With selection Monday (March 18) less than 24 hours away here is a look at the 31 women's basketball teams that have earned an automatic bid by winning their conference.
Albany: The Albany Great Danes (27-3), the No. 1 seed in the America East Conference Tournament, defeated the second-seed Hartford Hawks 61-52 in the conference tournament finals on March 16. With the win, the Great Danes earned their second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Central Michigan: The Central Michigan Chippewas (21-11) defeated the Akron Zips 86-68 to win the Mid-American Conference crown on March 16. With the victory, the Chippewas earned their first NCAA Tournament bid since 1984.
Duke: The Duke Blue Devils (30-2) defeated the North Carolina Tar Heels 92-73 in the ACC championship game on March 10. The victory was the Blue Devils eighth Atlantic Coast Conference title. Alex Jones, who was named the tournament’s MVP, scored a career-high 24 points while Elizabeth Williams also tallied 24 points.
Delaware: The Delaware Blue Hens (30-3) earned a hard fought 59-56 victory over the Drexel Dragons in the championship game of the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament on March 17. Elena Delle Donne led the way for the Blue Hens with 28 points. Delaware will host the first and second round of the tournament and the Blue Hens will likely play at home.
Stetson: The Stetson Hatters earned their school-record 24th win with a come from behind victory over top-seeded Florida Gulf Coast (70-64) in the finals of the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament on March 9. The Hatters (24-8) will make the third appearance in the NCAA Tournament in their history and are expected to be a 16th seed.
Baylor: The Baylor Lady Bears (30-2) won their third straight Big-12 Conference tournament by rolling past Iowa State 75-47 on March 11. Brittney Griner tallied 31 points for the Lady Bears, who won their fifth Big-12 Tournament crown in program history.
Notre Dame: The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (31-1) defeated the Connecticut Huskies 61-59 to win their first ever Big East Tournament title on March 12. Natalie Achonwa’s layup with 1.9 seconds remaining gave the Fighting Irish their seventh victory over the Huskies in their last eight meetings.
Liberty: The Liberty Flames (27-6) won their 15th Big South Tournament title in the last 17 years with a 54-45 victory over Longwood on March 10.
Purdue: The Purdue Boilermakers defeated the Michigan State 62-47 to the Big 10 Conference title on March 10. The title is the Boilermakers (24-8) ninth conference tournament crown in their history.
UT-Martin: The University of Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks (19-14) defeated the Tennessee Tech 87-80 in overtime to win the Ohio Valley Conference on March 9. The victory gives the Skyhawks their third straight OVC Tournament crown.
Jasmine Newsome, who sent the game in overtime with a layup with two seconds remaining in regulation, scored 34 points to lead the Skyhawks. Newsome was named the tournament MVP.
Cal Poly: The second-seeded Cal Poly Mustangs (25-10) upset top-seeded Pacific Tigers 63-49 in the Big West Conference Tournament championship game, despite losing star forward Kayla Griffin (torn knee ligaments) early in the second half, on March 16. With the victory, the Mustangs will make their first ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament. It marked the third time Cal Poly defeated Pacific this season.
Tulsa: Tulsa defeated Central Florida 75-66 in Conference USA Tournament championship game on March 16. The victory gives Tulsa their second Conference USA Tournament crown. Taleya Mayberry scored 25 points to lead the Golden Hurricanes and was named C-USA Tournament Most Valuable Player.
Montana: The Montana Grizzlies (24-7) defeated the Northern Colorado Bears 56-43 in the finals of the Big Sky Conference Tournament on March 16, to earn their second straight NCAA Tournament bid. Kenzie De Boer, who chipped in 19 points in the tournament final, was named the tournament’s MVP.
Princeton: The Princeton Tigers (21-6) are headed to their fourth straight NCAA Tournament after winning the Ivy League title. The Ivy League does not hold a conference tournament.
Marist: Marist defeated Iona (72-48) to win their eighth straight Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament title on March 11. Elizabeth Beynnon, the tournament’s MVP, led the Red Foxes (26-6) with 15 points. With the victory, Marist extended their winning streak against MAAC opponents to 31.
