2018 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament

2018 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament
Season	2017–18
Teams	64
Finals site	Nationwide Arena Columbus, Ohio
Champions	Notre Dame Fighting Irish (2nd title, 6th title game, 8th Final Four)
Runner-up	Mississippi State Bulldogs (2nd title game, 2nd Final Four)
Semifinalists	Connecticut Huskies (19th Final Four) Louisville Cardinals (3rd Final Four)
Winning coach	Muffet McGraw (2nd title)
MOP	Arike Ogunbowale (Notre Dame)
NCAA Division I Women's Tournaments «2017 2019»

The 2018 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament began on March 16, 2018, and concluded with the national championship game on Sunday, April 1. The Final Four was played at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.^[1] This is the third time that the women's Final Four was played in Ohio after previously being held in Cincinnati in 1997 and Cleveland in 2007 and the first time that the women's Final Four was played in Columbus.^[2] For only the fourth time in the tournament’s 37-year history, all four of the number one seeds made it to the Final Four (1989, 2012, 2015).

Tennessee continued its record streak of making every NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at 37 consecutive appearances. Connecticut also continued its record streak of 11 consecutive Final Four appearances.

Contents

• 
  1 2018 NCAA Tournament schedule and venues
  


• 
  2 Subregionals Tournament and automatic qualifiers procedures
  
  
  
  • 
    2.1 Automatic qualifiers
    
  
  
  • 
    2.2 Tournament seeds
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  3 Bracket
  
  
  
  • 
    3.1 Albany Regional – Albany, New York
    
    
    
    • 
      3.1.1 Albany Regional Final
      
    
    
    • 
      3.1.2 Albany Regional all tournament team
      
    
    
    
    
  
  
  • 
    3.2 Kansas City Regional – Kansas City, Missouri
    
    
    
    • 
      3.2.1 Kansas City Regional Final
      
    
    
    • 
      3.2.2 Kansas City Regional all tournament team
      
    
    
    
    
  
  
  • 
    3.3 Lexington Regional – Lexington, Kentucky
    
    
    
    • 
      3.3.1 Lexington Regional Final
      
    
    
    • 
      3.3.2 Lexington Regional all tournament team
      
    
    
    
    
  
  
  • 
    3.4 Spokane Regional – Spokane, Washington
    
    
    
    • 
      3.4.1 Spokane Regional Final
      
    
    
    • 
      3.4.2 Spokane Regional all tournament team
      
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  4 Final Four
  
  
  
  • 
    4.1 Nationwide Arena – Columbus, Ohio
    
    
    
    • 
      4.1.1 Final Four
      
    
    
    • 
      4.1.2 National Championship
      
    
    
    • 
      4.1.3 Final Four all-tournament team
      
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  5 Record by conference
  


• 
  6 Media coverage
  
  
  
  • 
    6.1 Television
    
    
    
    • 
      6.1.1 Studio host and analysts
      
    
    
    • 
      6.1.2 Broadcast assignments
      
    
    
    
    
  
  
  • 
    6.2 Radio
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  7 See also
  


• 
  8 References
  


• 
  9 External links
  

2018 NCAA Tournament schedule and venues

The first two rounds, also referred to as the subregionals, were played at the sites of the top 16 seeds, as was done in 2016 and 2017. The following are the sites selected to host the last four rounds of the 2018 tournament.^[3][4][5]

Subregionals (First and Second Rounds)

• March 16–18
  
  
  
  • 
    KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Kentucky (Host: University of Louisville)
  
  
  • 
    Thompson–Boling Arena, Knoxville, Tennessee (Host: University of Tennessee)
  
  
  • 
    Reed Arena, College Station, Texas (Host: Texas A&M University)
  
  
  • 
    Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, North Carolina (Host: North Carolina State University)
  
  
  • 
    Edmund P. Joyce Center, Notre Dame, Indiana (Host: University of Notre Dame)
  
  
  • 
    Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, South Carolina (Host: University of South Carolina)
  
