The West Coast Conference women's basketball tournament is the annual concluding tournament for the NCAA college basketball in the West Coast Conference. The winner receives an automatic berth into the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship. The championship is broadcast nationally on ESPNU.
| West Coast Conference women's basketball tournament | |
|---|---|
| Conference basketball championship | |
| Sport | College basketball |
| Conference | West Coast Conference |
| Number of teams | 9 |
| Format | Single-elimination tournament |
| Current stadium | Orleans Arena |
| Current location | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Played | 1992-present |
| Last contest | 2024 |
| Current champion | Portland Pilots |
| Most championships | Gonzaga Bulldogs (10) |
| TV partner(s) | BYUtv, ESPNU |
| Official website | WCCSports.com Women's Basketball |
| Sponsors | |
| University Credit Union (2019) | |
Games were at campus sites from 1992 to 1994, then were played at the same location as the men's tournament, beginning in 1995.
Beginning in 2012, the WCC adopted a new format to incorporate a ninth team (BYU). In 2012 and 2013, the tournament started on Wednesday instead of Friday, and a first round 8 vs. 9 game was added. The winner of the 8/9 game played the 5 seed on Day 2 of the Tournament (Thursday). The 6 vs. 7 match took place that same day. Day 3, or the Quarterfinals (Friday), featured the winner of the 5/8/9 game playing the 4 seed and the winner of the 6/7 game playing the 3 seed. The top two seeds entered in the semifinals on Saturday. All teams were off on Sunday (all WCC members are private, faith-based schools, and BYU has a strict policy against Sunday play), and the championship game was played Monday on ESPNU. BYUtv Sports showed all games on the women's side except for the championship.
The format changed to a traditional 10-team tournament with the addition of Pacific for the 2013–14 season.
At the end of each tournament, an all-tournament team is named, with one individual selected as Most Valuable Player. Four players have earned MVP honors more than once—Valerie Gillom of San Francisco, Jill Barta of Gonzaga, and Alex Fowler of Portland twice each; and Gonzaga's Courtney Vandersloot three times.
Past WCC women's basketball tournament results
edit
| Year | Champion | Runner-Up | Site | MVP[1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Santa Clara | San Francisco | Toso Pavilion, Santa Clara, California | Melissa King, Santa Clara |
| 1993 | San Diego | Santa Clara | Jill Shaver, San Diego | |
| 1994 | Portland | Gonzaga | Amy Claboe, Portland | |
| 1995 | San Francisco | Portland | Valerie Gillon, San Francisco | |
| 1996 | San Francisco | Portland | Valerie Gillon, San Francisco | |
| 1997 | San Francisco | Portland | Gersten Pavilion, Los Angeles, California | Brittany Lindhe, San Francisco |
| 1998 | Santa Clara | Saint Mary's | Toso Pavilion, Santa Clara, California | Lisa Sacco, Santa Clara |
| 1999 | Saint Mary's | Pepperdine | Tracy Morris, Saint Mary's | |
| 2000 | San Diego | Pepperdine | Jessica Gray, San Diego | |
| 2001 | Saint Mary's | Loyola Marymount | Jenny Craig Pavilion, San Diego, California | Jermisha Dosty, Saint Mary's |
| 2002 | Pepperdine | Santa Clara | Damaris Hinojosa, Pepperdine | |
| 2003 | Pepperdine | Santa Clara | Kendra Rhea, Santa Clara | |
| 2004 | Loyola Marymount | Gonzaga | Leavey Center, Santa Clara, California | Adrianne Slaughter, Loyola Marymount |
| 2005 | Santa Clara | Gonzaga | Michelle Cozad, Santa Clara | |
| 2006 | Pepperdine | Santa Clara | McCarthey Athletic Center, Spokane, Washington | Daphanie Kennedy, Pepperdine |
| 2007 | Gonzaga | Loyola Marymount | Chiles Center, Portland, Oregon | Heather Bowman, Gonzaga |
