| Gender: | Women's |
| Year: | 2023 |
| Teams: | 68 |
| Finalfourarena: | American Airlines Center |
| Finalfourcity: | Dallas, Texas |
| Titlecount: | 1st |
| Champgamecount: | 1st |
| Champffcount: | 6th |
| Runnerup: | Iowa Hawkeyes |
| Gamecount: | 1st |
| Runnerffcount: | 2nd |
| Semifinal1: | South Carolina Gamecocks |
| Finalfourcount: | 5th |
| Semifinal2: | Virginia Tech Hokies |
| Finalfourcount2: | 1st |
| Coach: | Kim Mulkey |
| Coachcount: | 4th |
| Mop: | Angel Reese |
| Mopteam: | LSU |
The 2023 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 2022–23 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The 41st edition of the tournament began on March 15, 2023, and concluded on April 2 with the championship game at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
Big Sky champion Sacramento State, Atlantic 10 champion Saint Louis, Southland champion Southeastern Louisiana and WAC champion Southern Utah made their NCAA debuts, while CAA champions Monmouth made its first NCAA appearance since 1983.
A total of 68 teams participated in the 2023 tournament, consisting of the 32 conference champions, and 36 "at-large" bids to be extended by the NCAA Selection Committee. The last four at-large teams and teams seeded 65 through 68 overall played in First Four games, whose winners advanced to the 64-team first round.[1]
| NET | School | Conference | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 47 | Columbia | Ivy League | 23–5 | |
| 37 | Kansas | Big 12 | 19–11 | |
| 59 | Massachusetts | A10 | 26–6 | |
| 19 | Oregon | Pac-12 | 17–14 |
The first two rounds, also referred to as the subregionals, were played at the sites of the top 16 seeds, as was done from 2016 to 2019.
A dramatic change from past tournaments is that the regional rounds (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) are being held at two sites, instead of the four used in past tournaments. Two regionals will be held in Greenville, South Carolina and the other two will be held in Seattle. Specific regional names will be announced by the NCAA committee on or before selections are announced on March 12, 2023.
First Four
Subregionals (first and second rounds)
Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)
National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship)
This is the second time the women's Final Four will be played in Dallas (2017).[3]
The following teams automatically qualified for the 2023 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's tournament.
| Conference | Team | Record | Appearance | Last bid | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| America East | Vermont | 25–6 | 7th | 2010 | |
| American | East Carolina | 23–9 | 3rd | 2007 | |
| ASUN | Florida Gulf Coast | 32–3 | 9th | 2022 | |
| Atlantic 10 | Saint Louis | 17–17 | 1st | Never | |
| ACC | Virginia Tech | 27–4 | 12th | 2022 | |
| Big 12 | 22–9 | 21st | 2022 | ||
| Big East | UConn | 29–5 | 34th | 2022 | |
| Big Sky | Sacramento State | 25–7 | 1st | Never | |
| Big South | Gardner–Webb | 29–4 | 2nd | 2011 | |
| Big Ten | Iowa | 26–6 | 29th | 2022 | |
| Big West | Hawaiʻi | 18–14 | 8th | 2022 | |
| Colonial | Monmouth | 18–15 | 2nd | 1983 | |
| C-USA | Middle Tennessee | 28–4 | 20th | 2021 | |
| Horizon | Cleveland State | 30–4 | 3rd | 2010 | |
| Ivy League | Princeton | 23–5 | 10th | 2022 | |
| MAAC | Iona | 26–6 | 2nd | 2016 | |
| MAC | Toledo | 28−4 | 9th | 2017 | |
| MEAC | Norfolk State | 26–6 | 2nd | 2002 | |
| Missouri Valley | Drake | 22–9 | 14th | 2019 | |
| 31–2 | 10th | 2022 | |||
| Northeast | Sacred Heart | 18–13 | 4th | 2012 | |
| Ohio Valley | Tennessee Tech | 22–9 | 11th | 2000 | |
| Pac-12 | Washington State | 23–10 | 4th | 2022 | |
| Patriot | Holy Cross | 24–8 | 13th | 2007 | |
| SEC | South Carolina | 32–0 | 19th | 2022 | |
| Southern | Chattanooga | 20–12 | 16th | 2017 | |
| Southland | 21–9 | 1st | Never | ||
| SWAC | Southern | 18–14 | 5th | 2019 | |
| Summit | 28–5 | 11th | 2021 | ||
| Sun Belt | James Madison | 26–7 | 13th | 2016 | |
| West Coast | 23–8 | 5th | 1997 | ||
| WAC | Southern Utah | 23–9 | 1st | Never |
| Bids | State(s) | Schools |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | North Carolina | Duke, East Carolina, Gardner-Webb, NC State, North Carolina |
| 4 | California | Sacramento State, Southern California, Stanford, UCLA |
| Florida | FGCU, Florida State, Miami, South Florida | |
| Tennessee | Chattanooga, Middle Tennessee, Tennessee, Tennessee Tech | |
| 3 | Indiana | Indiana, Notre Dame, Purdue |
| Iowa | Drake, Iowa, Iowa State | |
| Louisiana | LSU, SE Louisiana, Southern | |
| Ohio | Cleveland State, Ohio State, Toledo | |
| Virginia | James Madison, Norfolk State, Virginia Tech | |
| 2 | Connecticut | Sacred Heart, UConn |
| Mississippi | Mississippi State, Ole Miss | |
| New Jersey | Monmouth, Princeton | |
| New York | Iona, St. John's | |
| Oklahoma | Oklahoma, Oklahoma State | |
| Texas | Baylor, Texas | |
| Utah | Southern Utah, Utah | |
| Washington | Gonzaga, Washington State | |
| 1 | Alabama | Alabama |
| Arizona | Arizona | |
| Colorado | Colorado | |
| Georgia | Georgia | |
| Hawaii | Hawaiʻi | |
| Illinois | Illinois | |
| Kentucky | Louisville | |
| Maryland | Maryland | |
| Massachusetts | Holy Cross | |
| Michigan | Michigan | |
| Missouri | Saint Louis | |
| Nebraska | Creighton | |
| Nevada | UNLV | |
| Oregon | Portland | |
| Pennsylvania | Villanova | |
| South Carolina | South Carolina | |
| South Dakota | South Dakota State | |
| Vermont | Vermont | |
| West Virginia | West Virginia | |
| Wisconsin | Marquette |
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Source:[8]
All times are listed in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4)
* denotes overtime period
The First Four games involve eight teams: the four overall lowest-ranked teams and the four lowest-ranked at-large teams.