  
  • 
    Matthew Knight Arena, Eugene, Oregon (Host: University of Oregon)
  
  
  • 
    Ferrell Center, Waco, Texas (Host: Baylor University)
  
  
  
  


• March 17–19
  
  
  
  • 
    Harry A. Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, Connecticut (Host: University of Connecticut)
  
  
  • 
    Stegeman Coliseum, Athens, Georgia (Host: University of Georgia)
  
  
  • 
    St. John Arena, Columbus, Ohio (Host: Ohio State University)
  
  
  • 
    Donald L. Tucker Civic Center, Tallahassee, Florida (Host: Florida State University)
  
  
  • 
    Humphrey Coliseum, Starkville, Mississippi (Host: Mississippi State University)
  
  
  • 
    Maples Pavilion, Stanford, California (Host: Stanford University)
  
  
  • 
    Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, California (Host: University of California, Los Angeles)
  
  
  • 
    Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas (Host: University of Texas at Austin)
  
  
  
  

Regional Semifinals and Finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)

Albany

Kansas City

Lexington

Spokane

Columbus

2018 NCAA Regionals and Final Four

• March 23–25
  
  
  
  • 
    Kansas City Regional, Sprint Center, Kansas City, Missouri (Host: Big 12)
  
  
  • 
    Lexington Regional, Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky (Host: University of Kentucky)
  
  
  
  


• March 24–26
  
  
  
  • 
    Albany Regional, Times Union Center, Albany, New York (Hosts: MAAC)
  
  
  • 
    Spokane Regional, Veterans Memorial Arena, Spokane, Washington (Host: University of Idaho)
  
  
  
  

National Semifinals and Championship (Final Four and Championship)

• March 30 and April 1
  
  • 
    Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio (Host: Ohio State University)^[2][1]
    
  
  

Subregionals Tournament and automatic qualifiers procedures

Further information: NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship § Tournament format

Selections for the 2018 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship were announced at 7 p.m. Eastern time, Monday, March 12 via ESPN.

The basis for the subregionals returned to the approach used between 1982 and 2002; the top sixteen teams, as chosen in the bracket selection process, hosted the first two rounds on campus.

A total of 64 teams entered the 2018 tournament. 32 automatic bids teams were given to teams that won their conference tournament. The remaining 32 teams were granted "at-large" bids, which were extended by the NCAA Selection Committee.

The Selection Committee also seeded the entire field from 1 to 64.

Automatic qualifiers

The following teams automatically qualified for the 2018 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's tournament.

Conference	Team	Record	Appearance	Last bid
ACC	Louisville	32–2	21st	2017
America East	Maine	23–9	8th	2004
American	Connecticut	32–0	30th	2017
Atlantic 10	George Washington	19–13	18th	2016
Atlantic Sun	Florida Gulf Coast	30–4	5th	2017
Big 12	Baylor	31–1	17th	2017
Big East	DePaul	26–7	23rd	2017
Big Sky	Northern Colorado	26–6	1st	Never
Big South	Liberty	24–9	17th	2013
Big Ten	Ohio State	27–6	25th	2017
Big West	Cal State Northridge	19–15	4th	2015
Colonial	Elon	25–7	2nd	2017
C-USA	Western Kentucky	24–8	20th	2017
Horizon	Green Bay	29–3	18th	2017
Ivy League	Princeton	24–5	7th	2016
MAAC	Quinnipiac	27–5	4th	2017
Mid-American	Central Michigan	28–4	4th	2013
MEAC	North Carolina A&T	23–8	4th	2016
Missouri Valley	Drake	26–7	12th	2017
Mountain West	Boise State	23–9	5th	2017
Northeast	Saint Francis (PA)	24–9	12th	2011
Ohio Valley	Belmont	31–3	4th	2017
Pac-12	Oregon	30–4	14th	2017
Patriot	American	26–6	2nd	2015
SEC	South Carolina	26–6	15th	2017
Southern	Mercer	30–2	1st	Never
Southland	Nicholls State	19–13	1st	Never
SWAC	Grambling State	19–13	6th	1999
Summit	South Dakota State	26–6	8th	2016
Sun Belt	Little Rock	23–9	5th	2015
West Coast	Gonzaga	27–5	10th	2017
WAC	Seattle	18–14	1st	Never

