2022–23 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Season

The 2022–23 NCAA Division I women's basketball season began on November 7, 2022. The regular season ended on March 12, 2023, with the 2023 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament beginning on March 14 and ending with the championship game at American Airlines Center in Dallas on April 2.

Rule changes

The following rule changes will be recommended by the NCAA Basketball Rules Committee to the Playing Rules Oversight Panel for 2022−23 season:

TBD
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Season headlines

* June 21, 2022 – Hartford, which started a transition from Division I to Division III in the 2021–22 school year, was announced as a new member of the D-III Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) effective in 2023–24. The CCC press release also confirmed previous reports that Hartford would leave the America East Conference after the 2021–22 season; the Hawks would play the 2022–23 season as a D-I independent.
* June 24 – Incarnate Word, which had announced a move from the Southland Conference (SLC) to the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), backed out of this move and elected to remain in the SLC.
* June 30 – The Big Ten Conference announced that UCLA and USC would join from the Pac-12 Conference in 2024, immediately after the current Pac-12 media contracts expire.
* July 11 – The SLC and Lamar jointly announced that Lamar, which had previously planned to leave the WAC in 2023 to return to the SLC, would expedite this move for the 2022–23 school year.
* July 15 – The WAC announced that starting with the 2023 editions, its men's and women's tournaments would be seeded via a set of advanced metrics that it calls the WAC Résumé Seeding System, developed by statistics guru Ken Pomeroy alongside WAC officials. Tournament entry will still be based on conference record.
* August 3
** UConn announced that Paige Bueckers, who had been the consensus national player of the year as a freshman in 2020–21, tore her left ACL in a pickup game on August 1 and would miss the entire 2022–23 season.
** The Colonial Athletic Association announced that Campbell would join from the Big South Conference in 2023.
* August 12 – The Indiana University and Purdue University systems announced that Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis will be dissolved in 2024 and replaced by separate IU- and Purdue-affiliated institutions. The current athletic program, the IUPUI Jaguars, will transfer to the new IU Indianapolis.
* August 31 – The Division I Board of Directors adopted a series of changes to transfer rules.
** Transfer windows were adopted for all Division I sports. Student-athletes who wish to be immediately eligible at their next school must enter the NCAA transfer portal within the designated period(s) for their sport. For women's basketball, the window opens on the day after Selection Sunday and runs for 60 days.
** Student-athletes who experience head coaching changes, or those whose athletic aid is reduced, canceled, or not renewed, may transfer outside designated windows without penalty.
** Transferring student-athletes will be guaranteed their financial aid at their next school through graduation.
* September 21 – Houston Baptist University announced it had changed its name to Houston Christian University, effective immediately. The athletic nickname of Huskies was not affected.
* October 14 – Conference USA announced that ASUN Conference member Kennesaw State would join C-USA in 2024.
* October 18 – The Associated Press released its preseason poll. Defending national champion South Carolina was the unanimous #1, marking the Gamecocks' third straight season at the top spot. Other poll highlights:
** For the first time since 2006, UConn was ranked outside the top 5 in the preseason poll, landing at No. 6.
** Two programs equaled their highest-ever rankings in any AP poll: Iowa (#4) and Virginia Tech (#13).
** Three schools were ranked in the preseason for the first time ever: Creighton (#21), South Dakota State (#23), and Princeton (#24).
* October 25 – The AP released its preseason All-America team. South Carolina's Aliyah Boston and Iowa's Caitlin Clark were unanimous choices, joined on the team by Haley Jones of Stanford, Ashley Joens of Iowa State, Elizabeth Kitley of Virginia Tech, and Aneesah Morrow of DePaul.
* November 2 reported that Gonzaga athletic director Chris Standiford and Big 12 Conference commissioner Brett Yormark had met the previous week in the Dallas area regarding a possible Gonzaga move to that conference as a full but non-football member. The report also indicated that Gonzaga had at least some level of talks with the Big East Conference and Pac-12 Conference in the preceding months.
* November 17 – During a meeting in San Francisco, the Regents of the University of California, the governing board of the University of California system, set a date of December 14 for a special meeting to make a final determination on UCLA's planned move to the Big Ten.
* December 14 - The UC Regents approved UCLA's move to the Big Ten. Additionally, conditions were made to mitigate athletes such as investing $12 million in beneficial services including nutritional support and charter flights to reduce travel time. UCLA must also pay the University of California, Berkeley an additional $2 to $10 million due to the move affecting the latter's athletic program, with the precise total being made once the Pac-12 completes its upcoming media rights deal.
* February 8 – UConn lost 59–52 to Marquette, following an 81–77 loss to top-ranked South Carolina in its previous game. This marked the first time since March 1993 that the Huskies had lost consecutive games.
* February 9 – The Big 12 Conference announced that it had reached an agreement with Oklahoma and Texas that will allow the two schools to leave for the Southeastern Conference in 2024 instead of the originally announced 2025 schedule. Approval by the two schools' governing boards was seen as a formality.
* February 24 – In the first sanctions issued by the NCAA regarding name, image, and likeness opportunities, Miami (FL) was placed on one year of probation and received other minor penalties for its involvement in arranging a meeting between alumnus and booster John Ruiz and twin players and social media stars Haley and Hanna Cavinder, who transferred together from Fresno State before the 2022–23 season. Neither Ruiz nor the Cavinder twins received any direct sanctions.
* March 20 – St. Francis Brooklyn announced that it would terminate its athletic program after the spring 2023 semester.
* May 10 - Le Moyne announced it would reclassify to Division I from Division II and join the Northeast Conference effective July 1, 2023.
* May 12 - Western Illinois announced it would leave the Summit League for the Ohio Valley Conference effective July 1, 2023.

Milestones and records

* December 21 – Caitlin Clark of Iowa reached 2,000 career points in the 75th game of her college career, a 92–54 win over Dartmouth. This equaled Delaware's Elena Delle Donne for the fastest to 2,000 points by a D-I women's player in the current century.
* January 25 – Taylor Robertson of Oklahoma tied Kelsey Mitchell, who played at Ohio State from 2014 to 2018, for the most career three-pointers in D-I women's basketball, at 497. While Robertson was playing in her fifth season due to benefiting from the NCAA's COVID-19 eligibility waiver for the 2020–21 season, she reached the mark in two fewer games than Mitchell (137 to 139).
* January 28 – Robertson took sole possession of the record for career three-pointers in Oklahoma's 86–78 loss to Iowa State.
* March 11 – Iowa State's Ashley Joens became the 14th Division I women's player with 3,000 career points, reaching the mark in the Cyclones' 82–72 win over Oklahoma in the Big 12 tournament semifinals.
* March 18 – Villanova's Maddy Siegrist became the fifth Division I women's player with 1,000 points in a season, reaching the mark in the Wildcats' 76–59 win over Cleveland State in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
* March 31 – Clark reached the following milestones with her 41-point performance in Iowa's 77–73 upset of South Carolina in the NCAA tournament semifinals:
** The sixth D-I women's player, and second this season, to record 1,000 points in a season.
** The first D-I women's player to score 1,000 points and record 300 assists in the same season (having previously reached the assists mark).
** The Big Ten Conference record for most points in a season.
** Following her 41-point triple-double against Louisville in the Seattle 4 regional final, Clark also became the first player ever with consecutive 40-point games in either the D-I women's or men's toutnament.

Conference membership changes

Twenty-six schools joined new conferences or became independents, including five schools from Division II that started transitions to Division I this season and one in the transition process from Division I to Division III.

As noted previously, Incarnate Word backed out of a planned move from the Southland Conference to the Western Athletic Conference, and Lamar, which had planned to make the opposite move in 2023, pushed this move forward to 2022.

The 2022−23 season was the last for at least 16 Division I schools in their then-current conferences, and for one Division II school before reclassification to Division I. It was also Hartford's only season as a D-I independent and the last season of athletics for St. Francis Brooklyn.

Arenas

New arenas

* Alabama A&M opened the new Alabama A&M Events Center on November 18, losing its first game in the new facility 57–36 to Murray State on November 26.
* Fairfield's former home of Alumni Hall was replaced on-site by the new Leo D. Mahoney Arena. The Stags' first game in the new facility was a 77–53 win over Stonehill on November 18.
* Georgia State left GSU Sports Arena for the new Georgia State Convocation Center. The opening ceremony for the new arena was on September 15, with the first event taking place the following day. The Panthers' first official game was a 114–31 win over nearby Division III member Agnes Scott on November 7.
* Texas moved from the Frank Erwin Center to the Moody Center. The Longhorns' first event at the new arena was an intrasquad scrimmage on October 26, followed by two exhibitions at home before the first official game, a 68–45 win over Louisiana on November 11.

Arenas of new D-I teams

All five new D-I members in 2022–23 play on their respective campuses.
* Lindenwood plays at Robert F. Hyland Performance Arena.
* Queens plays at Curry Arena.
* Southern Indiana plays at Screaming Eagles Arena.
* Stonehill plays at Merkert Gymnasium.
* Texas A&M–Commerce plays at the Texas A&M–Commerce Field House.

Arenas closing

The following D-I programs plan to open new arenas for the 2023−24 season, or move home games to a pre-existing venue. All will move within their current campuses otherwise indicated.
* Austin Peay will leave the on-campus Winfield Dunn Center for the new F&M Bank Arena in downtown Clarksville, Tennessee after 49 seasons. The new arena was originally planned to open for the 2022–23 season, but was delayed to 2023–24.
* Baylor will leave the Ferrell Center for the new Foster Pavilion; the venue is scheduled to open in the fall of 2023 or early 2024.
*Georgia Southern will leave the Hanner Fieldhouse for the new Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center; the venue was scheduled to open in the early fall of 2023, but was delayed until 2024–25 season.
* Longwood will leave Willett Hall for the new Joan Perry Brock Center; the venue is scheduled to open in Summer 2023.
* St. Francis Brooklyn began closing its Remsen Street campus, including Generoso Pope Athletic Complex, at the end of the 2021–22 school year as part of the college's move to a new campus on Livingston Street in Downtown Brooklyn. Home games will at least temporarily be played about 2 miles (3 km) away at Pratt Institute, as the Livingston Street campus has no basketball venue. The final women's basketball game at Pope Athletic Complex was a 64–59 loss to UMBC on November 20.
* Vermont was originally slated to open the new Tarrant Event Center, the replacement for Patrick Gym, in 2021. However, the new arena has since been placed on indefinite hold. Construction was initially halted by COVID-19. With the Tarrant Center being part of a much larger upgrade of UVM's athletic and recreation facilities, UVM chose to prioritize a new student recreation center. Construction of the Tarrant Center is now being hampered by increased borrowing costs.

Seasonal outlook

The Top 25 from the AP and USA Today Coaching Polls

Pre-season polls

Final polls

Top 10 matchups

Rankings reflect the AP poll Top 25.

Regular season

*November 14
**No. 5 UConn defeated No. 3 Texas, 83–76 (Harry A. Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, Connecticut)
*November 20
**No. 5 UConn defeated No. 10 NC State, 91–69 (XL Center, Hartford, Connecticut)
**No. 6 Louisville defeated No. 3 Texas, 71–63 (Imperial Arena, Paradise Island, Bahamas)
**No. 1 South Carolina defeated No. 2 Stanford, 76–71^OT (Maples Pavilion, Stanford, California)
*November 27
**No. 3 UConn defeated No. 9 Iowa, 86–79 ( Phil Knight Legacy, Moda Center, Portland, Oregon)
**No. 8 North Carolina defeated No. 5 Iowa State, 73–64 (Phil Knight Invitational, Moda Center, Portland, Oregon)
*December 1
**No. 5 Indiana defeated No. 6 North Carolina, 87–63 ( ACC–Big Ten Women's Challenge, Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Indiana)
*December 4
**No. 7 Notre Dame defeated No. 3 UConn, 74–60 (Jimmy V Women's Classic, Purcell Pavilion, Notre Dame, Indiana)
*December 18
**No. 5 Notre Dame defeated No. 6 Virginia Tech, 63–52 (Cassell Coliseum, Blacksburg, Virginia)
*January 12
**No. 6 Indiana defeated No. 9 Maryland, 68–61 (Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Indiana)
*January 13
**No. 2 Stanford defeated No. 8 UCLA, 72–59 (Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, California)
*January 20
**No. 4 Stanford defeated No. 8 Utah, 74–62 (Maples Pavilion, Stanford, California)
*January 23
**No. 10 Iowa defeated No. 2 Ohio State, 83–72 (Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio)
*January 26
**No. 6 Indiana defeated No. 2 Ohio State, 78–65 (Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Indiana)
*January 29
**No. 9 Utah defeated No. 8 UCLA, 71–69 (Jon M. Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City, Utah)
*February 2
**No. 6 Iowa defeated No. 8 Maryland, 96–82 ( Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Ames, Iowa)
*February 5
**No. 1 South Carolina defeated No. 5 UConn, 81–77 (XL Center, Hartford, Connecticut)
**No. 8 Maryland defeated No. 10 Ohio State, 90–54 ( Xfinity Center, College Park, Maryland)
*February 9
**No. 2 Indiana defeated No. 5 Iowa, 87–78 (Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Indiana)
*February 12
**No. 1 South Carolina defeated No. 3 LSU, 88–64 (Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, South Carolina)
*February 21
**No. 7 Maryland defeated No. 6 Iowa, 96–68 (Xfinity Center, College Park, Maryland)
*February 25
**No. 8 Utah defeated No. 3 Stanford, 84–78 (Jon M. Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City, Utah)
*February 26
**No. 6 Iowa defeated No. 2 Indiana, 86–85 (Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City, Iowa)
*March 4
**No. 7 Iowa defeated No. 5 Maryland, 89–84 (2023 Big Ten women's basketball tournament, Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota)
*March 6
**No. 7 UConn defeated No. 10 Villanova, 67–56 (2023 Big East women's basketball tournament, Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Connecticut)

Postseason

Regular season

Early season tournaments

Upsets

An upset is a victory by an underdog team. In the context of NCAA Division I women's basketball, this generally constitutes an unranked team defeating a team currently
ranked in the top 25. This list will highlight those upsets of ranked teams by unranked teams as well as upsets of No. 1 teams. Rankings are from the AP poll. Bold type indicates winning teams in "true road games"—i.e., those played on an opponent's home court (including secondary homes).

