# 2012–13 NCAA Division I women's basketball season

The 2012–13 NCAA Division I women's basketball season began in November and ended with the Final Four in New Orleans, April 7–9.

## Season headlines

* October 30 – The AP preseason All-American team was named. Three players received all 40 possible votes from the media panel—Baylor center Brittney Griner, Notre Dame point guard Skylar Diggins, and Delaware's multi-positional Elena Delle Donne. They were joined by Stanford power forward Chiney Ogwumike (23 votes), Baylor point guard Odyssey Sims (19), and Maryland power forward Alyssa Thomas (19). Sims and Thomas tied in the voting, creating a sixth spot on the team.
* December 15 – The seven Big East Conference schools that do not sponsor FBS football (DePaul, Georgetown, St. John's, Providence, Villanova, Seton Hall and Marquette, collectively called the "Catholic 7") announced that they would break from the Big East and pursue other conference affiliation. The move leaves Connecticut as the only original Big East member set to remain in the conference.
* February 28 – ESPN reports that the "Catholic 7" will launch their new conference in July 2013, two years ahead of schedule, and will purchase the rights to the "Big East" name from the remaining conference schools. Two Atlantic 10 Conference members, Butler (which had only joined the A10 in July 2012) and Xavier, will reportedly join the new Big East, with Missouri Valley Conference member Creighton also a possibility.
* March 8 – The Big East split is officially announced. As previously reported, the "Catholic 7" will leave on June 30 with the Big East name. As of the announcement, the "Catholic 7" were the only members of the new Big East, but Butler, Xavier, and Creighton were added March 20.

## Milestones and records

* January 6, 2014 - Missouri's Morgan Eye hit 11 three-pointers in a game against Auburn, tied for third most three-pointers in a single game (in NCAA history).
* February 22, 2013 - Saint Peters' Bridget Whitfield hit eight of eight three-point attempts, tied for third most (in NCAA history) without a miss.
* Baylor's Brittney Griner scored 3,283 points in her career, the third highest career total in NCAA history.
* Baylor's Brittney Griner recorded more than 2,000 points and 500 rebounds, the only player in NCAA history to reach that milestone.

### Coaching wins milestones

* 900 victories - Sylvia Hatchell - University of North Carolina. February 7 versus Boston College.
* 900 victories - Andy Landers - University of Georgia. February 24 versus Mississippi.
* 900 victories - C. Vivian Stringer - Rutgers University. February 26 versus South Florida.
* 700 victories - Muffet McGraw - University of Notre Dame. February 5 versus Villanova.
* 600 victories - Lisa Bluder - University of Iowa. January 20 versus Purdue.

## Conference membership changes

The 2012–13 season saw the second 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.
In addition, two schools are moving from Division II starting this season. These schools will be ineligible for NCAA-sponsored postseason play until completing their D-I transitions in 2016. Finally, one school that had announced a transition to Division II, New Orleans, announced that it would halt its transition and remain in Division I.
| School | Former conference | New conference |
| Belmont Bruins | A-Sun | OVC |
| Butler Bulldogs | Horizon League | Atlantic 10 |
| Denver Pioneers | Sun Belt | WAC |
| Fresno State Bulldogs | WAC | Mountain West |
| Hawaiʻi Rainbow Wahine | WAC | Big West |
| Longwood Lancers | Independent | Big South |
| Missouri Tigers | Big 12 | SEC |
| Nebraska–Omaha Mavericks | MIAA (D-II) | Summit League |
| Nevada Wolf Pack | WAC | Mountain West |
| New Orleans Privateers | Division II independent | Division I independent |
| North Dakota Fighting Sioux | Great West | Big Sky |
| Northern Kentucky Norse | GLVC (D-II) | A-Sun |
| Oral Roberts Golden Eagles | Summit League | Southland |
| Seattle Redhawks | Independent | WAC |
| Southern Utah Thunderbirds | Summit League | Big Sky |
| TCU Lady Frogs | Mountain West | Big 12 |
| Texas A&M Aggies | Big 12 | SEC |
| Texas State Bobcats | Southland | WAC |
| UT Arlington Mavericks | Southland | WAC |
| UTSA Roadrunners | Southland | WAC |
| VCU Rams | CAA | Atlantic 10 |
| West Virginia Mountaineers | Big East | Big 12 |

## New arenas

* Coastal Carolina left behind one of the smallest venues in Division I basketball, Kimbel Arena (seating little over 1,000). The Chanticleers remained on campus at the new HTC Center.
* Troy left its on-campus home, the original Trojan Arena, for a new on-campus venue also named Trojan Arena.

