2014–15 NCAA Division I women's basketball season
2014–15 NCAA Division I women's basketball season | |||
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Preseason AP #1 | Connecticut | ||
NCAA Tournament | 2015 | ||
Tournament Dates | March 20–April 7, 2015 | ||
National Championship | Amalie Arena Tampa, Florida |
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NCAA Champions | Connecticut | ||
Other Champions | UCLA (WNIT), Louisiana–Lafayette (WBI) |
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Player of the Year (Naismith, Wooden, Wade) |
Breanna Stewart | ||
NCAA Division I basketball seasons
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The 2014–15 NCAA Division I women's basketball season began in November and ended with the Final Four in Tampa, Florida, April 5–7. Practices officially began on October 3.
This was the final season in which NCAA women's basketball games were played in 20-minute halves. Beginning with the 2015–16 season, the women's game switched to 10-minute quarters, the standard for FIBA and WNBA play.[1]
Contents
Season headlines
- May 14 – The NCAA announces its Academic Progress Rate (APR) sanctions for the 2014–15 school year. A total of 36 programs in 11 sports are declared ineligible for postseason play due to failure to meet the required APR benchmark. While no women's basketball teams will be forbidden from postseason play due to APR sanctions, three Division I women's basketball teams are facing level 1 or 2 sanctions:[2]
- New Orleans (Level 2)
- Savannah State (Level 1)
- Towson (Level 1)
- Southern is declared ineligible for postseason play in all sports for failing to supply usable academic data to the NCAA.
Milestones and records
- February 3 – Connecticut's Geno Auriemma earns his 900th career win in the Huskies' 96–36 blowout of Cincinnati. Auriemma, coaching in his 1,034th game, breaks the previous record that was held by Pat Summitt for the fewest games to reach 900 wins.[3] He also becomes the first man ever to reach the 900-win mark in NCAA women's basketball; the previous six coaches to do so are all women.[4]
Conference membership changes
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The 2014–15 season saw the final wave of membership changes resulting from a major realignment of NCAA Division I conferences. The cycle began in 2010 with the Big Ten and the then-Pac-10 publicly announcing their intentions to expand. The fallout from these conferences' moves later affected a majority of D-I conferences.
Season outlook
Pre-season polls
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The top 25 from the AP and USA Today Coaches Polls.
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Regular season
Early season tournaments
*Although these tournaments include more teams, only the number listed play for the championship.
Conference winners and tournaments
Thirty-one athletic conferences each end their regular seasons with a single-elimination tournament. The teams in each conference that win their regular season title are given the number one seed in each tournament. The winners of these tournaments receive automatic invitations to the 2015 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament. The Ivy League does not have a conference tournament, instead giving their automatic invitation to their regular season champion.
Statistical leaders
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Player | School | PPG | Player | School | RPG | Player | School | APG | Player | School | SPG | |||
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Kelsey Mitchell | Ohio State | 24.9 | Vicky McIntyre | Oral Roberts | 15.8 | Niya Johnson | Baylor | 8.9 | Regina Okoye | Weber State | 3.69 | |||
Jasmine Nwaje | Wagner | 24.8 | Jillian Alleyne | Oregon | 15.2 | Almesha Jones | Morehead State | 8.2 | Tiasha Gray | Austin Peay | 3.67 | |||
Damika Martinez | Iona | 23.8 | Ruvanna Campbell | UIC | 14.1 | Samantha Logic | Iowa | 8.1 | Dominique Brothers | Jackson State | 3.57 | |||
Ashia Jones | UT Martin | 23.4 | Amanda Zahui B. | Minnesota | 12.9 | Angela Mickens | James Madison | 7.6 | Syessence Davis | Rutgers | 3.28 | |||
Alexa Hayward | Saint Francis (PA) | 23.2 | Joy Adams | Iona | 12.6 | Shayne Mullaney | Minnesota | 7.5 | Lia Galdeira | Washington State | 3.28 |
