1999 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament
| 1999 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament |
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| Teams | 64 | ||||
| Finals site |
San Jose Arena San Jose, California |
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| Champions | Purdue (1st title) | ||||
| Runner-up | Duke (1st title game) | ||||
| Semifinalists |
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| Winning coach | Carolyn Peck (1st title) | ||||
| MOP | Ukari Figgs Purdue | ||||
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The 1999 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament began on March 12, 1999, and concluded on March 28, 1999, when Purdue won its first national championship in any women's sport. The Final Four was held at the San Jose Arena in San Jose, California, on March 26–28, 1999. Purdue defeated Duke 62-45 in Carolyn Peck's final game as head coach for the Boilermakers. She had previously announced her intention of leaving Purdue after two seasons to coach the expansion WNBA Orlando Miracle.
The two finalists had recent "off the court" history. Duke's coach, Gail Goestenkors, was a former assistant coach at Purdue under Lin Dunn until becoming the Blue Devils' head coach in 1992. Dunn's firing from Purdue in 1996 and the subsequent player defections resulted in the unusual scenario that two Blue Devil players in the championship game had formerly transferred from Purdue. Purdue's Ukari Figgs was named Most Outstanding Player.
Tennessee, which had own the prior three national championships, was selected as a 1 seed, and started out strongly, beating Appalachian State 113–54. They continued on easily through the second and third rounds, then faced Duke in the easy regional final. Duke was the 3 seed, but had upset Old Dominion 76–63 to reach the regional final. Tennessee and Duke had met in the regular season, with the Lady Vols winning by 14. The game was played in North Carolina, but Tennessee fans outnumbered Duke fans. Tennessee's Chamique Holdsclaw, generally considered the top player in the college game, missed her first ten shots, and ended up with only eight points, her lowest point total of the year. Duke reached an eleven-point lead in the first half, but Tennessee started out the second half strong, hitting four baskets in a row, and cut the lead to four points. Duke went over five minutes without scoring a basket, but Tennessee cut only cut the lead to a single point. Duke's Georgia Schweitzer tied her career high with 22 points, and the Blue Devils advanced to the Final Four for the first time in their history.
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