1997 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament

The 1997 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament began on March 14, 1997, and concluded on March 30, 1997, when Tennessee won the national title. The Final Four was held at Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati on March 28–30, 1997. Tennessee, Old Dominion, Stanford, and Notre Dame qualified for the Final Four. Tennessee and Old Dominion won their semi-final Final Four matchups and continued on to the championship. Tennessee defeated Old Dominion 68-59 for their fifth national title.

1997 NCAA Division I
women's basketball tournament

Teams	64
Finals site	Riverfront Coliseum Cincinnati
Champions	Tennessee Volunteers (5th title, 7th title game, 10th Final Four)
Runner-up	Old Dominion Monarchs (2nd title game, 3rd Final Four)
Semifinalists	Stanford Cardinal (6th Final Four) Notre Dame Fighting Irish (1st Final Four)
Winning coach	Pat Summitt (5th title)
MOP	Chamique Holdsclaw (Tennessee)
NCAA Division I women's tournaments «1996 1998»

Tournament records

• Field goal percentage – Kristin Folkl, Stanford, hit all eight field goal attempts in the semi-final game against Old Dominion, setting the record for field goal percentage in a Final Four game.
• Assists – Kellie Jolly, Tennessee, recorded eleven assists in the championship game against Old Dominion, setting the record for most assists in a Final Four game.
• Field goal percentage – Tennessee hit 29 of 49 field goals attempts(59.2%) in the championship game against Old Dominion, setting the record for the field goal percentage in a Final Four game.

Qualifying teams – automatic

Sixty-four teams were selected to participate in the 1997 NCAA Tournament. Thirty conferences were eligible for an automatic bid to the 1997 NCAA tournament.

Automatic Bids
		Record
Qualifying School	Conference	Regular Season	Conference	Seed
Auburn University	SEC	21–9	5–7	7
University of Colorado at Boulder	Big 12	21–8	12–4	2
University of Connecticut	Big East	30–0	18–0	1
University of Detroit Mercy	Midwestern Collegiate	23–6	14–2	14
Drake University	Missouri Valley Conference	23–7	14–4	13
Eastern Kentucky University	Ohio Valley Conference	24–5	16–2	15
Florida International University	Trans America	21–8	12–4	14
Grambling State University	SWAC	24–5	14–0	14
Harvard University	Ivy League	20–6	14–0	16
Howard University	MEAC	24–5	18–0	16
University of Iowa	Big Ten	17–11	9–7	9
Lehigh University	Patriot League	15–14	7–5	16
Liberty University	Big South Conference	22–7	9–5	16
Louisiana Tech University	Sun Belt Conference	29–3	12–2	2
University of Maine	America East	22–7	17–1	13
Marshall University	Southern Conference	18–11	9–5	15
University of Montana	Big Sky Conference	25–3	16–0	9
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	ACC	27–2	15–1	1
Old Dominion University	Colonial	29–1	16–0	1
San Diego State University	WAC	23–6	15–1	11
University of San Francisco	West Coast Conference	25–5	11–3	11
St. Francis (PA)	Northeast Conference	19–10	16–2	15
Saint Joseph's University	Atlantic 10	25–4	15–1	7
Saint Peter's College	MAAC	25–3	14–0	15
Stanford University	Pac-10	30–1	18–0	1
Texas State University	Southland	17–11	11–5	14
University of Toledo	MAC	27–3	16–2	10
Troy University	Mid-Continent	23–6	13–3	13
Tulane University	Conference USA	26–4	12–2	4
University of California, Santa Barbara	Big West Conference	24–5	14–1	13