Tournament seeds

Albany Regional – Times Union Center, Albany, New York Seed School Conference Record RPI[6] Berth type 1 Connecticut American 32–0 1 Automatic 2 South Carolina SEC 26–6 11 Automatic 3 Florida State ACC 25–6 8 At-large 4 Georgia SEC 25–6 26 At-Large 5 Duke ACC 22–8 19 At-Large 6 South Florida American 26–7 14 At-Large 7 California Pac-12 21–10 43 At-Large 8 Miami (FL) ACC 21–10 53 At-Large 9 Quinnipiac MAAC 27–5 37 Automatic 10 Virginia ACC 18–13 33 At-Large 11 Buffalo Mid-American 27–5 22 At-Large 12 Belmont Ohio Valley 31–3 57 Automatic 13 Mercer Southern 30–2 48 Automatic 14 Little Rock Sun Belt 23–9 88 Automatic 15 North Carolina A&T MEAC 23–8 154 Automatic 16 Saint Francis (PA) Northeast 24–9 99 Automatic

Kansas City Regional – Sprint Center, Kansas City, Missouri Seed School Conference Record RPI Berth type 1 Mississippi State SEC 32–1 5 At-Large 2 Texas Big 12 26–6 12 At-Large 3 UCLA Pac-12 24–7 10 At-Large 4 NC State ACC 24–8 17 At-Large 5 Maryland Big Ten 25–7 18 At-Large 6 Iowa Big Ten 24–7 21 At-Large 7 Arizona State Pac-12 21–12 55 At-Large 8 Syracuse ACC 22–8 38 At-Large 9 Oklahoma State Big 12 20–10 58 At-Large 10 Nebraska Big Ten 21–10 60 At-Large 11 Creighton Big East 18–12 49 At-Large 12 Princeton Ivy League 24–5 27 Automatic 13 Elon Colonial 25–7 31 Automatic 14 American Patriot 26–6 46 Automatic 15 Maine America East 23–9 70 Automatic 16 Nicholls State Southland 19–13 189 Automatic

Lexington Regional – Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky Seed School Conference Record RPI Berth type 1 Louisville ACC 32–2 3 Automatic 2 Baylor Big 12 31–1 4 Automatic 3 Tennessee SEC 24–7 9 At-Large 4 Stanford Pac-12 22–10 13 At-Large 5 Missouri SEC 24–7 24 At-Large 6 Oregon State Pac-12 23–7 42 At-Large 7 Michigan Big Ten 22–9 39 At-Large 8 Marquette Big East 23–9 25 At-Large 9 Dayton Atlantic 10 23–6 36 At-Large 10 Northern Colorado Big Sky 26–6 32 Automatic 11 Western Kentucky C-USA 24–8 50 Automatic 12 Florida Gulf Coast Atlantic Sun 30–4 47 Automatic 13 Gonzaga West Coast 27–5 34 Automatic 14 Liberty Big South 24–9 82 Automatic 15 Grambling State SWAC 19–13 210 Automatic 16 Boise State Mountain West 23–9 111 Automatic

Spokane Regional – Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, Spokane, Washington Seed School Conference Record RPI Berth type 1 Notre Dame ACC 29–3 2 At-Large 2 Oregon Pac-12 30–4 7 Automatic 3 Ohio State Big Ten 27–6 6 Automatic 4 Texas A&M SEC 24–9 16 At-Large 5 DePaul Big East 26–7 20 Automatic 6 LSU SEC 19–9 29 At-Large 7 Green Bay Horizon 29–3 23 Automatic 8 South Dakota State Summit 26–6 28 Automatic 9 Villanova Big East 22–8 30 At-Large 10 Minnesota Big Ten 23–8 41 At-Large 11 Central Michigan Mid-American 28–4 15 Automatic 12 Oklahoma Big 12 16–14 35 At-Large 13 Drake Missouri Valley 26–7 63 Automatic 14 George Washington Atlantic 10 19–13 77 Automatic 15 Seattle WAC 18–14 196 Automatic 16 Cal State Northridge Big West 19–15 178 Automatic

