2021–22 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Season
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The 2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball season began on November 9, 2021. The regular season ended on March 6, 2022, with the
2022 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament The 2022 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 68 teams to determine the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 2021–22 NCAA Divi ...
beginning on March 18, and ending with the championship game at the
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in
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on April 3.


Rule changes

The following rule changes were recommended by the NCAA Basketball Rules Committee and approved by the Playing Rules Oversight Panel for the 2021–22 season: * The three-point line was moved to the
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 ...
standard of ( in the corners), matching the distance used in NCAA men's basketball since 2019–20 in Division I and 2020–21 in Divisions II and III. * Live statistics may be transmitted to the bench area for coaching purposes. * In an experimental rule, conferences could apply for an NCAA waiver to allow transmission of live video feeds to the bench in conference games. This was still prohibited during nonconference games. (Previously, only preloaded video had been allowed in the bench area.) * The following adjustments were made to reply review rules: ** Officials can use replay to review any out-of-bounds play, regardless of the number of players involved. Previously, only deflections involving two players could be reviewed. ** Coaches may request review of the result of a play involving the restricted area or lower defensive box at any time in the game. Previously, this play could only be reviewed by officials in the last two minutes of the game (or at the same time in an overtime period). An unsuccessful coach-initiated review results in that team losing a timeout. ** Officials can now use replay to determine whether a basket should count when a player commits a foul away from the ball. Coaches may request this review at any time (at the cost of a timeout if the review is unsuccessful); officials can initiate a review on their own only in the last two minutes of the game (or overtime period).


