# 1989–90 Auburn Tigers women's basketball team

The 1989–90 Auburn Tigers women's basketball team represented Auburn University during the 1989–90 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Tigers, led by 11th-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 28–7, 7–2 in SEC play to finish one game behind Tennessee in the standings. They went on to win the SEC women's tournament. Auburn finished the regular season ranked No. 9 and was selected as the No. 2 seed in the Mideast regional of the NCAA tournament. They defeated Tennessee Tech, Vanderbilt, and Washington to reach the third Final Four in program history. The Lady Tigers then defeated No. 1 seed in the Midwest region, Louisiana Tech, to reach the National championship game once again. Auburn was defeated by the West region No. 1 seed Stanford, 88–81.
This season marked the third straight National runner-up finish for the Auburn women's basketball program. To date, these are the only three Final Four appearances in program history.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Feb 3, 1990 | No. 14 | at No. 5 Tennessee | L 65–76 | 17–5 (4–1) | Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Feb 21, 1990 | No. 11 | at Alabama | L 68–71 | 20–6 (6–2) | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| Feb 24, 1990 | No. 11 | Kentucky | W 68–60 | 21–6 (7–2) | Eaves Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| SEC Tournament ||||||
| March 2, 1990* | (2) No. 12 | vs. (7) No. 21 LSU Quarterfinals | W 91–65 | 22–6 | Albany Civic Center Albany, Georgia |
| March 3, 1990* | (2) No. 12 | vs. (3) Ole Miss Semifinals | W 72–71 $^{OT}$ | 23–6 | Albany Civic Center Albany, Georgia |
| March 4, 1990* | (2) No. 12 | vs. (1) No. 3 Tennessee Championship game | W 78–77 | 24–6 | Albany Civic Center Albany, Georgia |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 17, 1990* | (2 ME) No. 9 | vs. (7 ME) Tennessee Tech Second round | W 73–54 | 25–6 | Eaves Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| Mar 22, 1990* | (2 ME) No. 9 | vs. (6 ME) Vanderbilt Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | W 89–67 | 26–6 | Carver–Hawkeye Arena Iowa City, Iowa |
| Mar 24, 1990* | (2 ME) No. 9 | vs. (1 ME) No. 3 Washington Regional Final – Elite Eight | W 76–50 | 27–6 | Carver–Hawkeye Arena Iowa City, Iowa |
| Mar 30, 1990* | (2 ME) No. 9 | vs. (1 MW) No. 1 Louisiana Tech National Semifinal – Final Four | W 81–69 | 28–6 | Thompson-Boling Arena (19,467) Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Apr 1, 1990* | (2 ME) No. 9 | vs. (1 W) No. 2 Stanford National Championship | L 81–88 | 28–7 | Thompson-Boling Arena (20,023) Knoxville, Tennessee |
| *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 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 13 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 9 | Not released |
| Coaches | 6 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 13 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 2 |