Bracket

All times are listed as Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4)

* – Denotes overtime period

Albany Regional – Albany, New York

	First Round Round of 64 March 16–17					Second Round Round of 32 March 18–19					Regional Semifinals Sweet 16 March 24					Regional Final Elite 8 March 26
	1	Connecticut	140
	16	St. Francis (PA)	52
						1	Connecticut	71
	Storrs, Connecticut (Sat/Mon)
						9	Quinnipiac	46
	8	Miami (FL)	72
	9	Quinnipiac	86
											1	Connecticut	72
											5	Duke	59
	5	Duke	72
	12	Belmont	58
						5	Duke	66
	Athens, Georgia (Sat/Mon)
						4	Georgia	40
	4	Georgia	68
	13	Mercer	63
																1	Connecticut	94
																2	South Carolina	65
	6	South Florida	79
	11	Buffalo	102
						11	Buffalo	86
	Tallahassee, Florida (Sat/Mon)
						3	Florida State	65
	3	Florida State	91
	14	Little Rock	49
											11	Buffalo	63
											2	South Carolina	79
	7	California	62
	10	Virginia	68
						10	Virginia	56
	Columbia, South Carolina (Fri/Sun)
						2	South Carolina	66
	2	South Carolina	63
	15	North Carolina A&T	52

Albany Regional Final

ESPN

Monday, March 26 7:00 pm

Summary

#1 Connecticut Huskies 94, #2 South Carolina Gamecocks 65
Scoring by quarter: 30–12, 24–21, 22–14, 18–18
Pts: G. Williams 23 Rebs: N. Collier 7 Asts: K. Samuelson 7		Pts: A. Wilson 27 Rebs: A. Wilson 8 Asts: D. Cliney/T. Harris/B. Jackson/A. Jennings 2

Times Union Center – Albany, New York Attendance: 9,522 Referees: Eric Brewton, Roy Gulbeyan, Brenda Pantoja

Albany Regional all tournament team

• 
  Gabby Williams, UConn (MOP)


• Cierra Dillard, Buffalo


• 
  A'ja Wilson, South Carolina


• Crystal Dangerfield, UConn


• 
  Katie Lou Samuelson, UConn^[7]
  

Kansas City Regional – Kansas City, Missouri

	First Round Round of 64 March 16–17					Second Round Round of 32 March 18–19					Regional Semifinals Sweet 16 March 23					Regional Final Elite 8 March 25
	1	Mississippi State	95
	16	Nicholls State	50
						1	Mississippi State	71
	Starkville, Mississippi (Sat/Mon)
						9	Oklahoma State	56
	8	Syracuse	57
	9	Oklahoma State	84
											1	Mississippi State	71
											4	NC State	57
	5	Maryland	77
	12	Princeton	57
						5	Maryland	60
	Raleigh, North Carolina (Fri/Sun)
						4	NC State	74
	4	NC State	62
	13	Elon	35
																1	Mississippi State	89
																3	UCLA	73
	6	Iowa	70
	11	Creighton	76
						11	Creighton	64
	Los Angeles, California (Sat/Mon)
						3	UCLA	86
	3	UCLA	71
	14	American	60
											3	UCLA	84
											2	Texas	75
	7	Arizona State	73
	10	Nebraska	62
						7	Arizona State	65
	Austin, Texas (Sat/Mon)
						2	Texas	85
	2	Texas	83
	15	Maine	54

Kansas City Regional Final

ESPN

Sunday, March 25 7:30 pm

Summary

#1 Mississippi State Bulldogs 89, #3 UCLA Bruins 73
Scoring by quarter: 23–17, 19–9, 21–24, 26–23
Pts: V. Vivians 24 Rebs: T. McCowan 21 Asts: R. Johnson/M. William 5		Pts: J. Canada 23 Rebs: J. Canada 8 Asts: J. Canada 5