Season headlines

Two of the most significant developments impacting the 2021–22 season took place before the end of the 2020–21 school year, with one occurring before the start of the 2020–21 basketball season. * On October 14, 2020, the NCAA announced that all student-athletes in winter sports during the 2020–21 school year, including men's and women's basketball, would receive an extra year of athletic eligibility. * On April 15, 2021, the NCAA Division I Council adopted legislation that extended the so-called "one-time transfer exception" to all D-I sports, with the Division I Board of Directors ratifying this on April 28. This allows student-athletes in baseball, men's and women's basketball, football, and men's ice hockey to transfer one time without having to sit out a year, placing them under the same transfer regulations that previously applied to all other D-I sports. Other news: * May 6, 2021 – The
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's governing board voted to begin the process of transitioning the school's athletic program from Division I to
NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is the lowest division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that do not offer athletic scholarships to student- ...
. The plan calls for the following steps: ** January 2022: Formal request for reclassification with the NCAA. ** 2022–23: No athletic scholarships will be awarded to incoming students. ** 2023–24: Become a provisional member in a D-III conference to be determined; transition remaining students off athletic scholarships by the end of that school year. ** 2024–25: Become a full member of the aforementioned D-III conference. ** 2025–26: Full D-III membership. * July 21 – The ''
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'' reported that
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and
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
had approached the
Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...
about the possibility of joining that league, and that an announcement could come in early August. The SEC and both schools refused comment on this report, but did not issue definitive denials. * July 26 – Oklahoma and Texas notified the Big 12 Conference that the two schools do not wish to extend their grant of television rights beyond the 2024–25 athletic year and intend to leave the conference. * July 27 – Oklahoma and Texas reached out to the SEC about acceptance into the conference in 2025. * July 28 – The Big 12 sent a cease-and-desist letter to ESPN, accusing the network of
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by working with other conferences attempting to lure Big 12 members in a bid to ease Oklahoma's and Texas' exits for the SEC. The network denied the allegations. * July 29 – The presidents and chancellors of the 14 current SEC members voted unanimously to extend invitations to Oklahoma and Texas, effective in 2025. * July 30 – Oklahoma and Texas formally accepted the SEC's invitations. * August 3 – An independent review commissioned by the NCAA and conducted by the law firm Kaplan Hecker & Fink following the controversy that erupted on social media over the disparities in amenities between the Division I men's and women's basketball tournaments was issued. Among the recommendations: ** The men's and women's Final Fours should be a combined event held at a single site. ** The "March Madness" branding, previously used only for the men's tournament, should be extended to the women's tournament. The NCAA had already announced that it would do so before the report was issued. ** The women's tournament field should be expanded to 68 teams to match the men's tournament. ** Media rights for the women's tournament, currently bundled with rights for more than two dozen other NCAA championships and sold separately from the men's tournament, should be decoupled from those other championships once the current contract for those championships expires. ** If possible, the NCAA's current contract with CBS and Turner to broadcast the men's tournament, which gives said media companies control of sponsorships for ''all'' NCAA championship events—even those broadcast by other entities—should be renegotiated in order to make it easier for companies to sponsor NCAA championships other than the men's tournament. ** The current system by which a significant amount of revenue from the men's tournament is returned to Division I members should be extended to the women's tournament. * September 3 ** Multiple media outlets reported that the Big 12 was on the verge of inviting four schools—
American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (AAC), also known as The American, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States, featuring 13 full member universities and 6 affiliate member universities that compete in t ...
members
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,
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, and UCF, plus BYU, a
West Coast Conference The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting o ...
member and an FBS independent in football. All four schools were reportedly preparing membership applications, and their future entrance could be approved as early as the next scheduled meeting of Big 12 presidents on September 10. The entry timeline was uncertain at the time of the report, but would most likely be in 2024. ** Baylor announced that
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, soccer, and volleyball, the last three Baylor women's sports still using the "Lady Bears" nickname, would drop "Lady" effective immediately. The soccer and volleyball teams had changed their social media accounts to reflect this change several days earlier. * September 10 – BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF were officially announced as incoming Big 12 members no later than 2024–25. * October 18 – Yahoo Sports reported that The American was preparing to receive applications from six of the 14 members of
Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...
Charlotte, Florida Atlantic,
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,
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, UAB, and UTSA. * October 19 – ESPN reported that all six C-USA members named in Yahoo Sports' report had submitted applications to The American, and that each would receive a formal letter by the end of that week (October 22) detailing the terms of expansion. * October 21 – The six aforementioned C-USA members were announced as incoming members of The American at a date to be determined. * October 22 –
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reported that C-USA member Southern Miss had accepted an invitation to join the
Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that has been affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football confe ...
in 2023, though no formal announcement had then been made. The report added that the Sun Belt was preparing to add two other C-USA members,
Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia *Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria ** Marshall railway station Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Is ...
and Old Dominion, as well as FCS program
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. At the time, some formal announcements of new members were expected on October 25, but a Marshall announcement was likely to wait until after the school announced its new president on October 28. The report also indicated that the Sun Belt would expel its two full non-football members,
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and UT Arlington, after the 2022–23 season. * October 26 – Southern Miss was officially announced as a Sun Belt member, effective no later than July 2023. In other Sun Belt realignment news, it was reported that Old Dominion's arrival would be announced later that week, and that James Madison's board had scheduled an emergency meeting on October 29 (presumably to discuss a Sun Belt invitation). * October 27 – Old Dominion was officially announced as a Sun Belt member, also effective no later than July 2023. This marked ODU's return to that conference after an absence of more than 30 years. * October 30 – The day after both the Sun Belt Conference and Marshall issued tweets indicating that the Thundering Herd had accepted a Sun Belt invitation, this move was officially announced. * November 5 – Conference USA, which had nine of its schools depart to other conferences, announced that
