| Year: | 2021 |
| Conference: | Southland Conference |
| Division: | I |
| Gender: | Women's |
| Teams: | 10 |
| Arena: | Merrell Center |
| City: | Katy, Texas |
| Champions: | Stephen F. Austin |
| Titlecount: | 16th |
| Coach: | Mark Kellogg |
| Coachcount: | 1st |
| Mvp: | Aaliyah Johnson |
| Mvpteam: | Stephen F. Austin |
| Television: | ESPN+/CBSSN |
The 2021 Southland Conference women's basketball tournament, a part of the 2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season, took place March 9–14, 2021, at the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas.[1] Stephen F. Austin won the tournament, claiming its 16th and final Southland Conference title, and received the Southland's automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA tournament.[2] SFA is one of five schools that will leave the Southland on July 1, 2021, with SFA being one of four joining the Western Athletic Conference.[3]
Only the top ten teams advanced to the Southland Conference tournament.
| Seed | School | Conference | Overall | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ‡* Stephen F. Austin | 14–0 | 22–2 | |
| 2 | 10–5 | 11–7 | ||
| 3 | 9–5 | 13–7 | ||
| 4 | 9–6 | 10–13 | ||
| 5 | Central Arkansas | 9–7 | 12–13 | |
| 6 | Nicholls | 9–7 | 10–13 | |
| 7 | Abilene Christian | 6–7 | 14–9 | |
| 8 | Houston Baptist | 6–7 | 11–11 | |
| 9 | McNeese State | 6–8 | 6–16 | |
| 10 | Incarnate Word | 4–5 | 6–8 | |
| ‡ – Southland Conference regular season champions. * – Receive a first-round and second-round bye in the conference tournament. # – Receive a first-round bye in the conference tournament. Overall record are as of the end of the regular season. | ||||
| Session | Game | Time* | Matchup# | Score | Television | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round – Wednesday, March 10 | ||||||
| 1 | 1 | 11:00 am | No. 9 McNeese vs. No. 8 Houston Baptist | 68–80 | ESPN+ | |
| 2 | 2:00 pm | No. 10 Incarnate Word vs. No. 7 Abilene Christian | 70–81 | |||
| Second Round – Thursday, March 11 | ||||||
| 2 | 3 | 11:00 am | No. 8 Houston Baptist vs. No. 5 Central Arkansas | 46–51 | ESPN+ | |
| 4 | 2:00 pm | No. 7 Abilene Christian vs. No. 6 Nicholls | 57–67 | |||
| Quarterfinals – Friday, March 12 | ||||||
| 3 | 5 | 11:00 am | No. 5 Central Arkansas vs. No. 4 Lamar | 69–55 | ESPN+ | |
| 6 | 2:00 pm | No. 6 Nicholls vs. No. 3 Sam Houston | 59–89 | |||
| Semifinals – Saturday, March 13 | ||||||
| 4 | 7 | 1:00 pm | No. 5 Central Arkansas vs. No. 1 Stephen F. Austin | 47–55 | ESPN+ | |
| 8 | 4:00 pm | No. 3 Sam Houston vs. No. 2 Southeastern Louisiana | 79–77 | |||
| Championship – Sunday, March 14 | ||||||
| 5 | 9 | 1:00 pm | No. 1 Stephen F. Austin vs. No. 3 Sam Houston | 56–45 | CBSSN | |
| Game times in CST. Rankings denote tournament seeding. | ||||||