Sprint Center – Kansas City, MO Attendance: 4,089 Referees: Tina Napier, Charles Gonzalez, Susan Blauch

Kansas City Regional all tournament team

• Teaira McCowan, Mississippi State (Co-MOP)^[8]
  


• 
  Victoria Vivians, Mississippi State (Co-MOP)^[8]
  


• Kiara Leslie, NC State^[8]
  


• 
  Jordin Canada, UCLA^[8]
  


• 
  Monique Billings, UCLA^[8]
  

Lexington Regional – Lexington, Kentucky

	First Round Round of 64 March 16–17					Second Round Round of 32 March 18–19					Regional Semifinals Sweet 16 March 23					Regional Final Elite 8 March 25
	1	Louisville	74
	16	Boise State	42
						1	Louisville	90
	Louisville, Kentucky (Fri/Sun)
						8	Marquette	72
	8	Marquette	84
	9	Dayton	65
											1	Louisville	86
											4	Stanford	59
	5	Missouri	70
	12	Florida Gulf Coast	80
						12	Florida Gulf Coast	70
	Stanford, California (Sat/Mon)
						4	Stanford	90
	4	Stanford	82
	13	Gonzaga	68
																1	Louisville	76
																6	Oregon State	43
	6	Oregon State	82
	11	Western Kentucky	58
						6	Oregon State	66
	Knoxville, Tennessee (Fri/Sun)
						3	Tennessee	59
	3	Tennessee	100
	14	Liberty	60
											6	Oregon State	72
											2	Baylor	67
	7	Michigan	75
	10	Northern Colorado	61
						7	Michigan	58
	Waco, Texas (Fri/Sun)
						2	Baylor	80
	2	Baylor	96
	15	Grambling State	46

Lexington Regional Final

ESPN

Sunday, March 25 12:00 pm

Summary

#1 Louisville Cardinals 76, #6 Oregon State Beavers 43
Scoring by quarter: 14–8, 17–16, 28–12, 17–7
Pts: A. Durr 18 Rebs: J. Jones 6 Asts: K. McWilliams		Pts: M. Gülich 14 Rebs: M. Gülich 8 Asts: D. Evans 5

Rupp Arena – Lexington, KY Attendance: 6,268 Referees: Dee Kantner, Jesse Dickerson, Michol Murray

Lexington Regional all tournament team

• 
  Asia Durr, Louisville (MOP)


• Myisha Hines-Allen, Louisville


• Arica Carter, Louisville


• Sam Fuehring, Louisville


• 
  Marie Gülich, Oregon State^[9]
  

Spokane Regional – Spokane, Washington

	First Round Round of 64 March 16–17					Second Round Round of 32 March 18–19					Regional Semifinals Sweet 16 March 24					Regional Final Elite 8 March 26
	1	Notre Dame	99
	16	Cal State Northridge	81
						1	Notre Dame	98
	Notre Dame, Indiana (Fri/Sun)
						9	Villanova	72
	8	South Dakota State	74
	9	Villanova	81*
											1	Notre Dame	90
											4	Texas A&M	84
	5	DePaul	90
	12	Oklahoma	79
						5	DePaul	79
	College Station, Texas (Fri/Sun)
						4	Texas A&M	80
	4	Texas A&M	89
	13	Drake	76
																1	Notre Dame	84
																2	Oregon	74
	6	LSU	69
	11	Central Michigan	78
						11	Central Michigan	95
	Columbus, Ohio (Sat/Mon)
						3	Ohio State	78
	3	Ohio State	87
	14	George Washington	45
											11	Central Michigan	68
											2	Oregon	83
	7	Green Bay	77
	10	Minnesota	89
						10	Minnesota	73
	Eugene, Oregon (Fri/Sun)
						2	Oregon	101
	2	Oregon	88
	15	Seattle	45