ASUN Conference The Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) is a collegiate athletic conference operating mostly in the Southeastern United States. The league participates at the NCAA Division I level, and began sponsoring football at the Division I FCS level in 2022. ...
members Jacksonville State and
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and
Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the Western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...
members
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and
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would join C-USA no later than July 2023. * November 6 – James Madison made its move to the Sun Belt official, initially effective no later than July 2023. * November 12 ** The WAC announced that Incarnate Word would join from the Southland Conference in July 2022. ** Utah governor
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signed a bill passed by the
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that changed the name of ''Dixie State University'' to
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, effective in the 2022–23 school year. The nickname of Trailblazers was not affected. * November 16 ** The
Atlantic 10 Conference The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. The A-10's member schools are located most ...
announced that Loyola Chicago would join from the
Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the fourth-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern Unite ...
after the 2021–22 season. **
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reported that the MVC had entered into talks with three schools regarding future membership—
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member
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,
Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in partnership with ...
member Murray State, and non-football Sun Belt member UT Arlington. The report indicated that the latter two schools were seen as the strongest candidates, but all three were likely to receive invitations in the coming months. * November 17 – The NCAA announced that the women's tournament would expand from 64 to 68 teams, effective with the 2022 tournament. This was another recommendation made in the August 2021 gender equity report. For the 2022 tournament only, the four extra games, held using the same format as the existing men's
First Four The First Four is a play-in round of the NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball tournaments. It consists of two games contested between the four lowest-ranked teams in the field (usually the four lowest-ranked conference champions), an ...
, will be held on campuses of teams seeded in the top 16. From 2023 on, the women's First Four will be held at a neutral site to be determined. * December 9 – The other Sun Belt member without a football program,
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, announced that it would join the
Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in partnership with ...
on July 1, 2022. * January 7, 2022 – Murray State was announced as a new member of the MVC, effective July 1. * January 21 – UT Arlington announced it would return to the WAC, in which it had been a member in the 2012–13 school year, effective July 1. * January 25 – The
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announced that it would add three members effective that July—
Big South Conference The Big South Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. Originally a non-football conference, the Big South began sponsoring football in 2002 as part of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), ...
member Hampton,
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC, ) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I. Its current 13 full members are located in five Northeastern states: Connecticut, Maryland, Massachuse ...
member
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, and Stony Brook, a full member of the
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whose football team was already a member of the legally separate entity of CAA Football. * January 26 – UIC was announced as a new member of the MVC, effective July 1. * February 2 – The Sun Belt and James Madison both reported the latter's entry to the conference would be on July 1, rather than 2023. * February 7 – The
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, then a member of the Division II
Great Lakes Valley Conference The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Its fifteen member institutions are located in the U.S. states of Illinois, ...
, announced that it would begin a transition to Division I in 2022–23, with a D-I conference affiliation to be announced in the coming days. A committee report issued in January indicated three leagues believed to be the ASUN Conference,
Horizon League The Horizon League is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Headquartered in Indianapolis, the league's eleven member schools are located in ...
, and Ohio Valley Conference were possible landing spots. * February 9 – Southern Indiana was announced as a new member of the OVC, effective July 1. * February 11 – Marshall, Old Dominion, and Southern Miss, which were initially announced as moving from C-USA to the Sun Belt no later than 2023, jointly announced that they intended to leave C-USA later in July. All three schools claimed that in December 2021, they had notified C-USA of their intent to leave C-USA after the 2021–22 school year, but that C-USA did not attempt to negotiate a resolution to this issue. C-USA had stated in late January that it expected the three departing schools to remain in the conference through 2022–23. * February 22 – The CAA announced that North Carolina A&T would join from the
Big South Conference The Big South Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. Originally a non-football conference, the Big South began sponsoring football in 2002 as part of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), ...
in non-football sports on July 1. (The NCA&T football team remained as a Big South affiliate for the 2022 season and is to join CAA Football in 2023.) * February 23 ** Marshall sued C-USA in a
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court in an attempt to make its planned move to the Sun Belt Conference in July. ** The OVC announced the entry of another Division II upgrader, Lindenwood, also in July. * March 1 – While not directly related to basketball, the Sun Belt Conference's release of its 2022 football schedule notably included all three schools set to move from C-USA (Marshall, Old Dominion, Southern Miss). The SBC release did not mention the ongoing dispute between C-USA and the three schools, or the prospect of those schools being unable to join for the 2022–23 school year. * March 29 ** Conference USA, Marshall, Old Dominion, and Southern Miss issued a joint statement that all parties had reached a settlement that allowed the three schools to join the Sun Belt Conference in July 2022. ** The America East Conference announced that Bryant would join from the
Northeast Conference The Northeast Conference (NEC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Teams in the NEC compete in Division I for all sports; football competes in the Division I Foo ...
on July 1, 2022. * April 5 – The Northeast Conference announced the addition of then-current Division II member Stonehill, effective July 1, 2022. * May 2 – Mount St. Mary's announced it would join the Metro Atlantic beginning July 1, 2022. * May 6 –
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, a member of the Division II
South Atlantic Conference The South Atlantic Conference (SAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the southeastern United States. The SAC was founded in 1975 as ...
, announced it would join the ASUN on July 1, 2022.