## Major rule changes

* There is now unlimited contact, including text messaging, allowed between college coaches and a prospective player in high school and junior college recruiting.

## Season outlook
### Pre-season polls

The top 25 from the AP and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Polls.
'Associated Press' :
| Ranking | Team |
| 1 | Baylor (40) |
| 2 | Connecticut |
| 3 | Duke |
| 4 | Stanford |
| 5 | Maryland |
| 6 | Kentucky |
| 7 | Notre Dame |
| 8 | Penn State |
| 9 | Louisville |
| 10 | Georgia |
| 11 | Delaware |
| 12 | Oklahoma |
| 13 | California |
| 14 | St. John's |
| 15 | Texas A&M |
| 16 | Vanderbilt |
| 17 | West Virginia |
| 18 | Nebraska |
| 19 | Ohio State |
| 20 | Tennessee |
| 21 | Purdue |
| 22 | Georgia Tech |
| 23 | Oklahoma State |
| 24 | Miami (FL) |
| 25 | DePaul |
ESPN/USA Today Coaches :
| Ranking | Team |
| 1 | Baylor (31) |
| 2 | Connecticut |
| 3 | Duke |
| 4 | Stanford |
| 5 | Maryland |
| 6 | Notre Dame |
| 7 | Kentucky |
| 8 | Penn State |
| 9 | Louisville |
| 10 | Delaware |
| 11 | Georgia |
| 12 | Texas A&M |
| 13 | St. John's |
| 14 | Oklahoma |
| 15 | California |
| 16 | Tennessee |
| 17 | Vanderbilt |
| 18 | Purdue |
| 19 | Nebraska |
| 20 | Georgia Tech |
| 21 | Ohio State |
| 22 | West Virginia |
| 23 | Miami (FL) |
| 24 | Oklahoma State |
| 25 | Green Bayт Kansasт |

## Regular season

A number of early-season tournaments marked the beginning of the college basketball season.