Spokane Regional Final

ESPN

Monday, March 26 9:00 pm

Summary

#1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 84, #2 Oregon Ducks 74
Scoring by quarter: 22–21, 18–25, 21–9, 23–19
Pts: K. Westbeld 20 Rebs: J. Young 13 Asts: M. Mabrey 7		Pts: S. Ionescu 26 Rebs: R. Hebard 10 Asts: S. Ionescu 4

Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena – Spokane, WA Attendance: 5,226 Referees: Lisa Mattingly, Penny Davis, Kevin Pethtel

Spokane Regional all tournament team

• 
  Arike Ogunbowale, Notre Dame (MOP)^[10]
  


• Marina Mabrey, Notre Dame^[10]
  


• Chennedy Carter, Texas A&M^[11]
  


• 
  Sabrina Ionescu, Oregon^[11]
  


• Ruthy Hebard, Oregon^[11]
  

Final Four

During the Final Four round, regardless of the seeds of the participating teams, the champion of the top overall top seed's region (Connecticut's Albany Region) plays against the champion of the fourth-ranked top seed's region (Notre Dame's Spokane Region), and the champion of the second overall top seed's region (Mississippi State's Kansas City Region) plays against the champion of the third-ranked top seed's region (Louisville's Lexington Region).

Nationwide Arena – Columbus, Ohio

	National Semifinals Final Four March 30					National Championship Game April 1
	A1	Connecticut	89
	S1	Notre Dame	91*
						S1	Notre Dame	61
						KC1	Mississippi State	58
	KC1	Mississippi State	73*
	L1	Louisville	63

* – Denotes overtime period

Final Four

ESPN2

Friday, March 30 7:00 pm

Report

#1 Mississippi State Bulldogs 73, #1 Louisville Cardinals 63 (OT)
Scoring by quarter: 13–11, 18–19, 15–18, 13–11, Overtime: 14–4
Pts: Vivians – 25 Rebs: McCowan – 25 Asts: William – 4		Pts: Durr – 18 Rebs: Jones – 9 Asts: Carter – 3

Nationwide Arena – Columbus, OH Attendance: 19,564 Referees: Lisa Mattingly, Penny Davis, Denise Brooks

ESPN2

Friday, March 30 9:52 pm

Report

#1 Connecticut Huskies 89, #1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 91 (OT)
Scoring by quarter: 14–24, 27–10, 19–23, 19–22, Overtime: 10–12
Pts: Collier – 24 Rebs: Williams – 10 Asts: Williams – 7		Pts: Young – 32 Rebs: Shepard, Young – 11 Asts: Shepard, Westbeld – 5

Nationwide Arena – Columbus, OH Attendance: 19,564 Referees: Lisa Jones, Michael McConnell, Karen Preato

National Championship

Main article: 2018 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship Game

ESPN

Sunday, April 1 6:00 pm

Report

#1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 61, #1 Mississippi State Bulldogs 58
Scoring by quarter: 14–17, 3–13, 24–11, 20–17
Pts: J. Shepard – 19 Rebs: K. Westbeld – 9 Asts: Three tied – 2		Pts: V. Vivians – 21 Rebs: T. McCowan – 17 Asts: M. William – 2

Nationwide Arena – Columbus, OH Attendance: 19,599 Referees: Dee Kantner, Brenda Pantoja, Joseph Vaszily

Final Four all-tournament team

• 
  Arike Ogunbowale, Notre Dame (MOP)^[12]
  


• Jessica Shepard, Notre Dame


• 
  Victoria Vivians, Mississippi State


• Teaira McCowan, Mississippi State


• 
  Napheesa Collier, Connecticut

Record by conference

Conference	Bids	Record	Win %	R64	R32	S16	E8	F4	CG	NC
ACC	8	16–7	.696	8	6	4	2	2	1	1
SEC	7	12–7	.632	7	5	3	2	1	1	–
American	2	4–2	.667	2	1	1	1	1	–	–
Pac-12	6	12–6	.667	6	5	4	3	–	–	–
Big 12	4	5–4	.556	4	3	2	–	–	–	–
Mid-American	2	4–2	.667	2	2	2	–	–	–	–
Big Ten	6	4–6	.400	6	4	–	–	–	–	–
Big East	4	4–4	.500	4	4	–	–	–	–	–
MAAC	1	1–1	.500	1	1	–	–	–	–	–
Atlantic Sun	1	1–1	.500	1	1	–	–	–	–	–
Atlantic 10	2	0–2	.000	2	–	–	–	–	–	–