Qualifying teams – at-large

Thirty-four 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	23–6	10–2	2
University of Arizona	Pacific-10	22–7	12–6	7
Clemson University	Atlantic Coast	19–10	8–8	5
DePaul University	Conference USA	20–8	10–4	12
Duke University	Atlantic Coast	18–10	9–7	5
University of Florida	Southeastern	21–8	9–3	3
The George Washington University	Atlantic 10	25–5	16–0	5
University of Georgia	Southeastern	22–5	11–1	2
University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign	Big Ten	22–7	12–4	4
Iowa State University	Big 12	17–11	9–7	12
University of Kansas	Big 12	24–5	14–2	3
Kansas State University	Big 12	19–11	9–7	10
University of Louisville	Conference USA	20–8	12–2	10
Louisiana State University	Southeastern	23–4	9–3	4
Marquette University	Conference USA	20–9	10–4	12
University of Maryland, College Park	Atlantic Coast	18–9	9–7	9
University of Memphis	Conference USA	22–6	12–2	11
Michigan State University	Big Ten	21–7	12–4	8
North Carolina State University	Atlantic Coast	19–11	9–7	8
Northwestern University	Big Ten	17–10	9–7	12
University of Notre Dame	Big East	27–6	17–1	6
University of Oregon	Pacific-10	21–6	14–4	6
University of Portland	West Coast	27–2	14–0	9
Purdue University	Big Ten	16–10	12–4	8
University of Southern California	Pacific-10	18–9	13–5	6
Stephen F. Austin State University	Southland	27–4	16–0	7
University of Tennessee	Southeastern	23–10	8–4	3
University of Texas at Austin	Big 12	21–7	12–4	3
Texas Tech University	Big 12	19–8	11–5	8
University of Utah	Western Athletic	24–5	15–1	5
Vanderbilt University	Southeastern	18–10	6–6	6
University of Virginia	Atlantic Coast	21–7	12–4	4
University of Washington	Pacific-10	17–11	12–6	11
Western Kentucky University	Sun Belt	22–8	12–2	10

Bids by conference

Thirty conferences earned an automatic bid. In eighteen cases, the automatic bid was the only representative from the conference. Thirty-four additional at-large teams were selected from twelve of the conferences.

Bids	Conference	Teams
7	Southeastern	Auburn, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
6	Atlantic Coast	North Carolina, Clemson, Duke, Maryland, North Carolina St., Virginia
6	Big 12	Colorado, Iowa St., Kansas, Kansas St., Texas, Texas Tech
5	Big Ten	Iowa, Illinois, Michigan St., Northwestern, Purdue
5	Conference USA	Tulane, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette, Memphis
5	Pacific-10	Stanford, Arizona, Oregon, Southern California, Washington
2	Atlantic 10	St. Joseph's, George Washington
2	Big East	Connecticut, Notre Dame
2	Southland	Texas St., Stephen F. Austin
2	Sun Belt	Louisiana Tech, Western Kentucky
2	West Coast	San Francisco, Portland
2	Western Athletic	San Diego St., Utah
1	America East	Maine
1	Big Sky	Montana
1	Big South	Liberty
1	Big West	UC Santa Barb.
1	Colonial	Old Dominion
1	Ivy	Harvard
1	Metro Atlantic	St. Peter's
1	Mid-American	Toledo
1	Mid-Continent	Troy
1	Mid-Eastern	Howard
1	Midwestern	Detroit
1	Missouri Valley	Drake
1	Northeast	St. Francis (PA)
1	Ohio Valley	Eastern Kentucky
1	Patriot	Lehigh
1	Southern	Marshall
1	Southwestern	Grambling State
1	Trans America	FIU

First and second rounds

Chapel Hill

Austin

Tuscaloosa

Washington

Baton Rouge

Norfolk

Ruston

Gainesville

Knoxville

Boulder

Storrs

Champaign

Athens

Charlottesville

Stanford

Lawrence

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1997 NCAA NCAA first and second round venues

In 1997, the field remained at 64 teams. The teams were seeded, and assigned to four geographic regions, with seeds 1-16 in each region. In Round 1, seeds 1 and 16 faced each other, as well as seeds 2 and 15, seeds 3 and 14, seeds 4 and 13, seeds 5 and 12, seeds 6 and 11, seeds 7 and 10, and seeds 8 and 9. In the first two rounds, the top four seeds were given the opportunity to host the first-round game. In most cases, the higher seed accepted the opportunity. The exception:

• Fourth seeded Tulane was unable to host due to a "facility/hotel availability conflict", so fifth seeded George Washington hosted three first and second-round games

Michigan State was involved in two overtime games, winning in  the first round against Portland then losing in overtime in the second round against North Carolina. Old Dominion was also involved in two overtime games, winning in the second round against Purdue, then winning in the national semifinal game against Stanford.

