Big East Women's Basketball Tournament
| Big East Women's Basketball Tournament | |
|---|---|
| Conference Basketball Championship | |
|
Big East Conference logo | |
| Sport | College basketball |
| Conference | Big East Conference |
| Number of teams | 10 |
| Format | Single-elimination tournament |
| Current stadium | Al McGuire Center |
| Current location | Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Played | 1983–present |
| Last contest | 2016 |
| Current champion | St. John's Red Storm |
| Most championships | Connecticut Huskies (18) |
| Official website | BigEast.com Women's Basketball |
The Big East Women's Basketball Tournament is a conference championship tournament in women's basketball. It was first held in 1983, at the end of the 1982–83 college basketball season that was the first in which the Big East Conference sponsored women's basketball. Following the 2013 split of the original Big East along football lines, the women's basketball history of the original conference has been maintained by the non-football league that assumed the Big East name.[1] The tournament determines the conference's champion, which receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
From 2004 through 2013, the tournament was held in the Veterans Memorial Coliseum[2] at the XL Center (formerly known as the Hartford Civic Center). The first three tournaments after the relaunch of the Big East in 2013 were hosted by DePaul University. In 2014, opening-round games were played at McGrath–Phillips Arena on the school's Chicago campus and all other games played at Allstate Arena in suburban Rosemont. All games in the 2015 tournament were held at Allstate Arena, and all 2016 tournament games were held at McGrath–Phillips Arena. The 2017 tournament will be the first since the relaunch to be held outside the Chicago area, with all games being played at Al McGuire Center on the Marquette University campus in Milwaukee.
Starting in 2009, the tournament expanded to include all 16 of the conference's teams at that time. The teams finishing 9 through 16 in the regular season standings played first round games, while teams 5 through 8 receive a bye to the second round. The top 4 teams during the regular season receive a double-bye to the quarterfinals.[3] The 2013 tournament, the final one under the original Big East structure, saw 15 teams participate, following West Virginia's 2012 move to the Big 12 Conference. The tournament now features all 10 members of the reconfigured conference.
History of the Tournament Finals
| Year | Seed [2] | Winner | Score | Seed | Opponent | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | #2 | St. John's | 74-63 | #1 | Providence | Alumni Hall (Providence, Rhode Island) |
| 1984 | #3 | St. John's | 66-46 | #4 | Seton Hall | Alumni Hall (now Carnesecca Arena) (Queens, New York) |
| 1985 | #5 | Syracuse | 57-56 | #2 | Villanova | Manley Field House (Syracuse NY) |
| 1986 | #2 | Villanova | 71-60 | #1 | Providence | Roberts Center (Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts) |
| 1987 | #1 | Villanova | 60-45 | #6 | Boston College | The Pavilion (Villanova, Pennsylvania) |
| 1988 | #3 | St. John's | 74-72 OT | #1 | Syracuse | Fitzgerald Field House (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) |
| 1989 | #1 | Connecticut | 84-65 | #3 | Providence | Walsh Gymnasium (Providence RI) |
| 1990 | #2 | Providence | 82-61 | #1 | Connecticut | Gampel Pavilion (Storrs, Connecticut) |
| 1991 | #1 | Connecticut | 79-74 | #2 | Providence | McDonough Gymnasium (Washington, D.C.) |
| 1992 | #1 | Miami (FL) | 56-47 | #2 | Connecticut | Gampel Pavilion (Storrs, Connecticut) |
| 1993 | #1 | Miami (FL) | 77-56 | #7 | Providence | Alumni Hall (Providence, Rhode Island) |
| 1994 | #1 | Connecticut | 77-51 | #2 | Seton Hall | Gampel Pavilion (Storrs, Connecticut) |
| 1995 | #1 | Connecticut | 85-49 | #3 | Seton Hall | Walsh Gymnasium (South Orange, New Jersey) |
| 1996 | #1 | Connecticut | 71-54 | #3 | Notre Dame | Gampel Pavilion (Storrs, Connecticut) |
| 1997 | #1 | Connecticut | 86-77 | #3 | Notre Dame | Gampel Pavilion (Storrs, Connecticut) |
| 1998 | #1 | Connecticut | 67-58 | #2 | Rutgers | Louis Brown Athletic Center (The RAC) (Piscataway, New Jersey) |
| 1999 | #1 | Connecticut | 96-75 | #3 | Notre Dame | Louis Brown Athletic Center (The RAC) (Piscataway, New Jersey) |
| 2000 | #1 | Connecticut | 79-59 | #3 | Rutgers | Gampel Pavilion (Storrs, Connecticut) |
| 2001 | #2 | Connecticut | 78-76 | #1 | Notre Dame | Gampel Pavilion (Storrs, Connecticut) |
| 2002 | #1 | Connecticut | 96-54 | #3 | Boston College | Louis Brown Athletic Center (The RAC) (Piscataway, New Jersey) |
| 2003 | #3 | Villanova | 52-48 | #1 | Connecticut | Louis Brown Athletic Center (The RAC) (Piscataway, New Jersey) |
| 2004 | #5 | Boston College | 75-57 | #7 | Rutgers | Hartford Civic Center (Hartford, Connecticut) |