• The R64, R32, S16, E8, F4, CG, and NC columns indicate how many teams from each conference were in the round of 64 (first round), round of 32 (second round), Sweet 16, Elite Eight, Final Four, championship game, and national champion, respectively.


• The America East, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Conference USA, Colonial, Horizon, Ivy League, MEAC, Missouri Valley, Mountain West, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Summit, Sun Belt, SWAC, WAC and West Coast conferences each had one representative that was eliminated in the first round.

Media coverage

Television

ESPN had US television rights to all games during the tournament.^[13] During the first and second rounds, ESPN aired select games nationally on ESPN2, ESPNU, and ESPNews. All other games aired regionally on ESPN, ESPN2, or ESPN3 and were streamed online via WatchESPN. Most of the nation got whip-a-round coverage during this time, which allowed ESPN to rotate between the games and focus the nation on the game that had the closest score.

Studio host and analysts

• 
  Maria Taylor (Host)


• 
  Andy Landers (Analyst)


• 
  Rebecca Lobo (Analyst) (First, Second Rounds, Final Four and National Championship Game)


• 
  Nell Fortner (Analyst) (Regionals, Final Four and National Championship Game)

Broadcast assignments

First & Second Rounds Friday/Sunday Beth Mowins & Nell Fortner – Louisville, Kentucky Brenda VanLengen & Carol Ross – Knoxville, Tennessee Lowell Galindo & Andraya Carter – College Station, Texas John Brickley & Mike Thibault – Raleigh, North Carolina Roy Philpott & Brooke Weisbrod – Notre Dame, Indiana Paul Sunderland & Steffi Sorensen – Columbia, South Carolina Dave Pasch & LaChina Robinson – Eugene, Oregon Eric Frede & Christy Thomaskutty – Waco, Texas Sweet Sixteen & Elite Eight Friday/Sunday Beth Mowins, Debbie Antonelli & Allison Williams – Lexington, Kentucky Pam Ward, Gail Goestenkors & Courtney Lyle – Kansas City, Missouri Final Four Adam Amin, Kara Lawson, Rebecca Lobo & Holly Rowe – Columbus, Ohio

First & Second Rounds Saturday/Monday Adam Amin & Kara Lawson – Storrs, Connecticut Melissa Lee & Amanda Butler – Athens, Georgia Sam Gore & Christy Winters-Scott – Columbus, Ohio Clay Matvick & Katie Smith – Tallahassee, Florida Courtney Lyle & Tamika Catchings – Starkville, Mississippi Elise Woodward & Dan Hughes – Stanford, California Tiffany Greene & Chiney Ogwumike – Los Angeles, California Pam Ward & Gail Goestenkors – Austin, Texas Sweet Sixteen & Elite Eight Saturday/Monday Adam Amin, Kara Lawson, Rebecca Lobo & Holly Rowe – Albany, New York Dave Pasch, LaChina Robinson & Molly McGrath – Spokane, Washington Championship Adam Amin, Kara Lawson, Rebecca Lobo & Holly Rowe – Columbus, Ohio

Radio

Westwood One had exclusive radio rights to the entire tournament.^[14][15] Teams participating in the Regional Finals, Final Four, and Championship were allowed to have their own local broadcasts, but they weren’t allowed to stream those broadcasts online.

