The 2015–16 NCAA Division I women's basketball season began in November and ended with the

Final Four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, April 3–5. Practices officially began on October 3. This season of NCAA women's basketball games was the first to be played in 10-minute quarters, the standard for

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French language, French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the Basketball equipment ...

and WNBA play.

Other NCAA changes

In addition to the change to quarter play, the NCAA also affords each team three 30-second timeouts and one 60-second timeout per game, and a media timeout will occur at the first

dead ball Dead ball is a term in many ball sports in which the ball is deemed temporarily not playable, and no movement may be made with it. Depending on the sport, this event may be quite routine, or more uncommon. Basketball In basketball, most or any ...

after the 5:00 mark of each quarter. If a timeout is called before the 5:00 mark, that timeout replaces the media timeout. Teams will also be allowed to advance the ball to the front court following a timeout after a made basket, a rebound or change in possession in the last minute of the fourth quarter or any overtime periods. The

bonus Bonus commonly means: * Bonus, a Commonwealth term for a distribution of profits to a with-profits insurance policy * Bonus payment, an extra payment received as a reward for doing one's job well or as an incentive Bonus may also refer to: Place ...

situation has also changed, with teams reaching the bonus on the fifth foul of each quarter, where they will be awarded two free throws. Previously, teams shot one-and-one on the seventh foul of the half and reached the two-shot double bonus on the 10th foul. Fouls will reset following each quarter, with all overtime periods counting as extensions of the fourth quarter.

Team changes

* The

Omaha Mavericks The Omaha Mavericks are the sports teams of the University of Nebraska Omaha. They participate in the NCAA's Division I and in the Summit League, except in ice hockey, where they compete in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC). Hist ...

began their NCAA Division I and

Summit League The Summit League, or The Summit, is an NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletic conference with its membership mostly located in the Midwestern United States, from Minnesota in the east, to the Dakotas, Nebraska and Colorado to the West, and Mis ...

postseason eligibility this season in a new on-campus venue, Baxter Arena. The first game was a 61–56 exhibition loss to Division II Washburn on November 4; the first regular-season game was a 75–60 win over UCF on November 14. * On January 10, the

Ole Miss Rebels The Ole Miss Rebels are the 18 men's and women's College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that are funded by and represent the University of Mississippi, located in Oxford, Mississippi, Oxford. The first was the Ole ...

made their debut in the new Pavilion at Ole Miss against

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, losing 85–65.

Pre-season polls

The top 25 from the AP and USA Today Coaches Polls.

Postseason

Conference winners and tournaments

Thirty-one

athletic conference An athletic conference is a collection of sports teams which play competitively against each other in a sports league. In many cases conferences are subdivided into smaller Division (sport), divisions, with the best teams competing at successively ...

s each ended their

regular season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of S ...

s with a

single-elimination tournament 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, ...

. The team with the best regular-season record in each conference was given the number one seed in each tournament, with tiebreakers used as needed in the case of ties for the top seeding. All conferences also recognize regular-season champions, with co-championships being awarded in the case of ties. The winners of these tournaments receive automatic invitations to the 2016 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament. For the final time, the

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...

did not hold a conference tournament, instead giving its automatic invitation to its regular season champion; in case of a tie for the regular-season title (which did not happen this season), the automatic berth would have been decided by a one-game playoff (or series of one-game playoffs if more than two teams were tied).

Statistical leaders

NCAA tournament

Tournament upsets

For this list, a "major upset" is defined as a win by a team seeded 7 or more spots below its defeated opponent.

Women's NIT

Women's Basketball Invitational

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 The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

(AP), the

National Association of Basketball Coaches The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, is an American organization of men's college basketball coaches. It was founded in 1927 by Phog Allen, the men's basketball head coach for the Univ ...

(NABC), the ''

Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

'', and the

United States Basketball Writers Association The United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) was founded in 1956 with the urging of National Collegiate Athletic Association director Walter Byers to serve the interests of journalists who cover college basketball. Scholarships The U ...

(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. However, of the major selectors in women's basketball, only the AP divides its selections into separate teams. The women's counterpart to the NABC, the

Women's Basketball Coaches Association The Women's Basketball Coaches Association is an association of coaches of women's basketball teams at all levels. The organization was formed in 1981, with the goal of addressing the needs of women's basketball coaches. The mission of the WBC ...

(WBCA), selects a single 10-member (plus ties) team, as does the USBWA. The NCAA does not recognize ''Sporting News'' as an All-America selector in women's basketball. AP 3rd Team
Third Team All-Americans
Jillian Alleyne, Oregon, F, 6-3, sr.
Myisha Hines-Allen, Louisville, F, 6-2, so.
Tiffany Mitchell, South Carolina, G, 5-9, sr. (USBWA All-American Team)
Aerial Powers, Michigan State, G, 6-4, redshirt jr.
Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, Maryland, G, 5-11, jr. (USBWA All-American Team)

Major player of the year awards

* Wooden Award:

Breanna Stewart Breanna Mackenzie Stewart ( ; Born, August 27, 1994), nicknamed "Stewie", is an American professional basketball player for the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is one of the most accomplished women in ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

* Naismith Award:

* Associated Press Player of the Year:

Wade Trophy The Wade Trophy is an award presented annually to the best upperclass women's basketball player in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I competition. It is named after three–time national champion Delta State ...

: Breanna Stewart, Connecticut *espnW National Player of the Year:

Major freshman of the year awards

USBWA National Freshman of the Year The USBWA National Freshman of the Year, with the men's and women's versions respectively named the Wayman Tisdale Award and Tamika Catchings Award, is an annual basketball award given to college basketball's most outstanding freshman male player ...

(

USBWA The United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) was founded in 1956 with the urging of National Collegiate Athletic Association director Walter Byers to serve the interests of journalists who cover college basketball. Scholarships The U ...

Kristine Anigwe Kristine Chioma Anigwe (born March 31, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for SERCO UNI Győr in the EuroLeague. Early life Kristine Anigwe was born in London to Nigerian parents. She and her siblings were raised in Phoenix, Ar ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Major coach of the year awards

* Associated Press Coach of the Year: Geno Auriemma (Connecticut) (8th time) *

Naismith College Coach of the Year The Naismith College Coach of the Year Award (officially known for sponsorship reasons as the Werner Ladder Naismith College Coach of the Year) is an award given by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to one men's and one women's NCAA Division I collegiate c ...

: Geno Auriemma (Connecticut) (7th time) * WBCA National Coach of the Year Award: Geno Auriemma (Connecticut)

Other major awards

Nancy Lieberman Award The Nancy Lieberman Award, named for Basketball Hall of Fame legend Nancy Lieberman is given to the nation's top collegiate point guard in women's Division I basketball. Sue Bird won the inaugural award in 2000, making her the first of only thre ...

(best point guard):

Moriah Jefferson Moriah Jefferson (born March 8, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Sky in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted second overall by the San Antonio Stars in the 2016 WNBA draft. Jeffe ...

(Connecticut) (2nd year) * Senior CLASS Award (top senior):

(Connecticut) * Maggie Dixon Award (top first-year head coach): Joni Taylor (Georgia) * Academic All-American of the Year (Top scholar-athlete): Ally Disterhoft,

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

* Elite 90 Award (Top GPA among upperclass players at Final Four):

Ruth Hamblin Ruth Davis (née Hamblin; born June 24, 1994) is a Canadian professional basketball player. She was drafted 18th overall by the Dallas Wings in the 2016 WNBA draft. Born in Smithers, British Columbia, she played college basketball for Oregon St ...

(Oregon State)

Coaching changes

Several teams changed coaches during and after the season.

References

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