| 2005 | #3 | Connecticut | 67-51 | #1 | Rutgers | Hartford Civic Center (Hartford, Connecticut) |
| 2006 | #2 | Connecticut | 50-44 | #12 | West Virginia | Hartford Civic Center (Hartford, Connecticut) |
| 2007 | #2 | Rutgers | 55-47 | #1 | Connecticut | Hartford Civic Center (Hartford, Connecticut) |
| 2008 | #1 | Connecticut | 65-59 | #7 | Louisville | XL Center (Hartford, Connecticut) |
| 2009 | #1 | Connecticut | 75-36 | #2 | Louisville | XL Center (Hartford, Connecticut) |
| 2010 | #1 | Connecticut | 60–32 | #2 | West Virginia | XL Center (Hartford, Connecticut)[4] |
| 2011 | # | Connecticut | 73-64 | # | Notre Dame | XL Center (Hartford, Connecticut)[5] |
| 2012 | # | Connecticut | 63–54 | # | Notre Dame | XL Center (Hartford, Connecticut)[6] |
| 2013 | #2 | Notre Dame | 61-59 | #3 | Connecticut | XL Center (Hartford, Connecticut)[7] |
| 2014 | #1 | DePaul | 65-57 | #2 | St. John's | Allstate Arena (Rosemont, Illinois) (Opening round: McGrath–Phillips Arena, Chicago) |
| 2015 | #2 | DePaul | 78–68 | #1 | Seton Hall | Allstate Arena (Rosemont, Illinois) |
| 2016 | #4 | St. John's | 50-37 | #7 | Creighton | McGrath–Phillips Arena (Chicago) |
| 2017 | Al McGuire Center (Milwaukee) |
Performance by school
| Club | Winners | Winning years |
|---|---|---|
| Connecticut[a 1] | 18 | 1989, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 |
| St. John's | 4 | 1983, 1984, 1988, 2016 |
| Villanova | 3 | 1986, 1987, 2003 |
| DePaul | 2 | 2014, 2015 |
| Miami (FL)[a 2] | 2 | 1992, 1993 |
| Notre Dame[a 3] | 1 | 2013 |
| Syracuse[a 3] | 1 | 1985 |
| Providence | 1 | 1990 |
| Boston College[a 4] | 1 | 2004 |
| Rutgers[a 1] | 1 | 2007 |
| TOTAL | 32 |
- 1 2 Following the 2013 split of the original Big East, Connecticut and Rutgers remained in the football-sponsoring portion now known as the American Athletic Conference.
- ↑ Miami left for the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in 2004.
- 1 2 Notre Dame and Syracuse left for the ACC in 2013.
- ↑ Boston College left for the ACC in 2005.
Most Outstanding Player
| Year | Most Outstanding Player | School |
| 1983 | Beckford, DebbieDebbie Beckford | St. John's |
| 1984 | MacnameeAnne Marie McNamee | St. John's |
| 1985 | Long, JaniceJanice Long | Syracuse |
| 1986 | Pennefather, ShellyShelly Pennefather | Villanova |
| 1987 | Pennefather, ShellyShelly Pennefather (2) | Villanova |
| 1988 | Johnson, SabrinaSabrina Johnson | St. John's |
| 1989 | Bascom, KerryKerry Bascom | Connecticut |
| 1990 | Mangum, AndreaAndrea Mangum | Providence |
| 1991 | Pattyson, MeghanMeghan Pattyson | Connecticut |
| 1992 | Savage, FrancesFrances Savage | Miami |
| 1993 | Plowden, VickiVicki Plowden | Miami |
| 1994 | Lobo, RebeccaRebecca Lobo | Connecticut |
| 1995 | Wolters, KaraKara Wolters | Connecticut |
| 1996 | Wolters, KaraKara Wolters (2) | Connecticut |
| 1997 | Sales, NykeshaNykesha Sales | Connecticut |
| 1998 | Williams, RitaRita Williams | Connecticut |
| 1999 | Ralph, SheaShea Ralph | Connecticut |
| 2000 | Williams, TamikaTamika Williams | Connecticut |
| 2001 | Taurasi, DianaDiana Taurasi | Connecticut |
| 2002 | Jones, AsjhaAsjha Jones | Connecticut |
| 2003 | Juhline, TrishTrish Juhline | Villanova |
| 2004 | Deveny, JessalynJessalyn Deveny | Boston College |
| 2005 | Turner, BarbaraBarbara Turner | Connecticut |
| 2006 | Strother, AnnAnn Strother | Connecticut |
| 2007 | Ajavon, MateeMatee Ajavon | Rutgers |
| 2008 | Houston, ChardeCharde Houston | Connecticut |
| 2009 | Moore, MayaMaya Moore | Connecticut |
| 2010 | Greene, KalanaKalana Greene | Connecticut |
| 2011 | Moore, MayaMaya Moore (2) | Connecticut |
| 2012 | Mosqueda-Lewis, KaleenaKaleena Mosqueda-Lewis | Connecticut |
| 2013 | MacbrideKayla McBride | Notre Dame |
| 2014 | Penny, JasmineJasmine Penny | DePaul |
| 2015 | Podkowa, MeganMegan Podkowa | DePaul |
| 2016 | Handford, AliyyahAliyyah Handford | St. John's |
| Years | Title of Award |
| 1998–present | Most Outstanding Player |
| 1994–1997 | Most Outstanding Performer |
| 1983–1993 | Most Valuable Player |
References
- ↑ "Big East basketball schools get Big East name". ESPN. March 5, 2013. Retrieved April 28, 2013.
- 1 2 "Big East Record Book" (PDF). p. 188. Retrieved 30 Aug 2011.
- ↑ "The Big East Conference Media guide" (PDF). Big East. p. 27. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
- ↑ "2009 BIG EAST Women's Basketball Tournament". Retrieved 2009-06-18.
- ↑ "2011 BIG EAST Women's Basketball Tournament". Retrieved 2011-10-13.
- ↑ "Connecticut Captures Women's Basketball Championship with 63-54 Win Over Notre Dame". Big East. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
- ↑ "BIG EAST CHAMPS! Achonwa's Layup Lifts #2 Irish Past #3 UConn, 61-59". University of Notre Dame Sports Information. Associated Press. March 12, 2013. Retrieved May 15, 2013.