Milestones and records

* January 16 and 20 –
Caitlin Clark Caitlin Elizabeth Clark (born January 22, 2002) is an American professional basketball player for the Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Regarded as one of the greatest female collegiate players, Clark was tw ...
of
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 ...
recorded consecutive 30-point triple-doubles against
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and
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, becoming the first NCAA Division I player of either sex to accomplish this feat. Clark was also the first women's player in
Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...
history to record consecutive triple-doubles regardless of scoring total. * January 23 – Ayoka Lee of
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broke the Division I women's single-game scoring record with 61 points in a 94–65 Wildcat win over No. 14
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. * February 8 – Villanova defeated
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72–69 in
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. This was the first regular-season conference loss for the Huskies since a loss to Notre Dame in March
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, in the final season for both teams as members of the original Big East Conference. UConn's conference winning streak ended at 145 games in regular-season play, a Division I women's record, and 169 when including conference tournament games (with the latter streak starting after UConn lost to Notre Dame in the 2013 Big East tournament final). * February 28 – Macee Williams of IUPUI was named
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player of the year for the fourth straight season, making her only the fourth D-I women's player to be a four-time conference player of the year. * March 18 – In the first round of the NCAA tournament, overall top seed
South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
defeated Howard 79–21, with Howard's total being a new record for lowest team score in any D-I women's tournament game. The Gamecocks also led the Bison 44–4 at halftime, with Howard's score also being the lowest in a half in tournament history. * Fresno State's Haley Cavinder ended the season with a new D-I single-season record for free throw percentage at 97.3%. * Caitlin Clark also ended the season as the first woman to lead Division I in per-game scoring and assists in the same season. * Iowa also became the first D-I men's or women's program with the national leaders in scoring, assists, and field goal percentage in the same season, with Monika Czinano leading in the last statistic.


Conference membership changes

Eleven schools joined new conferences for the 2021–22 season, including St. Thomas that is transitioning directly from
NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is the lowest division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that do not offer athletic scholarships to student- ...
.


Arenas


New arenas

* This is the first season for High Point at the 4,500-seat Qubein Center (full name: Nido and Mariana Qubein Arena and Conference Center). The new arena was originally intended to open for the 2020–21 season, but was delayed due to
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issues. The facility officially opened on the weekend of September 24–26; the first women's game was an exhibition against Division II Mount Olive on November 5, 2021, the day after High Point's men played an exhibition at the new arena against the same school. The regular-season opener was a men's and women's doubleheader against nearby Elon on November 9. * This is the first season for
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at the new 4,200-seat Idaho Central Credit Union Arena. The first women's game in the new arena was an exhibition against NAIA member Whitman on November 7, won 64–50 by the Vandals. The first women's regular-season game was on November 14 when the Vandals lost 66–46 to
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.


Arena of new D-I team

* St. Thomas plays at its existing on-campus facility, Schoenecker Arena (capacity 1,800).


Arenas closing

The following D-I programs planned to open new arenas for the 2022–23 season. All will move within their current campuses unless otherwise indicated. * Alabama A&M will leave Elmore Gymnasium for the new Alabama A&M Events Center; the venue is scheduled to open in July 2022. * Austin Peay planned to leave the on-campus Winfield Dunn Center for the new F&M Bank Arena in downtown
Clarksville, Tennessee Clarksville is a city in Montgomery County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 166,722 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tennessee, fifth-most populo ...
. However, construction delays led to this move being put off until 2023–24. * Georgia State will leave
GSU Sports Arena The Georgia State University Sports Arena is an indoor arena located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was the home of the basketball teams of Georgia State University from 1973 until 2022 and hosted the badminton competition of the 1996 Sum ...
for a facility tentatively named Georgia State Arena. *
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will leave the
Frank Erwin Center The Frank C. Erwin Jr. Center (originally Special Events Center) was a multi-purpose arena located on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin in Austin, Texas. It was also sometimes referred to as "The Drum" or "The Superdrum", owing to ...
, which will be demolished to accommodate an expansion of the university's medical school, for the
Moody Center Moody Center is a multi-purpose arena on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin (UT) in Austin, Texas. The arena, which replaced the Frank Erwin Center, stands on a former parking lot located immediately south of UT's soccer/track and ...
. *
Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...
will leave Patrick Gymnasium for the Tarrant Event Center.


