2003 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament

The 2003 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament began on March 22, 2003, and concluded on April 8, 2003, when the Connecticut Huskies (UConn) won their second straight national title. The Final Four was held at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia on April 6–8, 2003. UConn, coached by Geno Auriemma, defeated archrival Tennessee, coached by Pat Summitt, 73–68 in the championship game. UConn's Diana Taurasi was named Most Outstanding Player.

This was the first year of a new format, in which the final game is held on the Tuesday following the men's championship, in contrast to prior years, when it was held on Sunday evening, between the men's semi-final and final. The game now is the final game of the Division 1 collegiate basketball season.

Tournament records

 * Rebounds – Connecticut recorded 22 rebounds in the Championship game against Tennessee, setting the record for fewest rebounds in an NCAA tournament Championship game.
 * Free throws – Villanova attempted zero free throws in the Mideast Regional final game against Tennessee, one of only two times a team has attempted zero free throws in an NCAA Regional game
 * Three-point field goals made – Diana Taurasi made 20 three-point field goals, tying the record for most three-point field goals in an NCAA tournament
 * Free throws – Tennessee completed 128 free throws, setting the record for made free throws in an NCAA tournament

Qualifying teams – automatic
Sixty-four teams were selected to participate in the 2003 NCAA Tournament. Thirty-one conferences were eligible for an automatic bid to the 2003 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-two cases, the automatic bid was the only representative from the conference. Thirty-three additional at-large teams were selected from nine of the conferences.

2003 NCAA tournament schedule and venues
In 2003, 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. In 2003, a change was implemented in the way first and second round sites were determined. From 1982 (the year of the first NCAA women's basketball tournament) through 2002, the first rounds sites were offered to the top seeds. Starting in 2003, sixteen sites for the first two rounds were determined approximately a year before the team selections and seedings were completed.

First and Second rounds

The following lists the region, host school, venue and the sixteen first and second round locations:
 * March 22 and 24
 * East Region
 * Mackey Arena, West Lafayette, Indiana (Host: Purdue University)
 * Ted Constant Convocation Center, Norfolk, Virginia (Host: Old Dominion University)
 * Mideast Region
 * Thompson–Boling Arena, Knoxville, Tennessee (Host: University of Tennessee)
 * CU Events Center, Boulder, Colorado (Host: University of Colorado Boulder)
 * Midwest Region
 * Stegeman Coliseum, Athens, Georgia (Host: University of Georgia)
 * The Pit, Albuquerque, New Mexico (Host: University of New Mexico)
 * West Region
 * McArthur Court, Eugene, Oregon (Host: University of Oregon)
 * Maples Pavilion, Stanford, California (Host: Stanford University)
 * March 23 and 25
 * East Region
 * Harry A. Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, Connecticut (Host: University of Connecticut)
 * Bramlage Coliseum, Manhattan, Kansas (Host: Kansas State University)
 * Mideast Region
 * Lloyd Noble Center, Norman, Oklahoma (Host: University of Oklahoma)
 * Bryce Jordan Center, State College, Pennsylvania (Host: Pennsylvania State University)
 * Midwest Region
 * Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, North Carolina (Host: North Carolina State University)
 * United Spirit Arena, Lubbock, Texas (Host: Texas Tech University)
 * West Region
 * Shoemaker Center, Cincinnati, Ohio (Host: University of Cincinnati)
 * Thomas Assembly Center, Ruston, Louisiana (Host: Louisiana Tech University)

Regional semifinals and finals

The Regionals, named for the general location, were held from March 29 to April 1 at these sites:
 * March 29 and 31
 * Mideast Regional, Thompson–Boling Arena, Knoxville, Tennessee (Host: University of Tennessee)
 * Midwest Regional, The Pit, Albuquerque, New Mexico (Host: University of New Mexico)
 * March 30 and April 1
 * East Regional, University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio (Host: University of Dayton)
 * West Regional, Maples Pavilion, Stanford, California (Host: Stanford University)

Each regional winner advanced to the Final Four held April 6 and April 8 in Atlanta, Georgia at the Georgia Dome, (Host: Georgia Institute of Technology)

Bids by state
The sixty-four teams came from thirty-two states, plus Washington, D.C. Virginia had the most teams with five bids. Eighteen states did not have any teams receiving bids.



Brackets
Data Source

Final Four – Atlanta, Georgia
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, Ivy League, MAAC, MAC, Mid-Continent, MEAC, Missouri Valley Conference, Northeast Conference, Ohio Valley Conference, Patriot League, Southern Conference, Southland, SWAC, Sun Belt Conference, and West Coast Conference

All-Tournament team

 * Diana Taurasi, Connecticut
 * Ann Strother, Connecticut
 * Alana Beard, Duke
 * Gwen Jackson, Tennessee
 * Kara Lawson, Tennessee

Game officials

 * Scott Yarbrough (semifinal)
 * Joe Cunningham (semifinal)
 * June Courteau (semifinal)
 * Sally Bell (semifinal)
 * Dee Kantner (semifinal)
 * Eric Larson (semifinal)
 * Wesley Dean (final)
 * Melissa Barlow (final)
 * Lisa Mattingly (final)