The 2023 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament is a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of women's NCAA Division II college basketball in the United States. The tournament featured 64 teams.
During the 2022–23 academic year, the NCAA organized many events to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the enactment of Title IX, federal legislation outlawing sex discrimination in higher education. As part of this celebration, the NCAA scheduled the women's basketball championship games of all three of its divisions at the site of the 2023 Division I Final Four. Accordingly, the championship game was held on April 1, 2023, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. The national quarterfinals and semifinals were played at the St. Joseph Civic Arena in St. Joseph, Missouri.
This scheduling also created an unusually long break in the tournament. Normally, the national championship game is played one or two days after the semifinals, but this year's final took place 10 days after the semifinals.
Tournament schedule and venues
Regionals First, second, and third-round games (the latter of which doubles as a regional championship) were held at campus sites from March 10–13, 2023. The top-seeded team in each regional served as host.
Elite Eight The national quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals were held at predetermined sites: the former two rounds were played at the St. Joseph Civic Arena in St. Joseph, Missouri and the latter at American Airlines Center in Dallas.
The national championship was played on April 1, 2023, in Dallas, concurrently with the 2023 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament Final Four.
Qualification A total of 64 bids were available for the tournament: Twenty-three automatic bids (awarded to the champions of each Division II conference) and 41 at-large bids.
The bids are allocated evenly among the eight NCAA-designated regions (Atlantic, Central, East, Midwest, South, South Central, Southeast, and West), each of which contains either two or three of the twenty-three Division II conferences that sponsor men's basketball. Each region consists of two or three automatic qualifiers (the teams who won their respective conference tournaments) and either five or six at-large bids, awarded regardless of conference affiliation.
Automatic bids (23) Automatic bids Region (Bids) Conference School Record (Conf.) AppearanceLast bidAtlantic (3)CIAAElizabeth City State20–102nd2007MECGlenville State29-216th2022PSACCalifornia (PA)21-1019th2022Central (3)GACSouthern Nazarene27-42nd2021MIAAMissouri Southern27-65th2022NSICMinnesota Duluth27-315th2022East (3)CACCDominican (NY)21-103rd2021ECCDaemen20-44th2022NE-10Bentley21-937th2022Midwest (3)GLIACGrand Valley State29-217th2022GLVCDrury30-120th2022G-MACAshland31-013th2022South (3)GSCUnion (TN)26-38th2022SIACTuskegee26-37th2021SSCTampa30-115th2022South Central (2)LSCAngelo State25-614th2020RMACRegis25-67th2017Southeast (3)CCUNC Pembroke22-91stNeverPBCGeorgia Southwestern State24-62nd2022SACLenoir–Rhyne24-75th2014West (3)CCAACal State San Marcos23-53rd2022GNACWestern Washington24-319th2022PacWestAzusa Pacific25-47th2022
At-large bids (41) At-large bids Region (Bids) School Conference Record (Conf.) Appearance Last bidAtlantic (5)Charleston (WV)MEC23-811th2022GannonPSAC29-414th2022ShippensburgPSAC24-610th2017West ChesterPSAC22-88th2018West Virginia StateMEC22-62nd2004Central (5)Augustana (SD)NSIC25-515th2018Central MissouriMIAA25-425th2021Minnesota State-MankatoNSIC25-48th2022Nebraska–KearneyMIAA28-415th2022Pittsburg StateMIAA22-712th2019East (5)AssumptionNE-1024-58th2017JeffersonCACC26-414th2022Le MoyneNE-1021-65th2022Southern New HampshireNE-1021-74th2022St. Thomas AquinasECC21-83rd2019Midwest (5)Kentucky WesleyanG-MAC23-65th2021LewisGLVC21-1016th2020MaloneG-MAC21-92nd2017Michigan TechGLIAC25-621st2021Trevecca NazareneG-MAC21-91stNeverSouth (5)EckerdSSC24-57th2022LeeGSC25-67th2022LynnSSC23-83rd2013Nova SoutheasternSSC21-87th2019Valdosta StateGSC22-615th2022South Central (6)Black Hills StateRMAC22-74th2021Colorado MinesRMAC24-65th2022Lubbock ChristianLSC22-107th2022Texas Woman'sLSC26-54th2022UT TylerLSC24-71stNeverWest Texas A&MLSC21-1028th2022Southeast (5)CatawbaSAC25-58th2022Clayton StatePBC18-1115th2020North GeorgiaPBC19-107th2022South Carolina-AikenPBC18-117th2013WingateSAC22-720th2022West (5)Cal State Dominguez HillsCCAA28-28th2015Cal State LACCAA20-93rd2012Cal Poly PomonaCCAA18-1028th2020Central WashingtonGNAC21-85th2022Montana State BillingsGNAC24-715th2018
Bracket Atlantic Site: Glenville, West Virginia (Glenville State)
* – Denotes overtime period
Central Site: Duluth, Minnesota (Minnesota-Duluth)
* – Denotes overtime period
East Site: Worcester, Massachusetts (Assumption)
* – Denotes overtime period
Midwest Site: Ashland, Ohio (Ashland)
* – Denotes overtime period
South Site: Tampa, Florida (Tampa)
* – Denotes overtime period
South Central Site: San Angelo, Texas (Angelo State)
* – Denotes overtime period
Southeast Site: Salisbury, North Carolina (Catawba)
* – Denotes overtime period
West Site: Carson, California (Cal State Dominguez Hills)
* – Denotes overtime period
Elite Eight Site: Elite 8 and Final 4-St. Joseph Civic Arena, St. Joseph, Missouri/National Championship Game-American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
All-tournament team Annie Roshak, Ashland Zoe Miller, Ashland Hayley Smith, Ashland Hallie Heidemann, Ashland Brooke Olson, Minnesota-Duluth
See also 2023 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament 2023 NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament 2023 NAIA women's basketball tournament 2023 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament
References