Season outlook


Pre-season polls

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


Regular season top 10 matchups

Rankings reflect the AP poll Top 25. *November 9 ** No. 1
South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
defeated No. 5
NC State North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina sy ...
, 66–57 (
Reynolds Coliseum William Neal Reynolds Coliseum is a multi-purpose arena located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States, on the campus of North Carolina State University. The arena was built to host a variety of events, including agricultural expositions and N ...
,
Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...
) *November 21 ** No. 3
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
defeated No. 6 Baylor, 79–76 ( Xfinity Center,
College Park, Maryland College Park is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, located approximately from the northeast border of Washington, D.C. Its population was 34,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the home of the University of Mary ...
) ** No. 1 South Carolina defeated No. 9
Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
, 80–63 ( Battle 4 Atlantis,
Paradise Island Paradise Island is an island in the Bahamas formerly known as Hog Island. The island, with an area of (2.8 km2/1.1 sq mi), is just off the shore of the city of Nassau, which is itself on the northern edge of the island of New Providence ...
,
Nassau, Bahamas Nassau ( ) is the capital and largest city of The Bahamas. It is on the island of New Providence, which had a population of 246,329 in 2010, or just over 70% of the entire population of The Bahamas. As of April 2023, the preliminary results of ...
) *November 22 ** No. 1 South Carolina defeated No. 2
UConn The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...
, 73–57 (Battle 4 Atlantis, Paradise Island, Nassau, Bahamas) *November 25 ** No. 5 NC State defeated No. 2 Maryland, 78–60 (Baha Mar Hoops, Baha Mar Convention Center, Nassau, Bahamas) ** No. 7
Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...
defeated No. 4
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
, 69–66 (Baha Mar Hoops, Baha Mar Convention Center, Nassau, Bahamas) *November 27 ** No. 7 Stanford defeated No. 2 Maryland, 86–67 (Baha Mar Hoops, Baha Mar Convention Center, Nassau, Bahamas) *December 2 ** No. 2 NC State defeated No. 6 Indiana, 66–58 ( Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall,
Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in Monroe County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. The population was 79,168 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-most populous city in Indiana and ...
) *December 12 ** No. 1 South Carolina defeated No. 8 Maryland, 66–59 (
Colonial Life Arena The Colonial Life Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Columbia, South Carolina, primarily home to the University of South Carolina men's and women's basketball teams. Opened as a replacement for the Carolina Coliseum with the name Carolina Cente ...
,
Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...
) *December 18 ** No. 3 Stanford defeated No. 7
Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
, 74–63 ( Thompson–Boling Arena,
Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...
) *December 19 ** No. 6
Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...
defeated No. 7 UConn, 69–64 (
Mohegan Sun Arena The Mohegan Sun Arena is a 10,000 seat multi-purpose arena in the Uncasville, Connecticut, Uncasville area of Montville, Connecticut, Montville, Connecticut located inside the Mohegan Sun casino resort. The arena facility features of configurab ...
,
Uncasville, Connecticut Uncasville is a village in the town of Montville, Connecticut, United States. It is located in southeastern Montville, at the mouth of the Oxoboxo River where it flows into the Thames River. The name is now applied more generally to all of the ...
) *December 21 ** No. 1 South Carolina defeated No. 2 Stanford, 65–61 (Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, South Carolina) *January 2 ** No. 8 Indiana defeated No. 6 Maryland, 70–63OT ( Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall,
Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in Monroe County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. The population was 79,168 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-most populous city in Indiana and ...
) *January 20 **No. 4 NC State defeated No. 3 Louisville, 68–59 (Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, North Carolina) *January 30 **No. 2 Stanford defeated No. 8
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
, 75–69 (
Maples Pavilion Maples Pavilion is a 7,233-seat multi-purpose arena on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford, California. Opened in 1969, Maples underwent a $30 million renovation in March 2004 and reopened ahead of schedule, in time for conference pla ...
,
Stanford, California Stanford is a census-designated place (CDP) in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is the home of Stanford University, after which it was named. The CDP's population was 21,150 at the United States Census, ...
) *January 31 **No. 6
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
defeated No. 5 Indiana, 65–50 (
Crisler Center Crisler Center (formerly known as the University Events Building and Crisler Arena) is an indoor arena located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It is the home arena for the University of Michigan's men's and women's basketball teams as well as its w ...
,
Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...
) *February 6 **No. 10 UConn defeated No. 7 Tennessee, 75–56 (
XL Center The PeoplesBank Arena, (originally known as the Hartford Civic Center and formerly as the XL Center) is a multi-purpose arena and convention center located in downtown Hartford, Connecticut. Owned by the City of Hartford, it is managed by the qu ...
,
Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...
) *February 28 **No. 5 Baylor defeated No. 8
Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State be ...
, 87–62 (
Hilton Coliseum James H. Hilton Coliseum, is a 14,267-seat multi-purpose arena located in Ames, Iowa. The arena opened in 1971. It is home to the Iowa State University Cyclones men's and women's basketball teams, wrestling, gymnastics and volleyball teams. Over ...
,
Ames, Iowa Ames () is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States, located approximately north of Des Moines, Iowa, Des Moines in central Iowa. It is the home of Iowa State University (ISU). According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Ames ha ...
) *March 12 **No. 7
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
defeated No. 10 Iowa State, 82–73OT ( 2022 Big 12 women's basketball tournament, Municipal Auditorium,
Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...
) *March 13 **No. 7 Texas defeated No. 4 Baylor, 67–58 (2022 Big 12 Women's Basketball Tournament, Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Missouri)