Regional Finals Sunday Justin Kutcher & Ann Schatz – Lexington, Kentucky Ted Emrich & Krista Blunk – Kansas City, Missouri Final Four John Sadak, Debbie Antonelli, & Krista Blunk – Columbus, Ohio

Regional Finals Monday John Sadak & Debbie Antonelli – Albany, New York Dick Fain & Kristen Kozlowski – Spokane, Washington Championship John Sadak, Debbie Antonelli, & Krista Blunk – Columbus, Ohio

See also

• 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament


• 2018 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament


• 2018 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament


• 2018 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament


• 2018 Women's National Invitation Tournament


• 2018 U Sports Women's Basketball Championship


• 2018 National Invitation Tournament


• 2018 NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament


• 2018 NAIA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament


• 2018 NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament


• 2018 NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament


• 2018 Women's Basketball Invitational


• 2018 College Basketball Invitational


• 2018 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament

References

1. 
   ^ ^ab "Women's basketball: Columbus to host Final Four in 2018". Buckeye Xtra Sports. Retrieved 2016-04-13..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
   


2. 
   ^ ^ab "Women's Final Four sites for 2017-20 includes record fourth for New Orleans". NCAA.com. Retrieved 2016-04-13.
   


3. 
   ^ "2016-18 regional hosts". NCAA.com. Retrieved 2016-04-13.
   


4. 
   ^ "Big 12 To Host 2016 and 2018 NCAA Women's Basketball Regionals". Big12Sports.com. Retrieved 2016-04-13.
   


5. 
   ^ "Broadcast Info". NCAA.com. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
   


6. 
   ^ "DI WBB Nitty Gritty 3-11-18 Selections" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
   


7. 
   ^ Adameccadamec@journalinquirer.com, Carl. "Williams keeps a cool head throughout". Journal Inquirer. Retrieved 2018-03-27.
   


8. 
   ^ ^abcde Journal, Logan Lowery Daily. "MSU NOTEBOOK: Vivians, McCowan share MVP honor". Daily Journal. Retrieved 2018-03-27.
   


9. 
   ^ "Louisville routs Oregon State 76-43 to reach Final Four". NewsTimes. Retrieved 2018-03-27.
   


10. 
    ^ ^ab "Resilient Notre Dame headed to Final Four". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-03-27.
    


11. 
    ^ ^abc "Kevin Pelton on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2018-03-27.
    


12. 
    ^ http://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/22996417/arike-ogunbowale-notre-dame-wins-most-outstanding-player-honors-ncaa-women-basketball-tournament
    


13. 
    ^ Margolis, Rachel (December 15, 2011). "ESPN and NCAA Extend Rights Agreement through 2023–24". ESPN. Retrieved December 15, 2011.
    


14. 
    ^ "NCAA, Westwood One extend deal". NCAA. January 13, 2011. Archived from the original on 2013-05-16. Retrieved May 12, 2013.
    


15. 
    ^ "WO Sports to Air NCAA Women's Basketball". Radio Online. March 6, 2015. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
    

External links

• NCAA Women's Basketball Division I

v t e NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament
AIAW Tournaments	1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982
NCAA Tournaments	1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Records & statistics	AIAW Tournament (pre-NCAA) Appearances Broadcasters

v t e 2018 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournaments
Conference	ACC American America East Atlantic 10 Atlantic Sun Big 12 Big East Big Sky Big South Big Ten Big West CAA Conference USA Horizon Ivy MAAC MEAC Mid-American Missouri Valley Mountain West Northeast Ohio Valley Pac-12 Patriot SEC Southern Southland SWAC Sun Belt The Summit League WAC West Coast
National	NCAA WNIT WBI

v t e 2017–18 NCAA Division I championships
Baseball Men's basketball Women's basketball Beach volleyball Bowling Cross country Fencing Field hockey Football (FBS) † Football (FCS) Men's golf Women's golf Men's gymnastics Women's gymnastics Men's ice hockey Women's ice hockey Indoor track and field Men's lacrosse Women's lacrosse Outdoor track and field Rifle Rowing Skiing Men's soccer Women's soccer Softball Men's swimming and diving Women's swimming and diving Tennis Men's volleyball Women's volleyball Men's water polo Women's water polo Wrestling
† Not an officially sanctioned NCAA championship

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