 | |||||
| Teams | 32 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finals site | Norfolk Scope Norfolk, Virginia | ||||
| Champions | Louisiana Tech (1st title, 1st title game, 1st Final Four) | ||||
| Runner-up | Cheyney State (1st title game, 1st Final Four) | ||||
| Semifinalists | |||||
| Winning coach | Sonja Hogg (1st title) | ||||
| MOP | Janice Lawrence (Louisiana Tech) | ||||
| Attendance | 66,924 | ||||
| |||||
The 1982 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament was the first Women's Basketball Tournament held under the auspices of the NCAA. From 1972 to 1982, there were national tournaments for Division I schools held under the auspices of the AIAW. The inaugural NCAA Tournament included 32 teams. Tennessee, Louisiana Tech, Cheyney State, and Maryland met in the Final Four, held at the Norfolk Scope in Norfolk, Virginia and hosted by Old Dominion University, with Louisiana Tech defeating Cheyney for the title, 76-62.[1] Louisiana Tech's Janice Lawrence was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.[2] Her teammate Kim Mulkey went on to become the first (and to date only) woman to win NCAA Division I basketball titles as a player and coach, winning the 2005, 2012, 2019 titles as head coach at Baylor and the 2023 title at LSU. (Mulkey was also an assistant coach on Louisiana Tech's 1988 championship team).
- ^ Gregory Cooper. "1982 NCAA National Championship Tournament". Archived from the original on October 20, 2009. Retrieved March 29, 2007.
- ^ "CHN Basketball History: Most Outstanding Player". Archived from the original on January 25, 2008. Retrieved March 30, 2007.