Regular season


Early season tournaments

The inaugural women's Battle 4 Atlantis will take place from November 20–22 and will include Buffalo,
Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
,
Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
,
Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
,
South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
,
South Florida South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...
,
Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...
and
UConn The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...
.


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 above listed upsets in which an unranked team defeated a ranked team, there have been five non-Division I teams to defeat a Division I team so far this season. 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 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 will end its
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 ...
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 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
2022 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament The 2022 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 68 teams to determine the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 2021–22 NCAA Divi ...
.


Statistical leaders

Includes postseason games. Division I record in bold.


Postseason


NCAA tournament


Tournament upsets

For this list, an "upset" is defined as a win by a team seeded 5 or more spots below its defeated opponent.


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. 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 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), 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:
Aliyah Boston Aliyah Boston (born December 11, 2001) is an American professional basketball Power forward (basketball), power forward and Center (basketball), center for the Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was named 20 ...
,
South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
* Naismith Award: Aliyah Boston, South Carolina * Associated Press Player of the Year: Aliyah Boston, South Carolina *
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 ...
: Aliyah Boston, South Carolina * Ann Meyers Drysdale Women's Player of the Year (
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 ...
): Aliyah Boston, South Carolina *ESPN.com National Player of the Year:


Major freshman of the year awards

* Tamika Catchings Award (
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 ...
): Aneesah Morrow, DePaul *
WBCA Freshman of the Year The WBCA Freshman of the Year is an annual college basketball award presented by Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Ge ...
: Aneesah Morrow, DePaul * ESPN.com Freshman of the Year:


Major coach of the year awards

* Associated Press Coach of the Year:
Kim Mulkey Kimberly Duane Mulkey (born May 17, 1962) is an American college basketball coach and former player. Since 2021, she has been the head coach for Louisiana State University's LSU Tigers women's basketball, women's basketball team. A Pan-American ...
,
LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...
*
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 ...
:
Dawn Staley Dawn Michelle Staley (born May 4, 1970) is an American basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team. A point guard, she played college basketball for the Virginia Cavaliers an ...
,
South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
* USBWA National Coach of the Year: Dawn Staley, South Carolina * WBCA National Coach of the Year: Dawn Staley, South Carolina * ESPN.com Coach of the Year: * WBCA Assistant Coach of the Year: Kate Paye,
Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...


Other major awards

* Naismith Starting Five: **
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 ...
(top point guard):
Caitlin Clark Caitlin Elizabeth Clark (born January 22, 2002) is an American professional basketball player for the Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Regarded as one of the greatest female collegiate players, Clark was tw ...
,
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 ...
** Ann Meyers Drysdale Award (top shooting guard): Christyn Williams,
UConn The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...
** Cheryl Miller Award (top small forward): Ashley Joens,
Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State be ...
** Katrina McClain Award (top power forward): NaLyssa Smith, Baylor **
Lisa Leslie Award The Lisa Leslie Award is an award presented annually to the best women's basketball center (basketball), center in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I competition. It is named after Hall of Famer Lisa Le ...
(top center): Aliyah Boston, South Carolina * WBCA Defensive Player of the Year: Veronica Burton, Northwestern * Naismith Women's Defensive Player of the Year: Aliyah Boston, South Carolina * Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award: Kierstan Bell, Florida Gulf Coast * Senior CLASS Award (top senior on and off the court): Lexie Hull, Stanford * Maggie Dixon Award (top rookie head coach): Kelly Rae Finley,
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 ...
* Academic All-American of the Year (top scholar-athlete): Aliyah Boston, South Carolina * Elite 90 Award (top GPA among upperclass players at Final Four): Lexie Hull, Stanford * Pat Summitt Most Courageous Award: Kendall Currence, Northeastern


Coaching changes


See also

* 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season


Footnotes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ncaa