2003 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament
| 2003 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament |
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2003 Women's Final Four logo
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| Teams | 64 | ||||
| Finals site |
Georgia Dome Atlanta, Georgia |
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| Champions | Connecticut (4th title) | ||||
| Runner-up | Tennessee (10th title game) | ||||
| Semifinalists | |||||
| MOP | Diana Taurasi Connecticut | ||||
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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.
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.
Thirty-three additional teams were selected to complete the sixty-four invitations.
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.
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.
The following table lists the region, host school, venue and the sixteen first and second round locations:
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