### Conference winners and tournaments

Thirty 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 2013 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. The Ivy League does not have a conference tournament, instead giving their automatic invitation to their regular season champion. As of 2013, the Great West Conference does not have an automatic bid to the NCAA Men or Women's College Tournament.
| Conference | Regular season winner | Conference player of the year | Conference Coach of the Year | Conference tournament | Tournament venue (city) | Tournament winner |
| America East Conference | Albany | Ebone Henry, Chantell Alford | Katie Abrahamson-Henderson | 2013 America East women's basketball tournament | SEFCU Arena (Guilderland, New York) Final at campus site | Albany |
| Atlantic 10 Conference | Dayton | Jennifer Hailey, Charlotte | Jim Jabir, Dayton | 2013 Atlantic 10 women's basketball tournament | Hagan Arena (Philadelphia) Final at Barclays Center (Brooklyn, New York) | Saint Joseph's |
| Atlantic Coast Conference | Duke | Alyssa Thomas, Maryland (media) Alyssa Thomas, Maryland & Chelsea Gray, Duke (coaches) | Joanne P. McCallie, Duke (media) Brenda Frese, Maryland (coaches) | 2013 ACC women's basketball tournament | Greensboro Coliseum (Greensboro, North Carolina) | Duke |
| Atlantic Sun Conference | Florida Gulf Coast | Sarah Hansen, Florida Gulf Coast | Karl Smesko, Florida Gulf Coast | 2013 Atlantic Sun women's basketball tournament | University Center (Macon, Georgia) | Stetson |
| Big 12 Conference | Baylor | Brittney Griner, Baylor | Kim Mulkey, Baylor | 2013 Big 12 women's basketball tournament | American Airlines Center (Dallas) | Baylor |
| Big East Conference | Notre Dame | Skylar Diggins, Notre Dame | Muffet McGraw, Notre Dame | 2013 Big East women's basketball tournament | XL Center (Hartford, Connecticut) | Notre Dame |
| Big Sky Conference | Montana | Katie Baker, Montana | Robin Selvig, Montana | 2013 Big Sky Conference women's basketball tournament | Dahlberg Arena (Missoula, Montana) | Montana |
| Big South Conference | Liberty | Dequesha McClanahan, Winthrop | Ronny Fisher, Presbyterian | 2013 Big South Conference women's basketball tournament | HTC Center (Conway, South Carolina) | Liberty |
| Big Ten Conference | Penn State | Maggie Lucas, Penn State | Coquese Washington, Penn State (media) Connie Yori, Nebraska (coaches) | 2013 Big Ten Conference women's basketball tournament | Sears Centre (Hoffman Estates, Illinois) | Purdue |
| Big West Conference | Pacific | Molly Schlemer, Cal Poly | Lynne Roberts, Pacific | 2013 Big West Conference women's basketball tournament | First round and quarterfinals: Bren Events Center (Irvine, California) Semifinals and final: Honda Center (Anaheim, California) | Cal Poly |
| Colonial Athletic Association | Delaware | Elena Delle Donne, Delaware | Daynia La-Force, Northeastern | 2013 CAA women's basketball tournament | The Show Place Arena (Upper Marlboro, Maryland) | Delaware |
| Conference USA | SMU | Keena Mays, SMU | Heather Macy, East Carolina | 2013 Conference USA women's basketball tournament | Tulsa, Oklahoma First round and quarterfinals: Tulsa Convention Center Semifinals and final: BOK Center | Tulsa |
| Great West Conference | Utah Valley | Sammie Jensen, Utah Valley | Cathy Nixon, Utah Valley | 2013 Great West Conference women's basketball tournament | Emil and Patricia Jones Convocation Center Chicago | NJIT |
| Horizon League | Green Bay | Brandi Brown, Youngstown State | Bob Boldon, Youngstown State | 2013 Horizon League women's basketball tournament | First round at campus sites Quarterfinals and semifinals at top seed Final at top remaining seed | Green Bay |
| Independent | Cal State Bakersfield | | | No tournament | No tournament | No tournament |
| Ivy League | Princeton | Niveen Rasheed, Princeton | not awarded | No tournament | No tournament | No tournament |
| Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference | Marist | Damika Martinez, Iona | Brian Giorgis, Marist | 2013 MAAC women's basketball tournament | MassMutual Center (Springfield, Massachusetts) | Marist |
| Mid-American Conference | Akron (East) Toledo (West) | Rachel Tecca, Akron | Tricia Cullop, Toledo | 2013 Mid-American Conference women's basketball tournament | First round at campus sites Remainder at Quicken Loans Arena (Cleveland, Ohio) | Central Michigan |
| Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference | Hampton | Keiara Avant, Hampton | David Six, Hampton | 2013 MEAC women's basketball tournament | Norfolk Scope (Norfolk, Virginia) | Hampton |
| Missouri Valley Conference | Creighton & Wichita State | Jacqui Kalin, Northern Iowa | Jody Adams, Wichita State | 2013 Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball tournament | The Family Arena (St. Charles, Missouri) | Wichita State |
| Mountain West Conference | San Diego State | Chelsea Hopkins, San Diego State | Beth Burns, San Diego State | 2013 Mountain West Conference women's basketball tournament | Thomas & Mack Center (Paradise, Nevada) | Fresno State |
| Northeast Conference | Quinnipiac | Artemis Spanou, Roger Morris | Tricia Fabbri, Quinnipiac | 2013 Northeast Conference women's basketball tournament | Campus Sites | Quinnipiac |
| Ohio Valley Conference | Eastern Illinois (East) Tennessee Tech (West) | Jasmine Newsome, UT–Martin | Lee Buchanan, Eastern Illinois | 2013 Ohio Valley Conference women's basketball tournament | Nashville Municipal Auditorium (Nashville, Tennessee) | Tennessee–Martin |
| Pac-12 Conference | Stanford & California | Chiney Ogwumike, Stanford | Tara VanDerveer, Stanford | 2013 Pac-12 Conference women's basketball tournament | KeyArena (Seattle) | Stanford |
| Patriot League | Army & Navy | Kelsey Minato, Army | Dave Magarity, Army | 2013 Patriot League women's basketball tournament | Campus Sites | Navy |
| Southeastern Conference | Tennessee | A'dia Mathies, Kentucky & Meighan Simmons, Tennessee | Holly Warlick, Tennessee | 2013 SEC women's basketball tournament | Arena at Gwinnett Center (Duluth, Georgia) | Texas A&M |
| Southern Conference | Chattanooga | Sophia Aleksandravicius, Davidson | Wes Moore, Chattanooga | 2013 Southern Conference women's basketball tournament | Asheville, North Carolina First round and quarterfinals: Kimmel Arena Semifinals and final: U.S. Cellular Center | Chattanooga |
| Southland Conference | Oral Roberts & Sam Houston State | Megan Herbert, Central Arkansas | Brenda Nichols, Sam Houston State | 2013 Southland Conference women's basketball tournament | Leonard E. Merrell Center (Katy, Texas) | Oral Roberts |
| Southwestern Athletic Conference | Mississippi Valley State & Southern | Latia Williams, Prairie View A&M | Nate Kilbert, Arkansas–Pine Bluff | 2013 SWAC women's basketball tournament | Curtis Culwell Center (Garland, Texas) | Prairie View A&M |
| The Summit League | South Dakota State | Amanda Hyde, Fort Wayne | Austin Parkinson, IUPUI | 2013 The Summit League women's basketball tournament | Sioux Falls Arena (Sioux Falls, South Dakota) | South Dakota State |
| Sun Belt Conference | Middle Tennessee (East) Arkansas–Little Rock (West) | Jerica Coley, FIU | Michelle Clark-Heard, Western Kentucky | 2013 Sun Belt Conference women's basketball tournament | Summit Arena (Hot Springs, Arkansas) | Middle Tennessee |
| West Coast Conference | Gonzaga | Taelor Karr, Gonzaga | Kelly Graves, Gonzaga | 2013 West Coast Conference women's basketball tournament | Orleans Arena (Paradise, Nevada) | Gonzaga |
| Western Athletic Conference | Seattle | Kacie Sowell, Seattle | Joan Bonvicini, Seattle | 2013 WAC women's basketball tournament | Orleans Arena (Paradise, Nevada) | Idaho |