Hampton: The Hampton Lady Pirates (28-5) won their fourth straight Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament crown with a 59-38 victory over Howard. Keira Avant, the MEAC Player of the Year, was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Performer.
St. Joseph’s: The St. Joseph’s Hawks nipped the Fordham Rams 47-46 in the finals of the Atlantic-10 Conference Tournament on March 16. The conference tournament crown is the Hawks first since 1999.
Fresno State: Ki-Ki Moore, who was selected as the Mountain West Conference Tournament MVP, tallied 22 points in Fresno State’s 76-70 victory over San Diego State in the conference tournament title on March 16. The conference tournament title was the Bulldogs fifth in the past six years but first as a member of the Moiuntain West Conference.
Stanford: The fourth-ranked Stanford Cardinals held off the 14th-ranked UCLA Bruins 51-49 to claim their seventh straight Pac-12 conference tournament crown on March 10. Amber Orrange scored a career-high 20 points to lead the Cardinals.
Texas A&M: The Texas A&M Aggies (24-9) defeated the Kentucky Wildcats 75-67 to capture the SEC Tournament title in their first season in the conference on March 10. Kelsey Bone, the tournament’s MVP, led the way for the Aggies with 18 points and 15 rebounds.
Navy: Kara Pollinger and Chloe Stapleton combined for 43 points, 33 of those points came on 11 triples, to lead Navy over Holy Cross (72-53) in the Patriot Conference Tournament final on March 16. Navy has now won three straight Patriot League crowns. The Midshipmen’s Alix Membreno was named the tournament MVP. She finished the tournament with 38 points, 28 rebounds and 21 dimes.
Oral Roberts: Kevi Luper poured in 26 points to lead Oral Roberts to their first Southland Conference Tournament title since 2008 with a 72-66 win over Sam Houston State on March 16. The Golden Eagles (18-12) are in their first season as members of the Southland Conference.
Chattanooga: Kayla Christopher’s putback with 8.2 seconds left gave the Chattanooga Lady Mocs a 64-63 victory over Davidson in the Southern Conference Tournament championship game on March 16. With the victory, the Lady Mocs improved to 29-3 on the season and captured their 14th SoCon Tournament crown.
Prairie View A&M: The Prairie View A&M Lady Panthers defeated the Mississippi Valley Devilettes 100-87 in four overtimes to win their third consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament championship on March 16.
South Dakota State: The South Dakota State Jackrabbits won their fifth straight Summit League Tournament title with a 56-53 victory over South Dakota on March 16. The Jackrabbits, who have not lost a game in 15 Summitt League Tournament games, improved to 25-7 on the season.
Middle Tennessee: The top-seeded Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders overcame a seven-point second-half deficit to defeat No. 2 Arkansas-Little Rock 53-48 in the finals of Sun Belt Tournament. The victory gives Middle Tennessee their seventh Sun Belt Tournament crown in the last 10 years but their first since 2010.
Gonzaga: The Gonzaga Bulldogs (27-5) rolled over San Diego 62-50 on March 11, to earn their fifth straight West Coast Conference Tournament crown.
Idaho: The Idaho Vandals, the tournament’s third seed, knocked off the Western Athletic Conference regular season champion Seattle University Redhawks 67-64 on March 16. With the victory, the Vandals earn their first WAC Tournament championship and their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 1984. Stacey Barr contributed 16 points and 11 rebounds for Idaho, was named the tournament’s MVP.
Green Bay: The Green Bay Phoenix limited the Loyola Ramblers to 17 first-half points and rolled to a 54-38 victory in the championship game of the Horizon League Tournament on March 17. The Phoenix improved to 29-2 and earned their fifth straight NCAA Tournament berth with the victory.
Quinnipiac: The Quinnipiac Bobcats manhandled the St.Francis (PA) Red Flashes 72-33 to win the Northeast Conference on March 17. The Bobcats earned their 30th victory of the season (30-2) as well as their first NCAA tournament bid with the win.
Wichita State: The Wichita State (24-9) shockers earned their first NCAA Tournament bid with a 69-65 victory over Illinois State in the championship game of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament on March 17.
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