# 1988–89 Auburn Tigers women's basketball team

The 1988–89 Auburn Tigers women's basketball team represented Auburn University during the 1988–89 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Tigers, led by tenth-year head coach Joe Ciampi, played their home games at Joel H. Eaves Memorial Coliseum as members of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 32–2, 9–0 in SEC play to win the conference regular season title. Ranked No. 1, they lost to Tennessee in championship game of the SEC women's tournament. Auburn finished the regular season ranked No. 3 and was selected as the No. 1 seed in the Mideast regional of the NCAA tournament. They defeated Temple, Clemson, and Ole Miss to reach the second Final Four in program history. The Lady Tigers then defeated No. 1 seed in the Midwest region, Louisiana Tech, to avenge last season's loss and reach the National championship game once again. Auburn was defeated by longtime SEC foe Tennessee, 76–60.
This season marked the second of three straight National runner-up finishes for the Auburn women's basketball program.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 26, 1988 | No. 7 | Tennessee State Auburn Dial Classic | W 104–30 | 1–0 | Eaves Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| Nov 27, 1988 | No. 7 | No. 10 Maryland Auburn Dial Classic | W 75–63 | 2–0 | Eaves Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| Nov 30, 1988 | No. 5 | Southern | W 96–63 | 3–0 | Eaves Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| January 6, 1989 | No. 3 | No. 1 Tennessee | W 67–59 | 13–0 (1–0) | Eaves Memorial Coliseum (7,150) Auburn, Alabama |
| SEC Tournament ||||||
| March 4, 1989* | (1) No. 1 | vs. (9) Florida Quarterfinals | W 72–61 | 26–1 | Albany Civic Center Albany, Georgia |
| March 5, 1989* | (1) No. 1 | vs. (4) LSU Semifinals | W 75–65 | 27–1 | Albany Civic Center Albany, Georgia |
| March 6, 1989* | (1) No. 1 | vs. (2) No. 2 Tennessee Championship game | L 51–66 | 28–1 | Albany Civic Center Albany, Georgia |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| March 18, 1989 | (1 ME) No. 2 | (8 ME) Temple Second round | W 88–54 | 29–1 | Eaves Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| March 23, 1989 | (1 ME) No. 2 | (4 ME) Clemson Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | W 71–60 | 30–1 | Eaves Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| March 25, 1989 | (1 ME) No. 2 | (3 ME) No. 12 Ole Miss Regional Final – Elite Eight | W 77–51 | 31–1 | Eaves Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| March 31, 1989* | (1 ME) No. 2 | vs. (1 MW) No. 3 Louisiana Tech National Semifinal – Final Four | W 76–71 | 32–1 | Tacoma Dome Tacoma, Washington |
| April 2, 1989* | (1 ME) No. 2 | vs. (1 E) No. 1 Tennessee National Championship | L 60–76 | 32–2 | Tacoma Dome Tacoma, Washington |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Final |
| AP | 7 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | Not released |
| Coaches | 7 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |