The 1997 NAIA Division I women's basketball tournament was the

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...

held by the NAIA to determine the national champion of women's

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

among its Division I members in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

for the 1996–97 basketball season. Three-time defending champions Southern Nazarene defeated Union (TN) in the championship game, 78–73, to claim the Redskins' fifth NAIA national title. The tournament was played at the

Oman Arena Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Tennessee, United States. Located east of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis and 130 Miles Southwest of Nashville, it is a regional center of trade for West Tennessee. Its total population wa ...

Jackson, Tennessee Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Tennessee, United States. Located east of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis and 130 Miles Southwest of Nashville, it is a regional center of trade for West Tennessee. Its total population wa ...

Qualification

The tournament field remained fixed at thirty-two teams, with the top sixteen teams receiving seeds. The tournament continued to utilize a simple

single-elimination A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

format.

Bracket

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1997 Naia Women's Division I Basketball Tournament NAIA NAIA women's basketball championships 1997 in sports in Tennessee Women's sports in Tennessee

Qualification

Bracket

See also

References