| 2008 | San Diego | Gonzaga | Jenny Craig Pavilion, San Diego, California | Amanda Rego, San Diego |
| 2009 | Gonzaga | San Diego | Orleans Arena, Paradise, Nevada | Courtney Vandersloot, Gonzaga |
| 2010 | Gonzaga | Pepperdine | Courtney Vandersloot, Gonzaga | |
| 2011 | Gonzaga | Saint Mary's | Courtney Vandersloot, Gonzaga[2] | |
| 2012 | BYU | Gonzaga | Haley Steed, BYU[3] | |
| 2013 | Gonzaga | San Diego | Haiden Palmer, Gonzaga[4] | |
| 2014 | Gonzaga | BYU | Sunny Greinacher, Gonzaga[5] | |
| 2015 | BYU | San Francisco | Lexi Eaton, BYU[6] | |
| 2016 | San Francisco | BYU | Taylor Proctor, San Francisco | |
| 2017 | Gonzaga | Saint Mary's | Jill Barta, Gonzaga[7] | |
| 2018 | Gonzaga | San Diego | Jill Barta, Gonzaga[8] | |
| 2019 | BYU | Gonzaga | Paisley Johnson, BYU[9] | |
| 2020 | Portland | San Diego | Alex Fowler, Portland[10] | |
| 2021 | Gonzaga | BYU | Jill Townsend, Gonzaga[11] | |
| 2022 | Gonzaga | BYU | Melody Kempton, Gonzaga[12] | |
| 2023 | Portland | Gonzaga | Alex Fowler, Portland[13] | |
| 2024 | Portland | Gonzaga | Kennedy Dickie, Portland[14] |
Performance by school
editFormer WCC members highlighted in pink.
| Member | Winners | Winning Years |
|---|---|---|
| Gonzaga | 10
|
2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022 |
| Portland | 4
|
1994, 2020, 2023, 2024 |
| San Francisco | 4
|
1995, 1996, 1997, 2016 |
| BYU | 3
|
2012, 2015, 2019 |
| San Diego | 3
|
1993, 2000, 2008 |
| Pepperdine | 3
|
2002, 2003, 2006 |
| Santa Clara | 3
|
1992, 1998, 2005 |
| Saint Mary's | 2
|
1999, 2001 |
| Loyola Marymount | 1
|
2004 |
| Pacific | 0
|
References
edit- ^ "WCC Tournament Recaps" (PDF). 2010–11 West Coast Conference Women's Basketball Media Guide. West Coast Conference. pp. 71–73. Retrieved April 10, 2011.
- ^ "2011 WCC Women's Basketball All-Tournament Team Announced" (Press release). West Coast Conference. March 7, 2011. Retrieved April 10, 2011.
- ^ "BYU women punch NCAA Tournament ticket with WCC title win over Gonzaga". Salt Lake Tribune. March 7, 2012. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
- ^ Associated Press (March 11, 2013). "Gonzaga Heads to Post Season Defeating San Diego". West Coast Conference. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
- ^ "BYU women fall in scoring hole, lose to Gonzaga in WCC Championship". The Daily Universe. March 11, 2014. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
- ^ "Cougar women claim second WCC title, NCAA tourney next". Salt Lake Tribune. March 10, 2015. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
- ^ Crumpacker, John (March 7, 2017). "Crumpacker - Jill Barta Leads Gonzaga To #WCChoops Title". West Coast Conference. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
- ^ Crumpacker, John (March 6, 2018). "Crumpacker - Zags Dance Again After Dispatching Toreros". West Coast Conference. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
- ^ Gurney, Brandon (March 12, 2019). "Cougars Surpass Expectations, beat Gonzaga 82-68 for Conference Championship". Deseret News. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
- ^ Faraudo, Jeff (March 10, 2020). "Faraudo: Portland Completes Title Run". West Coast Conference. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- ^ "2021 UCU West Coast Conference Women's All-Tournament Team" (PDF) (Press release). West Coast Conference. March 9, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
- ^ "Gonzaga Wins 2022 WCC Women's Basketball Championship" (Press release). West Coast Conference. March 8, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
- ^ "Portland Wins 2023 UCU WCC Basketball Tournament" (Press release). West Coast Conference. March 7, 2023. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
- ^ "Portland Knock Off Favored Gonzaga For The WCC Title" (Press release). West Coast Conference. March 12, 2024.