1988 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament

The 1988 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament began on March 16 and ended on April 3. The tournament featured 40 teams. The Final Four consisted of Long Beach State, Auburn, Tennessee, and Louisiana Tech. Louisiana Tech won its second title with a 56–54 victory over Auburn. Louisiana Tech's Erica Westbrooks was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.

Notable events Long Beach state reached the Final Four averaging over 100 points per game. Long Beach beat Colorado 103–64 in their opening game. Long Beach then defeated the three seed Washington 104–78 in the West Regional semifinal. That matched Long Beach up with the one seed Iowa. Long Beach didn't score 100, but came close, beating the top seed in their regional by a score of 98–78, allowing Long Beach to reach the Final Four for the second straight year. Their opponent in the semifinal was Auburn, who had reached the Sweet Sixteen in 1985 and 1986, then followed it with a trip to the Elite Eight in 1987. This year Auburn advanced to the Final Four for the first time defeating Maryland in the Mideast Regional 103–74.

In the semifinal game, the Long Beach 49ers team started out slowly, but their coach Joan Bonvicini wasn't worried; she was convinced they would come back. Auburn had a small lead in the second half when the 49ers scored 11 consecutive points to take a 46–42 lead. However, the Tigers tied the game at 46 apiece, then 48 then 50 apiece. Then the Tigers opened up a seven-point lead. The 49ers cut it back to five points, but too many turnovers were too much to overcome. Ruthie Bolton scored eleven points in the final six minutes for the Tigers to help seal the 68–55 victory, and the right to play for the national championship.

The other semifinal game matched up Tennessee and Louisiana Tech. Tennessee was the defending national champion, having won their first national championship in 1987. They won the East Regional with a win over the two seed Virginia. Their opponent, Louisiana Tech, had won the first NCAA Tournament in 1982, and had finished as runner up to Tennessee in the previous year's championship game. The two teams met in the regular season, with Tennessee winning 76–74 in an overtime game played in Knoxville. The Lady Techsters were a two seed, but upset top ranked Texas 83–80 in the Midwest Regional to make it to the semifinal game. The Lady Techsters said they had been looking forward to this game ever since their loss in the prior year and they played like it. They took the lead early in the game and never relinquished it. Louisiana Tech held Tennessee to 33% shooting in the first half, and held on to win the game 68–59, and a berth in the championship game.

The first half of the championship game was all Auburn. Two minutes went by before the Lady Techsters even took at shot, at which point they were down 6–0. Ruthie Bolton scored 16 points in the first half, a source of frustration for her defender Teresa Weatherspoon. Bolton's points held the Tigers head to halftime with a 31–19 lead. Weatherspoon made sure the second half was different, both offensively, with seven assists and defensively, holding Bolton to zero points and helping to force six turnovers. The Tigers still led by four points with under five minutes left, but behind Weatherspoon's defense, and Erica Westbrooks' 25 points, Louisiana Tech came back to win their second national Championship by a score of 56–54.

Records Ruthie Bolton was credited with ten steals in the National Semifinal game, the most ever recorded in a Final Four game since the statistic has been recorded (starting in 1988).

Qualifying teams – automatic Forty teams were selected to participate in the 1988 NCAA Tournament. Eighteen conferences were eligible for an automatic bid to the 1988 NCAA tournament.

Automatic bids     Record   Qualifying School Conference Regular season Conference Seed Bowling Green State University MAC 10 Eastern Illinois University Missouri Valley Conference 10 Fairfield University MAAC 10 University of Iowa Big Ten 1 James Madison University Colonial 4 University of Kansas Big Eight 7 California State University, Long Beach Pacific Coast 2 University of Maryland ACC 2 Middle Tennessee State University Ohio Valley Conference 10 University of Montana Mountain West 4 New Mexico State University High Country 6 Rutgers University Atlantic 10 3 University of South Carolina Metro 8 St. John's University Big East 7 University of Tennessee SEC 1 University of Texas at Austin Southwest 1 University of Washington Pac-10 3 Western Kentucky University Sun Belt Conference 5

Qualifying teams – at-large Twenty-two additional teams were selected to complete the forty invitations.

At-large Bids     Record   Qualifying School Conference Regular season Conference Seed University of Alabama Southeastern 9 Auburn University Southeastern 1 Clemson University Atlantic Coast 5 University of Colorado at Boulder Big Eight 7 University of Georgia Southeastern 4 University of Houston Southwest 6 La Salle University Metro Atlantic 8 Louisiana Tech University American South 2 Louisiana State University Southeastern 9 University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) Southeastern 3 University of Nebraska–Lincoln Big Eight 5 Ohio State University Big Ten 3 Old Dominion University Sun Belt 6 Pennsylvania State University Atlantic 10 9 University of Southern California Pacific-10 4 Saint Joseph's University Atlantic 10 7 Stanford University Pacific-10 5 Stephen F. Austin State University Southland 8 Syracuse University Big East 6 Villanova University Big East 8 University of Virginia Atlantic Coast 2 Wake Forest University Atlantic Coast 9

Bids by conference Eighteen conferences earned an automatic bid. In eight cases, the automatic bid was the only representative from the conference. Two conferences, Southland and American South sent a single representative as an at-large team. Twenty additional at-large teams were selected from ten of the conferences.

