# 1987 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament

The 1987 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament began on March 11, ended on March 29, and featured 40 teams. The Final Four were Texas, Tennessee, Louisiana Tech, and Long Beach State, with Tennessee winning its first title with a 67–44 victory over Louisiana Tech. Tennessee's Tonya Edwards was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.

## Notable events

Upsets were not unknown in the NCAA tournaments. For example, in the prior year, two 4 seeds made it to the Final Four. However, in the first five NCAA tournaments, once a team reached the Final Four, no team had beaten a higher seeded team. That changed in 1987.
One semifinal game matched defending National Champion Texas against Louisiana Tech. Although both teams were 1 seeds, the Texas team came into the tournament with only a single regular season loss, earning them the number one ranking in the country. In addition, the Final Four was played on the home court of the Longhorns. Despite that, and a crowd of over 15 thousand, the largest crowd in the history of the sport, the Louisiana Tech team managed to beat the Texas team 79–75. The Lady Techsters hit 58.3% of their field goals, the fourth best performance in NCAA Final Four history, and a blistering 73.9% in the second half, missing only six of the 23 shots taken in the second half. Texas tried to wear down Teresa Weatherspoon, but set an NCAA Final Four record with eleven assists, while putting in 19 points of her own.
The other semifinal game matched 2 seed Tennessee against 1 seed Long Beach State. Although Long Beach was averaging over 96 points per game, and had scored 102 in the West Regional final against Ohio State, the Lady Vols held the team to 64 points, and upset the 1 seed by a score of 74–64.
The lone loss by Texas in the regular season had been to Tennessee, ending the Longhorns 40 game win streak, but the two teams played again two weeks later, and this time Texas emerged victorious, with a 14-point victory. Tennessee earned the number one ranking in the AP vote after the win over Texas, but they began to stumble after the loss to Texas, with losses to Auburn, Mississippi and Vanderbilt. They played Louisiana Tech in February, and the lady Techsters won by nine points, dropping the Lady Vols to ninth in the poll. The Tennessee team earned a 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but after their upset win against Long Beach, they faced the Louisiana Tech team again, a team that had beaten the Volunteers in 11 of the last 12 meetings. One of those meetings had been the 1982 National Championship game, when the Lady Techsters beat the Volunteers by 23 points. The 1987 Championship would turn that result on its head, as Tennessee won by 23 points, upsetting Louisiana Tech 67–44, for their first National Championship.
This was the last time Stanford did not appear in the NCAA Tournament until 2025 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament.

## Records

Teresa Weatherspoon recorded 11 assists in the National Semifinal game, the most scored in a Final Four game since they started keeping records of this statistic in 1985.

## Qualifying teams – automatic

Forty teams were selected to participate in the 1987 NCAA Tournament. Eighteen conferences were eligible for an automatic bid to the 1987 NCAA tournament.
Automatic bids :
| | | Record | Record | |
| Qualifying school | Conference | Regular Season | Conference | Seed |
| Auburn University | SEC | 29–1 | 8–1 | 1 |
| Bowling Green State University | MAC | 27–2 | 16–0 | 9 |
| Eastern Washington University | Mountain West | 18–11 | 8–4 | 10 |
| James Madison University | Colonial | 26–3 | 12–0 | 4 |
| University of Kansas | Big Eight | 19–12 | 9–5 | 7 |
| Manhattan College | MAAC | 20–10 | 6–6 | 10 |
| New Mexico State University | High Country | 23–6 | 10–2 | 9 |
| North Carolina State University | ACC | 23–6 | 11–3 | 3 |
| Northeast Louisiana | Southland Conference | 14–9 | 9–1 | 10 |
| Ohio State University | Big Ten | 24–4 | 17–1 | 2 |
| Old Dominion University | Sun Belt Conference | 17–12 | 5–1 | 5 |
| Rutgers University | Atlantic 10 | 28–2 | 17–1 | 2 |
| University of Southern California | Pac-10 | 21–7 | 15–3 | 3 |
| Southern Illinois University Carbondale | Missouri Valley Conference | 27–2 | 18–0 | 5 |
| University of Southern Mississippi | Metro | 21–8 | 6–6 | 10 |
| Tennessee Technological University | Ohio Valley Conference | 23–6 | 12–2 | 7 |
| University of Texas at Austin | Southwest | 28–1 | 16–0 | 1 |
| Villanova University | Big East | 27–3 | 15–1 | 6 |

