2021 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament
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| Teams | 48 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finals site | Alumni Hall Columbus, Ohio | ||||
| Champions | Lubbock Christian (3rd title) | ||||
| Runner-up | Drury (2nd title game) | ||||
| Semifinalists |
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| Winning coach | Steve Gomez (3rd title) | ||||
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The 2021 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament was the 39th annual tournament hosted by the NCAA to determine the national champion of Division II women's collegiate basketball in the United States.
The Elite Eight was held at Alumni Hall at Ohio Dominican University in Columbus, Ohio from March 23–26, 2021.[1]
Defending champions Lubbock Christian defeated Drury in the championship game, 69–59, to claim the Lady Chaps' third overall and second consecutive national title. Lubbock Christian additionally finished the season undefeated (23-0).
Qualification
A total of 48 bids were available for the tournament: 16 automatic (awarded to the champions of the sixteen Division II conferences that crowned a basketball champion after the end of the regular season) and 32 at-large.
The field size was temporarily reduced for just the 2021 championship to account for teams and conferences that chose to not compete during the 2020–21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Teams from six conferences (CCAA, CIAA, Northeast-10, PSAC, SIAC and Sunshine State) did not participate in the regular season and were ineligible for tournament bids.
The remaining bids are allocated evenly among the eight NCAA-designated regions (Atlantic, Central, East, Midwest, South, South Central, Southeast, and West). Some teams, however, were placed outside their conferences' traditional regions to ensure an even distribution of teams across all eight regionals. As a result, each regions consists of two to three automatic qualifiers (the teams who won their respective conference tournaments) and two to four at-large bids.
Automatic bids (16)
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At-large bids (32)
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Bracket
Atlantic Regional
- Site: Columbus, Ohio (Ohio Dominican)
| First round March 12, 2021 | Regional semifinals March 13, 2021 | Regional finals March 15, 2021 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Charleston (WV) | 79 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Cedarville | 71 | 5 | Walsh | 73 | |||||||||
| 5 | Walsh | 88 | 1 | Charleston (WV) | 82 | |||||||||
| 6 | Tiffin | 52 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Glenville State | 83 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Kentucky Wesleyan | 56 | 6 | Tiffin | 85 | |||||||||
| 6 | Tiffin | 70 | ||||||||||||
Central Regional
| First round March 12, 2021 | Regional semifinals March 13, 2021 | Regional finals March 15, 2021 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Fort Hays State | 68 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Central Missouri | 66 | 4 | Central Missouri | 72 | |||||||||
| 5 | St. Cloud State | 52 | 4 | Central Missouri | 67 | |||||||||
| 2 | Nebraska–Kearney | 57 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Nebraska–Kearney | 65 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Minnesota–Duluth | 76 | 3 | Minnesota–Duluth | 57 | |||||||||
| 6 | Emporia State | 70 | ||||||||||||
East Regional
- Site: Amherst, New York (Daemen)
| First round March 12, 2021 | Regional semifinals March 13, 2021 | Regional finals March 15, 2021 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Dominican (NY) | 73 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | American International | 61 | 5 | Roberts Wesleyan | 77 | |||||||||
| 5 | Roberts Wesleyan | 75 | 5 | Roberts Wesleyan | 40 | |||||||||
| 2 | Daemen | 58 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Daemen | 73 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Georgian Court | 61 | 3 | Georgian Court | 54 | |||||||||
| 6 | Concordia (NY) | 54 | ||||||||||||
Midwest Regional
| First round March 12, 2021 | Regional semifinals March 13, 2021 | Regional finals March 15, 2021 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Michigan Tech | 65 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Grand Valley State | 60 | 5 | Ashland | 74 | |||||||||
| 5 | Ashland | 68 | 5 | Ashland | 69 | |||||||||
| 2 | Drury | 88 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Drury | 66 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Truman | 55 | 3 | Truman | 51 | |||||||||
| 6 | Northwood | 42 | ||||||||||||
South Regional
- Site: Dahlonega, Georgia (North Georgia)
| First round March 12, 2021 | Regional semifinals March 13, 2021 | Regional finals March 15, 2021 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | North Georgia | 66 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Union (TN) | 70 | 4 | Union (TN) | 58 | |||||||||
| 5 | Montevallo | 65 | 1 | North Georgia | 48 | |||||||||
| 2 | Lander | 67 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Lander | 63 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Valdosta State | 74 | 3 | Valdosta State | 60 | |||||||||
| 6 | Lee | 64 | ||||||||||||
Southeast Regional
| First round March 12, 2021 | Regional semifinals March 13, 2021 | Regional finals March 15, 2021 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Belmont Abbey | 74 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Tusculum | 77 | 4 | Tusculum | 59 | |||||||||
| 5 | Tuskegee | 64 | 1 | Belmont Abbey | 62 | |||||||||
| 2 | Barton | 52 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Barton | 80 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Carson-Newman | 48 | 6 | Catawba | 64 | |||||||||
| 6 | Catawba | 67 | ||||||||||||
South Central Regional
- Site: Canyon, Texas (West Texas A&M)
| First round March 12, 2021 | Regional semifinals March 13, 2021 | Regional finals March 15, 2021 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Lubbock Christian | 96 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Arkansas Tech | 5 | Cameron | 66 | ||||||||||
| 5 | Cameron | w/o | 1 | Lubbock Christian | 78 | |||||||||
| 2 | SW Oklahoma | 65 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | SW Oklahoma | 97 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Texas A&M–Commerce | 70 | 3 | Texas A&M–Commerce | 79 | |||||||||
| 6 | Southern Nazarene | 64 | ||||||||||||
West Regional
| First round March 12, 2021 | Regional semifinals March 13, 2021 | Regional finals March 15, 2021 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Colorado Mines | |||||||||||||
| 4 | Azusa Pacific | 72 | 4 | Azusa Pacific | w/o | |||||||||
| 5 | Hawaii Pacific | 59 | 4 | Azusa Pacific | 53 | |||||||||
| 3 | Westminster (UT) | 48 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Western Colorado | 52 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Westminster (UT) | 74 | 3 | Westminster (UT) | 68 | |||||||||
| 6 | Black Hills State | 65 | ||||||||||||
Elite Eight
- Site: Alumni Hall, Columbus, Ohio
| Elite Eight March 23, 2021 | Final Four March 24, 2021 | National championship March 26, 2021 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Lubbock Christian | 66 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Daemen | 49 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Lubbock Christian | 63 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Central Missouri | 61 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Central Missouri | 65 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Belmont Abbey | 42 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Lubbock Christian | 69 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Drury | 59 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Drury | 74 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Charleston (WV) | 66 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Drury | 74 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Lander | 65 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Azusa Pacific | 76 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Lander | 88 | ||||||||||||
See also
- 2021 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament
- 2021 NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament
- 2021 NAIA women's basketball tournament
- 2021 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament
References
- ^ "2021 DII women's basketball championship field announced". NCAA. March 7, 2021. Retrieved March 17, 2021.