In addition to the upsets in which an unranked team defeated a ranked team, this list includes non–Division I teams to defeat Division I teams. Bold type indicates winning teams in "true road games"—i.e., those played on an opponent's home court (including secondary homes).

Conference winners and tournaments

Each of the 32 Division I athletic conferences will end its regular season with a single-elimination tournament. The team with the best regular-season record in each conference receives the number one seed in each tournament, with tiebreakers used as needed in the case of ties for the top seeding. Unless otherwise noted, the winners of these tournaments will receive automatic invitations to the 2023 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament.

Statistical leaders

Includes postseason games.

Postseason

Tournament upsets

Per the NCAA, "Upsets are defined as when the winner of the game was seeded two or more places lower than the team it defeated." The 2023 tournament has nine upsets so far, with five in the first round, three in the second round, and one in the Sweet Sixteen. Stanford's loss to Ole Miss marked the first time a No. 1 seed failed to make the Sweet Sixteen since 2009. With Indiana's loss to Miami, this marked the first time two No. 1 seeds failed to make the Sweet Sixteen since 1998.

Final Four –

American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas

National Invitation tournament

Women's Basketball Invitational

This season saw the debut of a third national postseason tournament in the Women's Basketball Invitational, a 16-team affair with all games played on home courts.

Conference standings

Award winners

All-America teams

The NCAA has never recognized a consensus All-America team in women's basketball. This differs from the practice in men's basketball, in which the NCAA uses a combination of selections by the Associated Press (AP), the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), the ''Sporting News'', and the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) to determine a consensus All-America team. The selection of a consensus team is possible because all four organizations select at least a first and second team, with only the USBWA not selecting a third team.

Before the 2017–18 season, it was impossible for a consensus women's All-America team to be determined because the AP had been the only body that divided its women's selections into separate teams. The USBWA first named separate teams in 2017–18. The women's counterpart to the NABC, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), continues the USBWA's former practice of selecting a single 10-member (plus ties) team. The NCAA does not recognize ''Sporting News'' as an All-America selector in women's basketball.

Major player of the year awards

*Wooden Award: Caitlin Clark, Iowa
*Naismith Award: Caitlin Clark, Iowa
* Associated Press Player of the Year: Caitlin Clark, Iowa
*Wade Trophy: Caitlin Clark, Iowa
* Ann Meyers Drysdale Women's Player of the Year (USBWA): Caitlin Clark, Iowa

Major freshman of the year awards

* Tamika Catchings Award (USBWA): Ta'Niya Latson, Florida State
* WBCA Freshman of the Year:Ta'Niya Latson, Florida State

Major coach of the year awards

* Associated Press Coach of the Year: Teri Moren, Indiana
*Naismith College Coach of the Year: Dawn Staley, South Carolina
* USBWA National Coach of the Year: Dawn Staley, South Carolina
*WBCA National Coach of the Year: Dawn Staley, South Carolina
* WBCA Assistant Coach of the Year: Jan Jensen, Iowa

Other major awards

* Naismith Starting Five:
** Nancy Lieberman Award (top point guard): Caitlin Clark, Iowa
** Ann Meyers Drysdale Award (top shooting guard): Zia Cooke, South Carolina
** Cheryl Miller Award (top small forward): Ashley Joens, Iowa State
** Katrina McClain Award (top power forward): Maddy Siegrist, Villanova
** Lisa Leslie Award (top center): Aliyah Boston, South Carolina
* WBCA Defensive Player of the Year: Cameron Brink, Stanford
* Naismith Women's Defensive Player of the Year: Aliyah Boston, South Carolina
* Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award: Sam Breen, UMass
*Maggie Dixon Award (top rookie head coach): Shawn Poppie, Chattanooga
* Academic All-American of the Year (top scholar-athlete): Caitlin Clark, Iowa
*Elite 90 Award (top GPA among upperclass players at Final Four):
* Pat Summitt Most Courageous Award: Angelique Francis, Little Rock

Coaching changes

Many teams changed coaches during and after the season.

See also

*2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season

Notes

References

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