The following table lists the region, host school, venue and the sixteen first and second round locations:

Region	Rnd	Host	Venue	City	State
East	1&2	University of North Carolina	Carmichael Auditorium	Chapel Hill	North Carolina
East	1&2	University of Texas	Frank Erwin Center	Austin	Texas
East	1&2	University of Alabama	Coleman Coliseum	Tuscaloosa	Alabama
East	1&2	George Washington University	Charles E. Smith Athletic Center	Washington	District of Columbia
Mideast	1&2	Louisiana State University	LSU Assembly Center (Pete Maravich Assembly Center)	Baton Rouge	Louisiana
Mideast	1&2	Old Dominion University	Old Dominion University Fieldhouse	Norfolk	Virginia
Mideast	1&2	Louisiana Tech University	Thomas Assembly Center	Ruston	Louisiana
Mideast	1&2	University of Florida	O'Connell Center	Gainesville	Florida
Midwest	1&2	University of Tennessee	Thompson–Boling Arena	Knoxville	Tennessee
Midwest	1&2	University of Colorado	CU Events Center (Coors Events Center)	Boulder	Colorado
Midwest	1&2	University of Connecticut	Harry A. Gampel Pavilion	Storrs	Connecticut
Midwest	1&2	University of Illinois	Assembly Hall (Champaign)	Champaign	Illinois
West	1&2	University of Georgia	Georgia Coliseum (Stegeman Coliseum)	Athens	Georgia
West	1&2	University of Virginia	University Hall (University of Virginia)	Charlottesville	Virginia
West	1&2	Stanford University	Maples Pavilion	Stanford	California
West	1&2	University of Kansas	Allen Field House	Lawrence	Kansas

Regionals and Final Four

Columbia

West Lafayette

Iowa City

Missoula

Cincinnati

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1997 NCAA regionals and Final Four

The Regionals, named for the general location, were held from March 22 to March 24 at these sites:

• East Regional Carolina Coliseum, Columbia, South Carolina (Host: University of South Carolina)
• Mideast Regional Mackey Arena, West Lafayette, Indiana (Host: Purdue University)
• Midwest Regional Carver–Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City, Iowa (Host: University of Iowa)
• West Regional Dahlberg Arena, Missoula, Montana (Host: University of Montana)

Each regional winner advanced to the Final Four held March 28 and March 30 in Cincinnati at the Riverfront Coliseum

Bids by state

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

NCAA Women's basketball Tournament invitations by state 1997

Bids	State	Teams
5	California	San Diego St., San Francisco, Stanford, UC Santa Barb., Southern California
4	Louisiana	Grambling, Louisiana Tech, Tulane, LSU
4	Texas	Texas St., Stephen F. Austin, Texas, Texas Tech
3	Alabama	Auburn, Troy, Alabama
3	Illinois	DePaul, Illinois, Northwestern
3	Iowa	Drake, Iowa, Iowa St.
3	Kentucky	Eastern Kentucky, Louisville, Western Kentuck.
3	North Carolina	North Carolina, Duke, North Carolina St.
3	Tennessee	Memphis, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
3	Virginia	Liberty, Old Dominion, Virginia
2	District of Columbia	Howard, George Washington
2	Florida	FIU, Florida
2	Indiana	Notre Dame, Purdue
2	Kansas	Kansas, Kansas St.
2	Michigan	Detroit, Michigan St.
2	Oregon	Oregon, Portland
3	Pennsylvania	Lehigh, St. Joseph's, St Francis
1	Arizona	Arizona
1	Colorado	Colorado
1	Connecticut	Connecticut
1	Georgia	Georgia
1	Maine	Maine
1	Maryland	Maryland
1	Massachusetts	Harvard
1	Montana	Montana
1	New Jersey	St. Peter's
1	Ohio	Toledo
1	South Carolina	Clemson
1	Utah	Utah
1	Washington	Washington
1	West Virginia	Marshall
1	Wisconsin	Marquette

