Arena, Charlotte, North Carolina (Host: University of North Carolina at Charlotte) Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City, Iowa (Host: University of Iowa) Reed Arena, College Station, Texas (Host: Texas A&M University) Harry A. Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, Connecticut (Host: University of Connecticut) Watsco Center, Coral Gables, Florida (Host: University of Miami) Humphrey Coliseum, Starkville, Mississippi (Host: Mississippi State University) Matthew Knight Arena, Eugene, Oregon (Host: University of Oregon) March 23–25 Edmund P. Joyce Center, Notre Dame, Indiana (Host: University of Notre Dame) Xfinity Center, College Park, Maryland (Host: University of Maryland) Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, North Carolina (Host: North Carolina State University) Carrier Dome, Syracuse, New York (Host: Syracuse University) Maples Pavilion, Stanford, California (Host: Stanford University) Hilton Coliseum, Ames, Iowa (Host: Iowa State University) Gill Coliseum, Corvallis, Oregon (Host: Oregon State University) Ferrell Center, Waco, Texas (Host: Baylor University)

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) March 29-April 1 Albany regional, Times Union Center, Albany, New York (Hosts: MAAC) Chicago regional, Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois (Host: DePaul) Greensboro regional, Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina (Host: Atlantic Coast Conference) Portland regional, Moda Center, Portland, Oregon (Host: Oregon State) National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship) April 5 and April 7 Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida (Host: University of South Florida)

This is the third time that the women's Final Four was played in Tampa (previously, in 2008 and 2015).

Subregionals tournament and automatic qualifiers

Automatic qualifiers The following teams automatically qualified for the 2019 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's tournament. ConferenceTeamRecordAppearanceLast bidACCNotre Dame30–326th2018America EastMaine25–79th2018AmericanUConn 31–2 31st 2018Atlantic 10Fordham 25–83rd2014ASUNFlorida Gulf Coast 27–4 6th 2018Big 12Baylor31–1 18th 2018Big EastDePaul 25–7 24th 2018Big SkyPortland State25–72nd2010Big SouthRadford25–64th1996Big TenIowa26–626th2018Big WestUC Davis25–6 2nd 2011ColonialTowson 20–12 1st NeverC-USARice 28–3 3rd 2005HorizonWright State27–62nd2014Ivy LeaguePrinceton22–98th2018MAACQuinnipiac26–65th2018MACBuffalo23–93rd2018MEACBethune–Cookman21–101stNeverMissouri ValleyMissouri State23–915th2016Mountain WestBoise State 28–46th2018NortheastRobert Morris22–10 6th 2017Ohio ValleyBelmont26–65th2018Pac-12Stanford28–433rd2018PatriotBucknell28–5 4th 2017SECMississippi State30–2 11th2018SouthernMercer 25–7 2nd 2018SouthlandAbilene Christian23–9 1st NeverSWACSouthern20–125th2010Summit LeagueSouth Dakota State 26–6 9th2018Sun BeltLittle Rock21–10 6th 2018West CoastBYU 25–6 13th 2016WACNew Mexico State26-66th2017

Tournament seeds +Albany regional – Times Union Center,Albany, New YorkSeedSchoolConferenceRecordRPIBerth type1LouisvilleACC29–33At-large2UConnAmerican31–26Automatic3MarylandBig Ten28–414At-large4Oregon StatePac-1224–724At-Large5GonzagaWest Coast28–413At-Large6UCLAPac-1220–1235At-Large7RutgersBig Ten22–929At-Large8MichiganBig Ten21–1146At-Large9Kansas StateBig 1221–1133At-Large10BuffaloMAC23–925Automatic11TennesseeSEC19–1260At-Large12Little RockSun Belt21–1061Automatic13Boise StateMountain West28–439Automatic14RadfordBig South26–675Automatic15TowsonColonial20–12107Automatic16Robert MorrisNortheast24–9173Automatic+Chicago regional – Wintrust Arena,Chicago, IllinoisSeedSchoolConferenceRecordRPIBerth type1Notre DameACC30–31Automatic2StanfordPac-1228–44Automatic3Iowa StateBig 1225–811At-Large4Texas A&MSEC24–816At-Large5MarquetteBig East26–712At-Large6DePaulBig East26–718Automatic7BYUWest Coast25–626Automatic8Central MichiganMAC25–732At-Large9Michigan StateBig Ten20–1143At-Large10AuburnSEC22–950At-Large11Missouri StateMissouri Valley23–952Automatic12RiceC-USA28–331Automatic13Wright StateHorizon27–659Automatic14New Mexico StateWAC26–6125Automatic15UC DavisBig West25–672Automatic16Bethune–CookmanMEAC21–10201Automatic+Greensboro regional – Greensboro Coliseum,Greensboro, North CarolinaSeedSchoolConferenceRecordRPIBerth type1BaylorBig 1231–12Automatic2IowaBig Ten26–67Automatic3NC StateACC26–59At-Large4South CarolinaSEC21–917At-Large5Florida StateACC23–821At-Large6KentuckySEC23–722At-Large7MissouriSEC23–1030At-Large8CaliforniaPac-1219–1242At-Large9North CarolinaACC18–1438At-Large10DrakeMissouri Valley27–620At-Large11PrincetonIvy22–944Automatic12BucknellPatriot28–437Automatic13BelmontOhio Valley26–647Automatic14MaineAmerica East25–754Automatic15MercerSouthern25–7132Automatic16Abilene ChristianSouthland23–9124Automatic+Portland regional – Moda Center,Portland, OregonSeedSchoolConferenceRecordRPIBerth type1Mississippi StateSEC30–28Automatic2OregonPac-1229–45At-Large3SyracuseACC24–810At-Large4Miami (FL)ACC24–819At-Large5Arizona StatePac-1220–1023At-Large6South Dakota StateSummit26–627Automatic7TexasBig 1223–928At-Large8South DakotaSummit28–540At-Large9ClemsonACC19–1251At-Large10IndianaBig Ten20–1248At-Large11QuinnipiacMAAC28–441Automatic12UCFAmerican26–615At-Large13Florida Gulf CoastAtlantic Sun28–463Automatic14FordhamAtlantic 1025–882Automatic15Portland StateBig Sky25–7106Automatic16SouthernSWAC20–12152Automatic