## Qualifying teams – at-large

Twenty-two additional teams were selected to complete the forty invitations.
At-large bids :
| | | Record | Record | |
| Qualifying school | Conference | Regular Season | Conference | Seed |
| Duke University | Atlantic Coast | 18–9 | 7–7 | 7 |
| University of Georgia | Southeastern | 26–4 | 7–2 | 2 |
| University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign | Big Ten | 18–9 | 11–7 | 8 |
| University of Iowa | Big Ten | 24–4 | 17–1 | 3 |
| Kansas State University | Big Eight | 22–8 | 9–5 | 8 |
| California State University, Long Beach | Pacific Coast | 30–2 | 17–1 | 1 |
| Louisiana State University | Southeastern | 20–7 | 6–3 | 4 |
| Louisiana Tech University | Independent | 26–2 | –- | 1 |
| University of Memphis | Metro | 20–8 | 10–2 | 6 |
| University of Mississippi | Southeastern | 24–4 | 7–2 | 4 |
| University of New Orleans | Independent | 25–6 | –- | 6 |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Atlantic Coast | 19–9 | 9–5 | 4 |
| Northwestern University | Big Ten | 19–9 | 12–6 | 9 |
| University of Oregon | Pacific-10 | 22–6 | 14–4 | 7 |
| Pennsylvania State University | Atlantic 10 | 23–6 | 16–2 | 5 |
| Saint Joseph's University | Atlantic 10 | 22–8 | 14–4 | 9 |
| University of South Alabama | Sun Belt | 24–5 | 5–1 | 8 |
| University of Tennessee | Southeastern | 23–6 | 6–3 | 2 |
| Vanderbilt University | Southeastern | 23–9 | 4–5 | 5 |
| University of Virginia | Atlantic Coast | 25–4 | 12–2 | 3 |
| University of Washington | Pacific-10 | 22–6 | 14–4 | 8 |
| Western Kentucky University | Sun Belt | 24–8 | 4–2 | 6 |

## Bids by conference

Nineteen conferences earned an automatic bid. In eleven cases, the automatic bid was the only representative from the conference. Nineteen at-large teams were selected from eight of the conferences. In addition, two independent (not associated with an athletic conference) teams earned at-large bids.
| Bids | Conference | Teams |
| 6 | Southeastern | Auburn, Georgia, LSU, Mississippi, Tennessee, Vanderbilt |
| 4 | Big Ten | Illinois, Iowa, Northwestern, Ohio St. |
| 4 | Atlantic Coast | Duke, North Carolina, North Carolina St., Virginia |
| 3 | Sun Belt | Old Dominion, South Ala., Western Kentucky |
| 3 | Pacific-10 | Oregon, Southern California, Washington |
| 3 | Atlantic 10 | Penn St., Rutgers, St. Joseph's |
| 2 | Metro | Memphis, Southern Miss. |
| 2 | Independent | Louisiana Tech, New Orleans |
| 2 | Big Eight | Kansas, Kansas St. |
| 1 | Southwest | Texas |
| 1 | Pacific Coast | Long Beach St. |
| 1 | Ohio Valley | Tennessee Tech |
| 1 | Mountain West | Eastern Washington |
| 1 | Missouri Valley | Southern Ill. |
| 1 | Mid-American | Bowling Green |
| 1 | Metro Atlantic | Manhattan |
| 1 | High Country | New Mexico St. |
| 1 | Gulf Star | Northwestern St. |
| 1 | Colonial | James Madison |
| 1 | Big East | Villanova |

