1989 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament
The 1989 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament began on March 15 and ended on April 2. The tournament expanded from 40 to 48 teams. The Final Four consisted of Auburn, Louisiana Tech, Tennessee, and Maryland, with Tennessee winning its second title with a 76-60 victory over Auburn. Tennessee's Bridgette Gordon was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.
Records
Auburn has only six turnovers in the National Semi-final game against Louisiana Tech, the fewest turnovers recorded in a Final Four game.Bridgette Gordon scored 17 points from the free throw line in the East Regional Final between Tennessee and Long Beach state, the most ever scored in an NCAA Tournament game.
Maryland had 25 steals in a game against Stephen F. Austin in the West Regional Semifinal, the most in an NCAA tournament game, since the statistic has been recorded.
Jennifer Azzi hit nine of eleven three point attempts over the course of the tournament, the best percentage ever recorded in a tournament game
Stanford hit 22 of 33 three point attempts over the course of the tournament, the best percentage ever recorded in a tournament game
Qualifying teams - automatic
Forty-eight teams were selected to participate in the 1989 NCAA Tournament. Nineteen conferences were eligible for an automatic bid to the 1989 NCAA tournament.Qualifying teams - at-large
Twenty-nine additional teams were selected to complete the forty-eight invitations.Bids by conference
Nineteen conferences earned an automatic bid. In seven cases, the automatic bid was the only representative from the conference. Two conferences, Southland and American South sent a single representative as an at-large team. One team earned an at-large bid as an Independent Twenty-six additional at-large teams were selected from ten of the conferences.| Bids | Conference | Teams |
| 6 | Southeastern | Auburn, Georgia, LSU, Mississippi, Tennessee, Vanderbilt |
| 4 | Big West | Cal St Fullerton, Hawaii, Long Beach St, UNLV |
| 4 | Atlantic Coast | Clemson, Maryland, North Carolina St, Virginia |
| 4 | Atlantic 10 | Rutgers, St Joseph's, Temple, West Virginia |
| 3 | Metro | Cincinnati, South Carolina, Southern Miss |
| 3 | Big Ten | Iowa, Ohio St, Purdue |
| 3 | Big East | Connecticut, Providence, Villanova |
| 2 | Sun Belt | Old Dominion, Western Ky |
| 2 | Southwest | Arkansas, Texas |
| 2 | Southland | Northwestern St, Stephen F Austin |
| 2 | Pacific-10 | Stanford, Washington |
| 2 | Metro Atlantic | Holy Cross, La Salle |
| 2 | Big Eight | Colorado, Oklahoma St |
| 1 | Southern | Chattanooga |
| 1 | Ohio Valley | Tennessee Tech |
| 1 | Missouri Valley | Illinois St |
| 1 | Mid-American | Bowling Green |
| 1 | Independent | Miami |
| 1 | High Country | Utah |
| 1 | Colonial | James Madison |
| 1 | Big Sky | Montana |
| 1 | American South | Louisiana Tech |
First and second rounds
In 1989, the field expanded to 48 teams. The teams were seeded, and assigned to four geographic regions, with seeds 1-12 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, seeds 7 and 10 played for the opportunity to face the 2 seed, seeds 5 and 12 played for the opportunity to face the 4 seed, and seeds 6 and 11 played for the opportunity to face the 3 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:- Fifth seeded Purdue played fourth seeded LSU at Purdue
- Tenth seeded Montana played seventh seeded Cal St. Fullerton at Montana
- Ninth seeded Oklahoma State played eighth seeded Miami at Oklahoma State
- Seventh seeded Vanderbilt played tenth seeded St. Joseph's at St. Joseph's
- Ninth seeded Bowling Green played eighth seeded Cincinnati at Bowling Green
The following table lists the region, host school, venue and the thirty-one first and second round locations:
| Region | Rnd | Host | Venue | City | State |
| East | 1 | Western Kentucky University | E.A. Diddle Arena | Bowling Green | Kentucky |
| East | 1 | James Madison University | James Madison University Convocation Center | Harrisonburg | Virginia |
| East | 1 | University of Connecticut | Hugh S. Greer Field House | Storrs | Connecticut |
| East | 1 | Vanderbilt University | Memorial Gymnasium | Nashville | Tennessee |
| East | 1 | University of Tennessee | Thompson-Boling Arena | Knoxville | Tennessee |
| East | 2 | Ohio State University | St. John Arena | Columbus | Ohio |
| East | 2 | Long Beach State | University Gym | Long Beach | California |
| East | 2 | University of Virginia | University Hall | Charlottesville | Virginia |
| Mideast | 1 | University of Georgia | Georgia Coliseum | Athens | Georgia |
| Mideast | 1 | Rutgers University | Louis Brown Athletic Center | Piscataway | New Jersey |
| Mideast | 1 | Old Dominion University | Old Dominion University Fieldhouse | Norfolk | Virginia |
| Mideast | 1 | Temple University | McGonigle Hall | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania |
| Mideast | 2 | North Carolina State University | Reynolds Coliseum | Raleigh | North Carolina |