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Player | School | BPG | Player | School | FG% | Player | School | 3FG% | Player | School | FT% | |||
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Sophia Ederaine | San Diego | 4.75 | Brianna Turner | Notre Dame | 65.2 | Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis | Connecticut | 48.8 | Nici Gilday | Santa Clara | 94.5 | |||
Vicky McIntyre | Oral Roberts | 4.71 | Porsha Roberts | Stephen F. Austin | 63.2 | Nicole Bauman | Wisconsin | 48.8 | Arlesia Morse | Marquette | 92.5 | |||
Kailyn Williams | Bethune–Cookman | 4.30 | Alexa Hart | Ohio State | 62.7 | Kelsey Harris | UC Davis | 48.3 | Jen Dumiak | American | 92.2 | |||
Amanda Zahui B. | Minnesota | 4.09 | Kaylon Williams | Oklahoma | 59.6 | Andrea Hoover | Dayton | 45.6 | Sophie Bikofsky | Brown | 92.1 | |||
Jasmine Joyner | Chattanooga | 4.00 | Morgan Tuck | Connecticut | 59.6 | Madeline Blais | Marist | 45.1 | Haley Seibert | IPFW | 91/4 |
Postseason tournaments
NCAA tournament
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Final Four – Amalie Arena, Tampa, FL
National Semifinals April 7 |
National Championship Game April 9 |
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1ALB | Connecticut | 81 | |||||||
1SPO | Maryland | 58 | |||||||
1ALB | Connecticut | 63 | |||||||
1OKC | Notre Dame | 53 | |||||||
1OKC | Notre Dame | 66 | |||||||
1GRN | South Carolina | 65 | |||||||
Tournament upsets
For this list, a "major upset" is defined as a win by a team seeded 7 or more spots below its defeated opponent.
Date | Winner | Score | Loser | Region | Round |
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March 22 | #11 Gonzaga | 76–64 | #3 Oregon State | Spokane | Second |
Women's National Invitation tournament
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After the NCAA Tournament field is announced, 64 teams were invited to participate in the Women's National Invitation Tournament. The tournament began on March 20, 2013, and ended with the final on April 6. Unlike the men's National Invitation Tournament, whose semifinals and finals are held at Madison Square Garden, the WNIT holds all of its games at campus sites.
WNIT Semifinals and Final
Played at campus sites
Semifinals April 3 |
Championship Game April 6 |
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1 | UCLA | 69 | |||||||
4 | Michigan | 65 | |||||||
UCLA | 62 | ||||||||
West Virginia | 60 | ||||||||
3 | Temple | 58 | |||||||
2 | West Virginia | 66* | |||||||
Women's Invitational Tournament
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The sixth Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) Tournament began in March 2015 and will end with a best-of-three final scheduled for March 31, April 2, and April 5; the final went the full three games. This tournament featured 16 teams who were left out of the NCAA Tournament and NIT.
WBI Semifinals and Final
Played at campus sites
Semifinals April 3 |
Championship Game April 6 |
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2 | Louisiana–Lafayette | 65 | |||||||
5 | Oral Roberts | 64 | |||||||
2 | Louisiana–Lafayette | 52 | |||||||
3 | Siena | 50 | |||||||
3 | Siena | 65 | |||||||
4 | Mercer | 54 | |||||||
Award winners
All-America teams
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The NCAA has never recognized a consensus All-America team in women's basketball. This differs from the practice in men's basketball, in which the NCAA uses a combination of selections by the Associated Press (AP), the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), the Sporting News, and the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) to determine a consensus All-America team. The selection of a consensus team is possible because all four organizations select at least a first and second team, with only the USBWA not selecting a third team.
However, of the major selectors in women's basketball, only the AP divides its selections into separate teams. The women's counterpart to the NABC, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), selects a single 10-member (plus ties) team, as does the USBWA. The NCAA does not recognize Sporting News as an All-America selector in women's basketball.