## First and second rounds

In 1987, the field remained at 40 teams. The teams were seeded, and assigned to four geographic regions, with seeds 1–10 in each region. In Round 1, seeds 8 and 9 faced each other for the opportunity to face the 1 seed in the second round, while seeds 7 and 10 faced each other for the opportunity to face the 2 seed. In the first two rounds, the higher seed was given the opportunity to host the first-round game. In most cases, the higher seed accepted the opportunity. The exceptions:
* Eighth seeded South Alabama played nine seed Saint Joseph's (PA) at Saint Joseph's (PA)
* Seventh seeded Eastern Washington played tenth seeded University of Oregon at University of Oregon
* Second seeded Ohio State played tenth seeded University of Oregon at University of Oregon
* Third seeded North Carolina State played sixth seeded Villanova at Villanova
Because Oregon hosted both a first and second-round game, there were only 23 first and second round locations, rather than 24.
The following table lists the region, host school, venue and the twenty-four first round locations:
| Region | Rnd | Host | Venue | City | State |
| East | 1 | Saint Joseph's University | Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania |
| East | 1 | Duke University | Cameron Indoor Stadium | Durham | North Carolina |
| East | 2 | University of Texas | Frank Erwin Center | Austin | Texas |
| East | 2 | Rutgers University | Louis Brown Athletic Center | Piscataway | New Jersey |
| East | 2 | James Madison University | James Madison University Convocation Center | Harrisonburg | Virginia |
| East | 2 | Villanova University | The Pavilion | Villanova | Pennsylvania |
| Mideast | 1 | University of Illinois | Assembly Hall (Champaign) | Champaign | Illinois |
| Mideast | 1 | Tennessee Tech | Eblen Center | Cookeville | Tennessee |
| Mideast | 2 | University of North Carolina | Carmichael Auditorium | Chapel Hill | North Carolina |
| Mideast | 2 | Auburn University | Memorial Coliseum (Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum) | Auburn | Alabama |
| Mideast | 2 | University of Tennessee | Stokely Athletic Center | Knoxville | Tennessee |
| Mideast | 2 | University of Virginia | University Hall (University of Virginia) | Charlottesville | Virginia |
| Midwest | 1 | Northwestern University | Welsh-Ryan Arena | Evanston | Illinois |
| Midwest | 2 | University of Iowa | Carver–Hawkeye Arena | Iowa City | Iowa |
| Midwest | 2 | University of Louisiana at Monroe | Ewing Coliseum | Monroe | Louisiana |
| Midwest | 2 | University of Georgia | Georgia Coliseum (Stegeman Coliseum) | Athens | Georgia |
| Midwest | 2 | Louisiana State University | LSU Assembly Center (Pete Maravich Assembly Center) | Baton Rouge | Louisiana |
| Midwest | 2 | Louisiana Tech University | Thomas Assembly Center | Ruston | Louisiana |
| West | 1 | University of Washington | Hec Edmundson Pavilion | Seattle | Washington |
| West | 1 | University of Oregon | McArthur Court | Eugene | Oregon |
| West | 2 | University of Southern California | Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena | Los Angeles | California |
| West | 2 | University of Mississippi | Tad Smith Coliseum | University | Mississippi |
| West | 2 | Long Beach State | University Gym (Gold Mine) | Long Beach | California |

## Regionals and Final Four

The regionals, named for the general location, were held from March 19 to March 22 at these sites:
* Mideast Regional Stokely Athletics Center, Knoxville, Tennessee (Host: University of Tennessee)
* Midwest Regional Ewing Coliseum, Monroe, Louisiana (Host: University of Louisiana at Monroe)
* West Regional Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles (Host: University of Southern California)
* East Regional Cumberland County Memorial Arena, Fayetteville, North Carolina
Each regional champion advanced to the Final Four at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. The University of Texas served as the host institution.

## Bids by state

The forty teams came from twenty states. Louisiana and Tennessee had the most teams with four each. Thirty states did not have any teams receiving bids.
| Bids | State | Teams |
| 4 | Louisiana | Northwestern St., LSU, Louisiana Tech, New Orleans |
| 4 | Tennessee | Tennessee Tech, Memphis, Tennessee, Vanderbilt |
| 3 | Illinois | Southern Ill., Illinois, Northwestern |
| 3 | North Carolina | North Carolina St., Duke, North Carolina |
| 3 | Pennsylvania | Villanova, Penn St., St. Joseph's |
| 3 | Virginia | James Madison, Old Dominion, Virginia |
| 2 | Alabama | Auburn, South Ala. |
| 2 | California | Southern California, Long Beach St. |
| 2 | Kansas | Kansas, Kansas St. |
| 2 | Mississippi | Southern Miss., Mississippi |
| 2 | Ohio | Bowling Green, Ohio St. |
| 2 | Washington | Eastern Washington, Washington |
| 1 | Georgia | Georgia |
| 1 | Iowa | Iowa |
| 1 | Kentucky | Western Kentucky |
| 1 | New Jersey | Rutgers |
| 1 | New Mexico | New Mexico St. |
| 1 | New York | Manhattan |
| 1 | Oregon | Oregon |
| 1 | Texas | Texas |

## Brackets

First and second-round games played at higher seed except where noted.