| Mideast | 2 | University of Mississippi | Tad Smith Coliseum | Oxford | Mississippi |
| Mideast | 2 | Auburn University | Memorial Coliseum | Auburn | Alabama |
| Mideast | 2 | Clemson University | Littlejohn Coliseum | Clemson | South Carolina |
| Midwest | 1 | University of South Carolina | Carolina Coliseum | Columbia | South Carolina |
| Midwest | 1 | Oklahoma State University | Gallagher-Iba Arena | Stillwater | Oklahoma |
| Midwest | 1 | Illinois State University | Redbird Arena | Normal | Illinois |
| Midwest | 1 & 2 | Purdue University | Mackey Arena | West Lafayette | Indiana |
| Midwest | 2 | Louisiana Tech University | Thomas Assembly Center | Ruston | Louisiana |
| Midwest | 2 | University of Iowa | Carver–Hawkeye Arena | Iowa City | Iowa |
| Midwest | 2 | Stanford University | Maples Pavilion | Stanford | California |
| West | 1 | University of Montana | Dahlberg Arena | Missoula | Montana |
| West | 1 | University of Washington | Hec Edmundson Pavilion | Seattle | Washington |
| West | 1 | University of Nevada, Las Vegas | South Gym | Las Vegas | Nevada |
| West | 1 | Bowling Green State University | Anderson Arena | Bowling Green | Ohio |
| West | 2 | University of Maryland | Cole Field House | College Park | Maryland |
| West | 2 | University of Texas | Frank Erwin Center | Austin | Texas |
| West | 2 | University of Colorado | CU Events Center | Boulder | Colorado |
| West | 2 | Stephen F. Austin University | William R. Johnson Coliseum | Nacogdoches | Texas |
Regionals and Final Four
The Regionals, named for the general location, were held from March 23 to March 25 at these sites:- East Regional E.A. Diddle Arena, Bowling Green, Kentucky
- Mideast Regional Memorial Coliseum, Auburn, Alabama
- Midwest Regional Thomas Assembly Center, Ruston, Louisiana
- West Regional Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas
Bids by state
The forty-eight teams came from thirty-one states.Pennsylvania and Tennessee had the most teams with four each. Nineteen states did not have any teams receiving bids.
| Bids | State | Teams |
| 4 | Pennsylvania | La Salle, St. Joseph's, Temple, Villanova |
| 4 | Tennessee | Chattanooga, Tennessee, Tennessee Tech, Vanderbilt |
| 3 | California | Long Beach St., Stanford, Cal St. Fullerton |
| 3 | Louisiana | Louisiana Tech, LSU, Northwestern St. |
| 3 | Ohio | Bowling Green, Ohio St., Cincinnati |
| 3 | Virginia | James Madison, Old Dominion, Virginia |
| 2 | Mississippi | Mississippi, Southern Miss. |
| 2 | South Carolina | South Carolina, Clemson |
| 2 | Texas | Texas, Stephen F. Austin |
| 1 | Alabama | Auburn |
| 1 | Arkansas | Arkansas |
| 1 | Colorado | Colorado |
| 1 | Connecticut | Connecticut |
| 1 | Florida | Miami FL |
| 1 | Georgia | Georgia |
| 1 | Hawaii | Hawaii |
| 1 | Illinois | Illinois St.. |
| 1 | Indiana | Purdue |
| 1 | Iowa | Iowa |
| 1 | Kentucky | Western Ky. |
| 1 | Maryland | Maryland |
| 1 | Massachusetts | Holy Cross |
| 1 | Montana | Montana |
| 1 | Nevada | UNLV |
| 1 | New Jersey | Rutgers |
| 1 | North Carolina | North Carolina St. |
| 1 | Oklahoma | Oklahoma St. |
| 1 | Rhode Island | Providence |
| 1 | Utah | Utah |
| 1 | Washington | Washington |
| 1 | West Virginia | West Virginia |
Brackets
First and second-round games played at higher seed except where noted.Mideast Regional - Auburn, AL ([Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum])
Midwest Regional - Ruston, LA ([Thomas Assembly Center])
East Regional - Bowling Green, KY ([E.A. Diddle Arena])
West Regional - Austin, TX ([Frank Erwin Center])
Final Four - Tacoma, WA ([Tacoma Dome])
Record by conference
Nineteen 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 | .722 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | |
| Atlantic Coast | 4 | .600 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | – | |
| Atlantic 10 | 4 | .500 | 4 | – | – | – | – | |
| Big West | 4 | .500 | 2 | 2 | 1 | – | – | |
| Big Ten | 3 | .500 | 3 | 2 | – | – | – | |
| Big East | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Metro | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Pacific-10 | 2 | .600 | 2 | 1 | 1 | – | – | |
| Southwest | 2 | .500 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | – | |
| Big Eight | 2 | .333 | 2 | – | – | – | – | |
| Metro Atlantic | 2 | .333 | 1 | – | – | – | – | |
| Southland | 2 | .333 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | |
| Sun Belt | 2 | .333 | 1 | – | – | – | – | |
| American South | 1 | .750 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | |
| Big Sky | 1 | .500 | 1 | – | – | – | – | |
| Colonial | 1 | .500 | 1 | – | – | – | – | |
| Mid-American | 1 | .500 | 1 | – | – | – | – | |
| Missouri Valley | 1 | .500 | 1 | – | – | – | – | |
| Ohio Valley | 1 | .500 | 1 | – | – | – | – |
Two conferences went 0-1: High Country, and Southern Conference
All-Tournament Team
- Bridgette Gordon, Tennessee
- Sheila Frost, Tennessee
- Vickie Orr, Auburn
- Venus Lacy, Louisiana Tech
- Deanna Tate, Maryland
Game Officials
- Sally Bell
- John Morningstar
- Larry Sheppard
- Bill Stokes
- June Corteau
- Patty Broderick