Brackets

Data source

* – Denotes overtime period

East Region

	First round March 14 and 15 Higher Seed's Home Court					Second round March 16 and 17 Higher Seed's Home Court					Regional semifinals March 22 Carolina Coliseum Columbia, South Carolina					Regional finals March 24 Carolina Coliseum Columbia, South Carolina
	1	at North Carolina	78
	16	Harvard	53
						1	North Carolina	81OT
						8	Michigan State	71
	8	Michigan State	75OT
	9	Portland	70
											1	North Carolina	46
											5	George Washington	55
	5	at George Washington†	61
	12	Northwestern	46
						5	George Washington†	81
						4	Tulane	67
	4	Tulane	72
	13	UCSB	69
																5	George Washington	52
																6	Notre Dame	62
	6	Notre Dame	93
	11	Memphis	62
						6	Notre Dame	86
						3	Texas	83
	3	at Texas	66
	14	SW Texas State	38
											6	Notre Dame	87
											2	Alabama	71
	7	Saint Joseph's	70
	10	Kansas State	52
						7	Saint Joseph's	52
						2	Alabama	61
	2	at Alabama	94
	15	St. Francis (PA)	50

† George Washington was a host as a #5 seed, as #4 seed Tulane's facility was considered inadequate by the NCAA.

Mideast Region

	First round March 14 and 15 Higher Seed's Home Court					Second round March 16 and 17 Higher Seed's Home Court					Regional semifinals March 22 Mackey Arena West Lafayette, Indiana					Regional finals March 24 Mackey Arena West lafayette, Indiana
	1	at Old Dominion	102
	16	Liberty	52
						1	Old Dominion	69OT
						8	Purdue	65
	8	Purdue	74
	9	Maryland	48
											1	Old Dominion	62
											4	LSU	49
	5	Clemson	66
	12	Marquette	70
						12	Marquette	58
						4	LSU	71
	4	at LSU	88
	13	Maine	79
																1	Old Dominion	53
																3	Florida	51
	6	USC	68
	11	San Francisco	55
						6	USC	78
						3	Florida	92
	3	at Florida	92
	14	Florida International	68
											3	Florida	71
											2	Louisiana Tech	57
	7	Auburn	68
	10	Louisville	65
						7	Auburn	48
						2	Louisiana Tech	74
	2	at Louisiana Tech	94
	15	Saint Peter's	50

Midwest Region

	First round March 14 and 15 Higher Seed's Home Court					Second round March 16 and 17 Higher Seed's Home Court					Regional semifinals March 22 Carver–Hawkeye Arena Iowa City, Iowa					Regional finals March 24 Carver–Hawkeye Arena Iowa City, Iowa
	1	at Connecticut	103
	16	Lehigh	35
						1	Connecticut	72
						9	Iowa	53
	8	North Carolina State	50
	9	Iowa	56
											1	Connecticut	78
											4	Illinois	73
	5	Duke	70
	12	DePaul	56
						5	Duke	67
						4	Illinois	85
	4	at Illinois	79
	13	Drake	62
																1	Connecticut	81
																3	Tennessee	91
	6	Oregon	80
	11	San Diego State	68
						6	Oregon	59
						3	Tennessee	76
	3	at Tennessee	91
	14	Grambling State	54
											3	Tennessee	75
											2	Colorado	67
	7	Stephen F. Austin	79
	10	Toledo	66
						7	Stephen F. Austin	57
						2	Colorado	66
	2	at Colorado	69
	15	Marshall	49