### East regional – Fayetteville, North Carolina (Cumberland County Memorial Arena)

| First round March 11 | First round March 11 | First round March 11 | Second round March 13–15 | Second round March 13–15 | Second round March 13–15 | Regional semifinals March 19–20 | Regional semifinals March 19–20 | Regional semifinals March 19–20 | Regional finals March 21 | Regional finals March 21 | Regional finals March 21 |
| 8 | South Alabama | 56 | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | at St. Joseph's | 67* | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | at St. Joseph's | 67* | 9 | St. Joseph's | 56 | | | | | | |
| | | | 1 | Texas | 86 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | 1 | Texas | 91 | | | |
| | | | | | | 4 | James Madison | 57 | | | |
| | | | 5 | Vanderbilt | 60 | | | | | | |
| | | | 4 | James Madison | 68 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | 1 | Texas | 85 |
| | | | | | | | | | 2 | Rutgers | 77 |
| 7 | Duke | 70 | | | | | | | | | | 2 | Rutgers | 77 |
| 10 | Manhattan | 55 | | | | | | | | | |
| 10 | Manhattan | 55 | 7 | Duke | 64 | | | | | | |
| | | | 2 | Rutgers | 78 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | 2 | Rutgers | 75 | | | |
| | | | | | | 3 | North Carolina State | 60 | | | |
| | | | 3 | North Carolina State | 68 | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | at Villanova | 67 | | | | | | |

### Midwest regional – Northeast Louisiana University – Monroe, Louisiana (Fant–Ewing Coliseum)

| First round March 11 | First round March 11 | First round March 11 | Second round March 13–15 | Second round March 13–15 | Second round March 13–15 | Regional semifinals March 19–20 | Regional semifinals March 19–20 | Regional semifinals March 19–20 | Regional finals March 22 | Regional finals March 22 | Regional finals March 22 |
| 8 | Northwestern | 62 | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Kansas State | 61* | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Kansas State | 61* | 8 | Northwestern | 60 | | | | | | |
| | | | 1 | Louisiana Tech | 82 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | 1 | Louisiana Tech | 66 | | | |
| | | | | | | 5 | Southern Illinois | 53 | | | |
| | | | 5 | Southern Illinois | 70 | | | | | | |
| | | | 4 | LSU | 56 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | 1 | Louisiana Tech | 66 |
| | | | | | | | | | 3 | Iowa | 65 |
| 7 | Kansas | 78 | | | | | | | | | | 3 | Iowa | 65 |
| 10 | Northeast Louisiana | 72 | | | | | | | | | |
| 10 | Northeast Louisiana | 72 | 7 | Kansas | 51 | | | | | | |
| | | | 2 | Georgia | 82 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | 2 | Georgia | 60 | | | |
| | | | | | | 3 | Iowa | 62 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Iowa | 68 | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | New Orleans | 46 | | | | | | |

### Mideast regional – University of Tennessee – Knoxville, Tennessee (Stokely Athletic Center)

| First round March 11 | First round March 11 | First round March 11 | Second round March 13–15 | Second round March 13–15 | Second round March 13–15 | Regional semifinals March 19–20 | Regional semifinals March 19–20 | Regional semifinals March 19–20 | Regional finals March 22 | Regional finals March 22 | Regional finals March 22 |
| 8 | Illinois | 80 | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Bowling Green | 64 | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Bowling Green | 64 | 8 | Illinois | 58 | | | | | | |
| | | | 1 | Auburn | 92 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | 1 | Auburn | 77 | | | |
| | | | | | | 5 | Old Dominion | 61 | | | |
| | | | 5 | Old Dominion | 76 | | | | | | |
| | | | 4 | North Carolina | 58 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | 1 | Auburn | 61 |
| | | | | | | | | | 2 | Tennessee | 77 |
| 7 | Tennessee Tech | 78 | | | | | | | | | | 2 | Tennessee | 77 |
| 10 | Southern Mississippi | 66 | | | | | | | | | |
| 10 | Southern Mississippi | 66 | 7 | Tennessee Tech | 59 | | | | | | |
| | | | 2 | Tennessee | 95 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | 2 | Tennessee | 66 | | | |
| | | | | | | 3 | Virginia | 58 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Virginia | 76 | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | Memphis State | 75 | | | | | | |