Tournament records

Baylor recorded 217 field goals, setting the record for most field goals made in a single tournament.

Bracket All times are listed as Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4) * – Denotes overtime period

Albany regional – Albany, New York

* – Denotes overtime period

Albany regional final

Albany Regional all tournament team Napheesa Collier, UConn (MOP) Katie Lou Samuelson, UConn Crystal Dangerfield, UConn Asia Durr, Louisville Sam Fuehring, Louisville

Chicago regional – Chicago, Illinois

* – Denotes overtime period

Chicago regional final

Chicago Regional all tournament team Arike Ogunbowale, Notre Dame (MOP) Jessica Shepard, Notre Dame Alanna Smith, Stanford Kiana Williams, Stanford Chennedy Carter, Texas A&M

Greensboro regional – Greensboro, North Carolina

* – Denotes overtime period

Greensboro regional final

Greensboro Regional all tournament team Lauren Cox, Baylor (MOP) DiDi Richards, Baylor Chloe Jackson, Baylor Kalani Brown, Baylor Megan Gustafson, Iowa

Portland regional – Portland, Oregon

Portland regional final

Portland Regional all tournament team Sabrina Ionescu, Oregon (MOP) Satou Sabally, Oregon Ruthy Hebard, Oregon Teaira McCowan, Mississippi State Anriel Howard, Mississippi State

Final Four During the Final Four round, regardless of the seeds of the participating teams, the champion of the top overall top seed's region (Baylor's Greensboro Region) plays against the champion of the fourth-ranked top seed's region (Mississippi State's Portland Region), and the champion of the second overall top seed's region (Notre Dame's Chicago Region) plays against the champion of the third-ranked top seed's region (Louisville's Albany Region).

Amalie Arena – Tampa, Florida

National semifinals

National championship

Final Four all-tournament team Chloe Jackson (MOP), Baylor Kalani Brown, Baylor Lauren Cox, Baylor Marina Mabrey, Notre Dame Arike Ogunbowale, Notre Dame

Record by conference ConferenceBidsRecordWin %R64R32S16E8F4CGNCBig 1247–34211111ACC814–8873211American24–221111Pac-12614–666521Big Ten67–66511SEC79–77531Missouri Valley22–2211Summit League22–2211Big East21–221Mid-American21–221WCC22–222

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 10, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Conference USA, Colonial, Horizon, Ivy League, MAAC, MEAC, Mountain West, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Sun Belt, SWAC and WAC conferences each had one representative that was eliminated in the first round.

Media coverage

Television The tournament was covered by ESPN's networks. During the first and second rounds, ESPN aired select games nationally on ESPN2, ESPNU, and ESPNews. All other games aired regionally on ESPN, ESPN2, or ESPN3 and were streamed online via WatchESPN. 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 game that had the closest score. Over the course of rebroadcasting a studio program discussing the men's tournament, ESPNU accidentally displayed on-screen graphics prematurely revealing the tournament bracket prior to its formal unveiling that evening. The NCAA officially released the brackets two hours earlier than scheduled. Some watch parties for schools scheduled with the bracket reveal were cancelled, and ESPN apologized for the error.

Studio host and analysts Maria Taylor (Host) Andy Landers (Analyst) Rebecca Lobo (Analyst) (First, Second rounds, Final Four and National championship game) Nell Fortner (Analyst) (Regionals, Final Four and National championship game)

Broadcast assignments

First & second rounds Friday/Sunday Beth Mowins and Nell Fortner – Louisville, Kentucky Eric Frede and Christy Thomaskutty – Charlotte, North Carolina John Brickley and Christy Winters-Scott – Iowa City, Iowa Lowell Galindo and A'ja Wilson – College Station, Texas Adam Amin and Kara Lawson – Storrs, Connecticut Clay Matvick and Julianne Viani – Coral Gables, Florida Paul Sunderland and Steffi Sorensen – Starkville, Mississippi Dave Pasch and LaChina Robinson – Eugene, Oregon Sweet Sixteen & Elite Eight Friday/Sunday Adam Amin, Kara Lawson, Rebecca Lobo, and Holly Rowe – Albany, New York Dave Pasch, LaChina Robinson, and Brooke Weisbrod – Portland, Oregon Final Four