West Region

	First round March 14 and 15 Higher Seed's Home Court					Second round March 16 and 17 Higher Seed's Home Court					Regional semifinals March 22 Dahlberg Arena Missoula, Montana					Regional finals March 24 Dahlberg Arena Missoula, Montana
	1	at Stanford	111
	16	Howard	59
						1	Stanford	67
						8	Texas Tech	45
	8	Texas Tech	47
	9	Montana	45
											1	Stanford	91
											4	Virginia	69
	5	Utah	66
	12	Iowa State	57
						5	Utah	46
						4	Virginia	65
	4	at Virginia	96
	13	Troy State	74
																1	Stanford	82
																2	Georgia	47
	6	Vanderbilt	74
	11	Washington	62
						6	Vanderbilt	51
						3	Kansas	44
	3	at Kansas	81
	14	Detroit	67
											6	Vanderbilt	52
											2	Georgia	66
	7	Arizona	76
	10	Western Kentucky	54
						7	Arizona	74
						2	Georgia	80
	2	at Georgia	91
	15	Eastern Kentucky	55

Final Four

	National semifinals March 28 Riverfront Coliseum Cincinnati					National championship March 30 Riverfront Coliseum Cincinnati
	E6	Notre Dame	66
	MW3	Tennessee	80
						MW3	Tennessee	68
						ME1	Old Dominion	59
	ME1	Old Dominion	83OT
	W1	Stanford	82

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

Record by conference

Thirteen conferences had more than one bid, or at least one win in NCAA Tournament play:

Conference	# of Bids	Record	Win %	Round of 32	Sweet Sixteen	Elite Eight	Final Four	Championship Game
Southeastern	7	19–6	.760	7	6	3	1	1
Atlantic Coast	6	5–6	.455	3	2	–	–	–
Big 12	6	5–6	.455	4	1	–	–	–
Pacific-10	5	7–5	.583	4	1	1	1	–
Big Ten	5	5–5	.500	4	1	–	–	–
Conference USA	5	2–5	.286	2	–	–	–	–
Big East	2	7–2	.778	2	2	2	1	–
Atlantic 10	2	4–2	.667	2	1	1	–	–
Sun Belt	2	2–2	.500	1	1	–	–	–
Southland	2	1–2	.333	1	–	–	–	–
Western Athletic	2	1–2	.333	1	–	–	–	–
West Coast	2	0–2	–	–	–	–	–	–
Colonial	1	5–1	.833	1	1	1	1	1

Seventeen conferences went 0-1: America East, Big Sky Conference, Big South Conference, Big West Conference, Ivy League, MAAC, MAC, Mid-Continent, MEAC, Midwestern Collegiate, Missouri Valley Conference, Northeast Conference, Ohio Valley Conference, Patriot League, Southern Conference, SWAC, and Trans America

All-Tournament team

• Chamique Holdsclaw, Tennessee
• Kellie Jolly, Tennessee
• Ticha Penicheiro, Old Dominion
• Nyree Roberts, Old Dominion
• Clarisse Machanguana, Old Dominion

Game officials

• Sally Bell (semifinal)
• Carla Fujimoto (semifinal)
• Ray Bomeli (semifinal)
• John Morningstar (semifinal)
• Scott Yarbrough (semifinal)
• Judy Schneider (semifinal)
• Yvette McKinney (final)
• Dee Kantner (final)
• Violet Palmer (final)

Dee Kantner and Violet Palmer were hired into the NBA for its 1997-98 season, becoming the first female officials in any major North American professional sports league. Following her dismissal from the NBA in 2001, Kantner returned to women's college basketball and has officiated numerous Final Fours, while Palmer remained in the NBA through the 2015-16 season.

See also

• 1997 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
• 1997 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament
• 1997 NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament
• 1997 NAIA Division I women's basketball tournament