### West regional – University of Southern California – Los Angeles (Pauley Pavilion)

| First round March 11 | First round March 11 | First round March 11 | Second round March 13–15 | Second round March 13–15 | Second round March 13–15 | Regional semifinals March 19–20 | Regional semifinals March 19–20 | Regional semifinals March 19–20 | Regional finals March 22 | Regional finals March 22 | Regional finals March 22 |
| 8 | Washington | 86 | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | New Mexico State | 73 | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | New Mexico State | 73 | 8 | Washington | 57 | | | | | | |
| | | | 1 | Long Beach State | 72 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | 1 | Long Beach State | 94 | | | |
| | | | | | | 4 | Mississippi | 55 | | | |
| | | | 5 | Penn State | 75 | | | | | | |
| | | | 4 | Mississippi | 80 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | 1 | Long Beach State | 102 |
| | | | | | | | | | 2 | Ohio State | 82 |
| 7 | Eastern Washington | 56 | | | | | | | | | | 2 | Ohio State | 82 |
| 10 | at Oregon | 75 | | | | | | | | | |
| 10 | at Oregon | 75 | 10 | at Oregon | 62 | | | | | | |
| | | | 2 | Ohio State | 76 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | 2 | Ohio State | 74 | | | |
| | | | | | | 3 | USC | 63 | | | |
| | | | 3 | USC | 81 | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | Western Kentucky | 69 | | | | | | |

### Final Four – University of Texas – Austin, Texas (Frank Erwin Center)

| National semifinals March 27 | National semifinals March 27 | National semifinals March 27 | National championship March 29 | National championship March 29 | National championship March 29 |
| 1E | Texas | 75 | | | |
| 1MW | Louisiana Tech | 79 | | | |
| 1MW | Louisiana Tech | 79 | 1MW | Louisiana Tech | 44 |
| | | | 2ME | Tennessee | 67 |
| 2ME | Tennessee | 74 | 2ME | Tennessee | 67 |
| 1W | Long Beach State | 64 | | | |

## Record by conference

Fifteen conferences had more than one bid, or at least one win in NCAA Tournament play:
| Conference | # of Bids | Record | Win % | Round of 32 | Sweet Sixteen | Elite Eight | Final Four | Championship Game |
| Southeastern | 6 | 9–5 | .643 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Big Ten | 4 | 6–4 | .600 | 4 | 2 | 2 | – | – |
| Atlantic Coast | 4 | 3–4 | .429 | 4 | 2 | – | – | – |
| Atlantic 10 | 3 | 3–3 | .500 | 3 | 1 | 1 | – | – |
| Pacific-10 | 3 | 3–3 | .500 | 3 | 1 | – | – | – |
| Sun Belt | 3 | 1–3 | .250 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – |
| Independent | 2 | 4–2 | .667 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Big Eight | 2 | 1–2 | .333 | 1 | – | – | – | – |
| Metro | 2 | 0–2 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – |
| Pacific Coast | 1 | 3–1 | .750 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – |
| Southwest | 1 | 3–1 | .750 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – |
| Colonial | 1 | 1–1 | .500 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – |
| Gateway | 1 | 1–1 | .500 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – |
| Ohio Valley | 1 | 1–1 | .500 | 1 | – | – | – | – |
Six conferences went 0-1: Big East, Gulf Star Conference, High Country, MAAC, MAC, and Mountain West

## All-Tournament team

* Tonya Edwards, Tennessee,
* Bridgette Gordon, Tennessee
* Cindy Brown, Long Beach St.
* Clarissa Davis, Texas
* Teresa Weatherspoon, Louisiana Tech

## Game officials

* Bill Stokes (semifinal)
* Larry Sheppard (semifinal)
* June Courteau (Semi-Final, Final)
* Patty Broderick (Semi-Final, Final)