With that in mind, the following players were named to at least two of the three major teams:
Player | Position | Class | School | AP[42] | USBWA[43] | WBCA[44] |
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Brittany Boyd | G | Senior | California | 2nd | — | Yes |
Nina Davis | F | Sophomore | Baylor | 1st | Yes | Yes |
Moriah Jefferson | G | Junior | Connecticut | 2nd | Yes | Yes |
Samantha Logic | PG | Senior | Iowa | 3rd | Yes | Yes |
Jewell Loyd | G | Junior | Notre Dame | 1st | Yes | Yes |
Kelsey Mitchell | G | Freshman | Ohio State | 2nd | Yes | — |
Tiffany Mitchell | G | Junior | South Carolina | 1st | Yes | Yes |
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis | F | Senior | Connecticut | 2nd | Yes | Yes |
Breanna Stewart | PF/SF | Junior | Connecticut | 1st | Yes | Yes |
Elizabeth Williams | F/C | Senior | Duke | 2nd | Yes | Yes |
Amanda Zahui B. | C | Sophomore | Minnesota | 1st | Yes | Yes |
Major player of the year awards
- Wooden Award: Breanna Stewart, Connecticut[45]
- Naismith Award: Breanna Stewart, Connecticut[46]
- Associated Press Player of the Year: Breanna Stewart, Connecticut
- Wade Trophy: Breanna Stewart, Connecticut[47]
- espnW National Player of the Year Jewell Loyd, Notre Dame[48]
Major freshman of the year awards
Major coach of the year awards
- Associated Press Coach of the Year: Sue Semrau, Florida State[49]
- Naismith College Coach of the Year: Courtney Banghart, Princeton
- WBCA National Coach of the Year: Sue Semrau, Florida State
Other major awards
- Nancy Lieberman Award (best point guard): Moriah Jefferson, Connecticut
- Senior CLASS Award (top senior): Samantha Logic, Iowa
- Maggie Dixon Award (top first-year head coach): Lisa Fortier, Gonzaga
- Academic All-American of the Year (Top scholar-athlete): Ashley Luke, Western Illinois[50]
- Elite 89 Award (Top GPA among upperclass players at Final Four):
Coaching changes
A number of teams changed coaches during and after the season.
Team | Former coach |
Interim coach |
New coach |
Reason |
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Air Force | Andrea Williams | Chris Gobrecht | Williams was fired after five seasons and a 22–128 overall record, including a 2–28 record this season.[51] | |
Detroit | Autumn Rademacher | Rademacher was fired after four seasons and a 101–120 overall record. She led the Titans to the 2013 WBI title and a WNIT berth in 2012, but never made the NCAA Tournament and went 12–18 this season.[52] | ||
FIU | Cindy Russo | Inge Nissen | Marlin Chinn | Russo announced her resignation during her 36th season at FIU on January 22, effective immediately. In her announcement, she alluded to burnout from balancing coaching with caring for her ailing mother, who died earlier this season. Russo finished with a 667–371 record at FIU and 707–391 overall.[53] FIU hired Maryland assistant Chinn after the season.[54] |
Georgia | Andy Landers | Joni Taylor | On March 16, Women's Basketball Hall of Fame member Landers announced his retirement. Hired in 1979 as the program's first full-time coach, he led the Lady Bulldogs to 31 NCAA Tournament appearances, five Final Fours, seven SEC regular-season titles, and four SEC Tournament crowns.[55] Georgia stayed in-house for its new coach, promoting top assistant Joni Taylor on April 12.[56] | |
Kansas | Bonnie Henrickson | Brandon Schneider | Henrickson was fired after 11 seasons. Although the Jayhawks made two NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearances, those were the team's only NCAA tournament appearances under Henrickson, and the team never finished higher than sixth in the Big 12.[57] | |
Lafayette | Dianne Nolan | Theresa Grentz | On March 26, Nolan announced her retirement after five seasons at Lafayette and 38 seasons overall. She finishes with a 575–509 overall record, with 456 of those wins coming during her 28 seasons at Fairfield.[58] Lafayette hired Women's Hall of Fame coach Grentz, who returned to college head coaching after an eight-year absence.[59] | |
North Texas | Mike Petersen | Jalie Mitchell | On March 10, Petersen was fired after three seasons with a 28–61 record, ending with a 5–24 season in which UNT failed to make the Conference USA tournament.[60] The Mean Green hired Mitchell, their career leading scorer, after she served three seasons as an assistant at Texas.[61] | |
Pacific | Lynne Roberts | Roberts left for the Utah job.[62] | ||
Rice | Greg Williams | Tina Langley | Williams announced his retirement on March 17 after 10 seasons at his alma mater.[63] Like fellow C-USA member FIU, Rice hired a Maryland assistant in Langley.[64] | |
Stephen F. Austin | Brandon Schneider | Schneider left for the Kansas job.[65] | ||
Utah | Anthony Levrets | Lynne Roberts | Levrets was fired after five seasons and a 78–87 overall record, with a 9–21 overall and 3–15 Pac-12 record in 2014–15.[66] | |
Yale | Chris Gobrecht | Gobrecht left for the Air Force job.[67] |
See also
References
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