Bids Conference Teams 6 Southeastern Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, Tennessee 4 Atlantic Coast Clemson, Maryland., Virginia, Wake Forest 3 Pacific-10 Southern California, Stanford, Washington 3 Big Eight Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska 3 Big East St. John’s NY, Syracuse, Villanova 3 Atlantic 10 Penn St., Rutgers, St. Joseph’s 2 Sun Belt Old Dominion, Western Ky. 2 Southwest Houston, Texas 2 Metro Atlantic Fairfield, La Salle 2 Big Ten Iowa, Ohio St. 1 Southland Stephen F. Austin 1 Ohio Valley Middle Tenn. 1 Mountain West Montana 1 Missouri Valley Eastern Ill. 1 Mid-American Bowling Green 1 Metro South Carolina 1 High Country New Mexico St. 1 Colonial James Madison 1 Pacific Coast Long Beach St. 1 American South Louisiana Tech

First and second rounds In 1988, the field remained at 40 teams. The teams were seeded, and assigned to four geographic regions, with seeds 1-10 in each region. In Round 1, seeds 8 and 9 faced each other for the opportunity to face the 1 seed in the second round, while seeds 7 and 10 faced each other for the opportunity to face the 2 seed. In the first two rounds, the higher seed was given the opportunity to host the first round game. In most cases, the higher seed accepted the opportunity. The exception: Seventh seeded Colorado played tenth seeded Eastern Illinois at Eastern Illinois

The following table lists the region, host school, venue and the twenty-four first and second round locations:

Region Rnd Host Venue City State East 1 Villanova University The Pavilion Villanova Pennsylvania East 1 Saint John's University Alumni Hall (Carnesecca) Queens New York East 2 Rutgers University Louis Brown Athletic Center Piscataway New Jersey East 2 University of Virginia University Hall (University of Virginia) Charlottesville Virginia East 2 University of Tennessee Stokely Athletic Center Knoxville Tennessee East 2 James Madison University James Madison University Convocation Center Harrisonburg Virginia Mideast 1 Saint Joseph's University Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse Philadelphia Pennsylvania Mideast 1 La Salle University Hayman Hall (Tom Gola Arena) Philadelphia Pennsylvania Mideast 2 University of Maryland Cole Field House College Park Maryland Mideast 2 Ohio State University St. John Arena Columbus Ohio Mideast 2 Auburn University Memorial Coliseum (Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum) Auburn Alabama Mideast 2 University of Georgia Georgia Coliseum (Stegeman Coliseum) Athens Georgia Midwest 1 University of South Carolina Carolina Coliseum Columbia South Carolina Midwest 1 University of Kansas Allen Field House Lawrence Kansas Midwest 2 University of Montana Dahlberg Arena Missoula Montana Midwest 2 University of Texas Frank Erwin Center Austin Texas Midwest 2 University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford Mississippi Midwest 2 Louisiana Tech University Thomas Assembly Center Ruston Louisiana West 1 Stephen F. Austin University William R. Johnson Coliseum Nacogdoches Texas West 1 Eastern Illinois University Lantz Arena Charleston Illinois West 2 University of Iowa Carver–Hawkeye Arena Iowa City Iowa West 2 University of Washington Hec Edmundson Pavilion Seattle Washington West 2 Long Beach State University Gym (Gold Mine) Long Beach California

Regionals and Final Four

The regionals, named for the general location, were held from March 24 to March 26 at these sites:

Mideast Regional Georgia Coliseum (Stegeman Coliseum), Athens, Georgia (Host: University of Georgia) Midwest Regional Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas (Host: University of Texas) West Regional University Gym (Gold Mine), Long Beach, California (Host: Long Beach State) East Regional Old Dominion University Fieldhouse, Norfolk, Virginia (Host: Old Dominion University)

Each regional winner advanced to the Final Four, held April 1 and April 3 in Tacoma, Washington at the Tacoma Dome, hosted by the University of Washington.

Bids by state

The forty teams came from twenty-five states. Pennsylvania had the most teams with four. Twenty-five states did not have any teams receiving bids.

Bids State Teams 4

Pennsylvania

La Salle, Penn St., St. Joseph’s, Villanova 3

California

Long Beach St., Southern California, Stanford 3

Texas

Texas, Houston, Stephen F. Austin 3

Virginia

James Madison, Old Dominion, Virginia 2

Alabama

Alabama, Auburn 2

Alabama

Alabama, Auburn 2 Louisiana

Louisiana Tech, LSU 2

New York

St. John’s NY, Syracuse 2

Ohio

Bowling Green, Ohio St. 2

South Carolina

South Carolina, Clemson 2

Tennessee

Middle Tenn., Tennessee 1

Colorado

Colorado 1

Connecticut

Fairfield 1

Georgia

Georgia 1

Illinois

Eastern Ill. 1

Iowa

Iowa 1

Kansas

Kansas 1

Kentucky

Western Ky. 1

Maryland

Maryland. 1

Mississippi

Ole Miss 1

Montana

Montana 1

Nebraska

Nebraska 1

New Jersey

Rutgers 1

New Mexico

New Mexico St. 1

North Carolina

Wake Forest 1

Washington

Washington

Brackets First and second round games played at higher seed except where noted.

West regional – Long Beach, CA (Long Beach Arena)

Mideast regional – Athens, GA (Stegeman Coliseum)

East regional – Norfolk, VA (Old Dominion University Fieldhouse)

Midwest regional – Austin, Texas (Frank Erwin Center)

Final Four – Tacoma, WA (Tacoma Dome)

Record by conference Fifteen conferences had more than one bid, or at least one win in NCAA Tournament play: Conference# of BidsRecordWin %Round of 32Sweet SixteenElite EightFinal FourChampionship Game Southeastern

6

.600

4

4

2

2

1 Atlantic Coast

4

.556

4

2

2

–

– Atlantic 10

3

.500

3

1

–

–

– Pacific-10

3

.500

3

3

–

–

– Big Eight

3

.400

3

–

–

–

– Big East

3

.250

2

–

–

–

– Big Ten

2

.600

2

2

1

–

– Southwest

2

.500

2

1

1

–

– Metro Atlantic

2

–

–

–

–

–

– Sun Belt

2

–

2

–

–

–