### Statistical leaders
## Postseason tournaments
### NCAA tournament
#### Final Four – New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana

| National Semifinals April 7 | National Semifinals April 7 | National Semifinals April 7 | National Championship Game April 9 | National Championship Game April 9 | National Championship Game April 9 |
| OKC 5 | Louisville | 64 | | | |
| SPK 2 | California | 57 | | | |
| SPK 2 | California | 57 | OKC 5 | Louisville | 60 |
| | | | BRP 1 | Connecticut | 93 |
| NRF 1 | Notre Dame | 65 | BRP 1 | Connecticut | 93 |
| BRP 1 | Connecticut | 83 | | | |

#### 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 |

### Women's National Invitation tournament

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 | Semifinals April 3 | Semifinals April 3 | Championship game April 6 | Championship game April 6 | Championship game April 6 |
| 1 | Utah | 54$^{OT}$ | | | |
| 4 | Kansas State | 46 | | | |
| 4 | Kansas State | 46 | Utah | Utah | 43 |
| | | | Drexel | Drexel | 46 |
| 3 | Drexel | 67 | Drexel | Drexel | 46 |
| 2 | Florida | 57 | | | |

## Award winners
### Consensus All-American teams

The following players are recognized as the 2013 Consensus All-Americans:
Consensus First Team :
| Player | Position | Class | Team |
Consensus Second Team :
| Player | Position | Class | Team |

### Major player of the year awards

* Wooden Award:Brittney Griner
* Naismith Award: Brittney Griner
* Associated Press Player of the Year: Brittney Griner, Baylor
* Wade Trophy: Brittney Griner

### Major freshman of the year awards

* USBWA National Freshman of the Year (USBWA): Jewell Loyd

### Major coach of the year awards

* Associated Press Coach of the Year: Muffet McGraw, Notre Dame
* Naismith College Coach of the Year: Muffet McGraw
* WBCA National Coach of the Year Award: Muffet McGraw

### Other major awards

* Nancy Lieberman Award (best point guard): Skylar Diggins
* Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (best senior 5'8"/1.78 m or shorter): Alex Bentley, Penn State
* Senior CLASS Award (top senior): Elena Delle Donne
* Maggie Dixon Award (top first-year head coach): Holly Warlick
* Academic All-American of the Year (Top scholar-athlete): Elena Delle Donne, Delaware
* Elite 89 Award (Top GPA among upperclass players at Final Four): Jude Schimmel, Louisville

## Coaching changes

A number of teams changed coaches during and after the season.