2004 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament


The 2004 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament began on March 20, 2004 and concluded on April 6, 2004 when Connecticut won a third consecutive national championship, becoming only the second school in history to accomplish such a feat. The Final Four was held at the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana on April 4–6, 2004, and was hosted by Tulane University. UConn, coached by Geno Auriemma, defeated archrivals Tennessee, coached by Pat Summitt, 81-67 in the championship game. UConn's Diana Taurasi was named Most Outstanding Player for the second consecutive year. The tournament was also notable as UC Santa Barbara became the first double digit seed not to lose by a double-digit margin in the Sweet 16 as they lost to UConn 63-57.

Tournament records

Sixty-four teams were selected to participate in the 2004 NCAA Tournament. Thirty-one conferences were eligible for an automatic bid to the 2004 NCAA tournament.

Qualifying teams – at-large

Thirty-three additional teams were selected to complete the sixty-four invitations.

Bids by conference

Thirty-one conferences earned an automatic bid. In twenty-three cases, the automatic bid was the only representative from the conference. Thirty-three additional at-large teams were selected from eight of the conferences.
BidsConferenceTeams
8Big EastBoston College, Connecticut, Miami FL, Notre Dame, Rutgers, Villanova, Virginia Tech, West Virginia
7Big 12Oklahoma, Baylor, Colorado, Kansas St., Missouri, Texas, Texas Tech
7SoutheasternVanderbilt, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, Tennessee
6Big TenPurdue, Iowa, Michigan St., Minnesota, Ohio St., Penn St.
4Atlantic CoastDuke, Maryland., North Carolina, North Carolina St.
4Conference USAHouston, DePaul, Marquette, TCU
3Pacific-10Stanford, Arizona, UCLA
2Atlantic 10Temple, George Washington
1America EastMaine
1Atlantic SunLipscomb
1Big SkyMontana
1Big SouthLiberty
1Big WestUC Santa Barb.
1ColonialOld Dominion
1HorizonGreen Bay
1IvyPenn
1Metro AtlanticMarist
1Mid-AmericanEastern Mich.
1Mid-ContinentValparaiso
1Mid-EasternHampton
1Missouri ValleyMissouri St.
1Mountain WestNew Mexico
1NortheastSt. Francis Pa.
1Ohio ValleyAustin Peay
1PatriotColgate
1SouthernChattanooga
1SouthlandNorthwestern St.
1SouthwesternSouthern U.
1Sun BeltMiddle Tenn.
1West CoastLoyola Marymount
1Western AthleticLouisiana Tech

First and second rounds

In 2004, the field remained at 64 teams. The teams were seeded, and assigned to four geographic regions, with seeds 1-16 in each region. In Round 1, seeds 1 and 16 faced each other, as well as seeds 2 and 15, seeds 3 and 14, seeds 4 and 13, seeds 5 and 12, seeds 6 and 11, seeds 7 and 10, and seeds 8 and 9. Sixteen sites for the first two rounds were determined approximately a year before the team selections and seedings were completed, following a practice established in 2003.
The following table lists the region, host school, venue and the sixteen first and second round locations:
RegionRndHostVenueCityState
East1&2University of Notre DameEdmund P. Joyce CenterNotre DameIndiana
East1&2University of California, Santa BarbaraUC Santa Barbara Events CenterSanta BarbaraCalifornia
East1&2Virginia TechCassell ColiseumBlacksburgVirginia
East1&2Fairfield UniversityBridgeport Arena at Harbor YardBridgeportConnecticut
Mideast1&2University of MontanaDahlberg ArenaMissoulaMontana
Mideast1&2Ohio State UniversitySt. John ArenaColumbusOhio
Mideast1&2Duke UniversityCameron Indoor StadiumDurhamNorth Carolina
Mideast1&2University of MinnesotaWilliams ArenaMinneapolisMinnesota
Midwest1&2University of New MexicoThe Pit AlbuquerqueNew Mexico
Midwest1&2Arizona State UniversityWells Fargo ArenaTempeArizona
Midwest1&2University of Tennessee at ChattanoogaMcKenzie ArenaChattanoogaTennessee
Midwest1&2Florida State UniversityTallahassee-Leon County Civic CenterTallahasseeFlorida
West1&2University of TexasFrank Erwin CenterAustinTexas
West1&2Louisiana State UniversityLSU Assembly Center Baton RougeLouisiana
West1&2Iowa State UniversityHilton ColiseumAmesIowa
West1&2Temple UniversityLiacouras CenterPhiladelphiaPennsylvania

Regionals and Final Four

The Regionals, named for the general location, were held from March 27 to March 30 at these sites:
Each regional winner advanced to the Final Four held April 4 and April 6 in New Orleans at the New Orleans Arena

Bids by state

The sixty-four teams came from thirty-two states, plus Washington, D.C. Tennessee had the most teams with six bids. Eighteen states did not have any teams receiving bids.
BidsStateTeams
6TennesseeAustin Peay, Chattanooga, Lipscomb, Middle Tenn., Vanderbilt, Tennessee
5TexasHouston, Baylor, TCU, Texas, Texas Tech
4CaliforniaLoyola Marymount, Stanford, UC Santa Barb., UCLA
4LouisianaLouisiana Tech, Northwestern St., Southern U., LSU
4PennsylvaniaPenn, Temple, Penn St., Villanova
4VirginiaHampton, Liberty, Old Dominion, Virginia Tech
3IndianaPurdue, Valparaiso, Notre Dame
3New YorkColgate, Marist, St. Francis Pa.
3North CarolinaDuke, North Carolina, North Carolina St.
2FloridaFlorida, Miami FL
2MichiganEastern Mich., Michigan St.
2MissouriMissouri St., Missouri
2WisconsinGreen Bay, Marquette
1AlabamaAuburn
1ArizonaArizona
1ColoradoColorado
1ConnecticutConnecticut
1District of ColumbiaGeorge Washington
1GeorgiaGeorgia
1IllinoisDePaul
1IowaIowa
1KansasKansas St.
1MaineMaine
1MarylandMaryland.
1MassachusettsBoston College
1MinnesotaMinnesota
1MississippiOle Miss
1MontanaMontana
1New JerseyRutgers
1New MexicoNew Mexico
1OhioOhio St.
1OklahomaOklahoma
1West VirginiaWest Virginia

Brackets

Data Source

East Region – Hartford, Connecticut

Mideast Region – Norfolk, Virginia

Midwest Region – Norman, Oklahoma

West Region – Seattle

Final Four – New Orleans

E-East; ME-Mideast; MW-Midwest; W-West.

Record by conference

Nineteen conferences went 0-1: America East, Atlantic Sun Conference, Big Sky Conference, Big South Conference
Colonial, Horizon League, Ivy League, MAAC, MAC, Summit League, MEAC, Missouri Valley Conference, Mountain West, Northeast Conference, Ohio Valley Conference, Patriot League, Southland, SWAC, and West Coast Conference

All-Tournament Team