Caitlin Clark, Iowa's star player, made NCAA tournament history by becoming the first player to score a 40-point triple-double, with 41 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists. The junior either scored or assisted on every field goal in the Hawkeyes' 25-point first quarter, which helped the Hawkeyes advance to their first Final Four since 1993.
See main article: article and 2023 NCAA Division I women's basketball championship game.
Per the NCAA, "Upsets are defined as when the winner of the game was seeded five or more places lower than the team it defeated."[9] The 2023 tournament saw a total of six upsets, with three in the first round, two 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.[10] With Indiana's loss to Miami, this marked the first time two No. 1 seeds failed to make the Sweet Sixteen since 1998.[11] UConn's loss to Ohio State in the Sweet 16 marked the first time since 2007 that UConn did not make it to the Women's Final Four. With Tennessee's loss to Virginia Tech in the Sweet 16 this marked the first time since 2006 that the Women's Final Four did not feature either UConn or Tennessee.
| Round | Greenville 1 | Seattle 4 | Greenville 2 | Seattle 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round | No. 11 Mississippi State defeated No. 6 Creighton, 79–64. | None | No. 12 Florida Gulf Coast defeated No. 5 Washington State, 74–63. | No. 12 Toledo defeated No. 5 Iowa State, 80–73. |
| Second Round | None | No. 8 Ole Miss defeated No. 1 Stanford, 54–49. | No. 9 Miami (FL) defeated No. 1 Indiana, 70–68. | None |
| Sweet 16 | None | None | No. 9 Miami (FL) defeated No. 4 Villanova, 70–65. | None |
| Elite 8 | None | None | None | None |
| Final 4 | None |
| Conference | Bids | Record | Win % | FF | R64 | R32 | S16 | E8 | F4 | CG | NC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEC | 7 | 17–6 | .739 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Big Ten | 7 | 13–7 | .650 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | – | |
| ACC | 8 | 14–8 | .636 | – | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 1 | – | – | |
| Pac-12 | 7 | 8–7 | .533 | – | 7 | 5 | 3 | – | – | – | – | |
| Big East | 5 | 5–5 | .500 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | – | – | – | – | |
| Big 12 | 6 | 3–6 | .333 | – | 6 | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | |
| ASUN | 1 | 1–1 | .500 | – | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Ivy League | 1 | 1–1 | .500 | – | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | |
| MAC | 1 | 1–1 | .500 | – | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Summit | 1 | 1–1 | .500 | – | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | |
| American | 2 | 1–2 | .333 | – | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | |
| WCC | 2 | 0–2 | .000 | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Northeast | 1 | 1–1 | .500 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Ohio Valley | 1 | 1–1 | .500 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| America East | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Atlantic 10 | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Big Sky | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Big South | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Big West | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| C-USA | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Horizon | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| MAAC | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| MEAC | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Missouri Valley | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Mountain West | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Patriot | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Southern | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Southland | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Sun Belt | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| WAC | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Colonial | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| SWAC | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
All games in the tournament were televised by ESPN networks or ABC; this was the second-to-last year of its current contract to air NCAA tournaments, which lasts through the 2023–24 season.[12] [13] On August 23, 2022, ESPN announced that the national championship game would be broadcast by ABC for the first time, with a Sunday afternoon scheduling.[14] This marked the first time the women's championship game would be carried on broadcast television since 1995.[15]
Viewership of the tournament was up by 42% year-over-year. With significant attention towards Iowa player Caitlin Clark, the Iowa/South Carolina semi-final game was seen by an average of 5.5 million viewers—making it the highest-rated Women's Final Four telecast in ESPN history.[16] These numbers would be surpassed by the national championship game, which was seen by an average of 9.9 million viewers, and peaked at 12.6 million—making it the most-watched women's college basketball game of all-time.[17] It was a 103% increase over the previous year's championship game, which was carried by ESPN in primetime.
First Four
First & second rounds Friday/Sunday (Subregionals)
First & second rounds Saturday/Monday (Subregionals)
Regionals (Sweet 16 and Elite Eight)
Final Four and National Championship
Westwood One will serve as radio broadcaster of the tournament.
Regionals (Sweet 16 and Elite Eight)
Final Four and National Championship