2001 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament
Region Rnd Host Venue City State
East 1 & 2 University of Georgia Georgia Coliseum ( Stegeman Coliseum ) Athens Georgia
East 1 & 2 North Carolina State University Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh North Carolina
East 1 & 2 University of Connecticut Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs Connecticut
East 1 & 2 Louisiana Tech University Thomas Assembly Center Ruston Louisiana
Mideast 1 & 2 University of Tennessee Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville Tennessee
Mideast 1 & 2 Purdue University Mackey Arena West Lafayette Indiana
Mideast 1 & 2 Texas Tech University United Spirit Arena Lubbock Texas
Mideast 1 & 2 Xavier University Cintas Center Cincinnati Ohio
Midwest 1 & 2 University of Notre Dame Edmund P. Joyce Center Notre Dame Indiana
Midwest 1 & 2 Vanderbilt University Memorial Gymnasium Nashville Tennessee
Midwest 1 & 2 Iowa State University Hilton Coliseum Ames Iowa
Midwest 1 & 2 University of Utah Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City Utah
West 1 & 2 University of Oklahoma Lloyd Noble Center Norman Oklahoma
West 1 & 2 Rutgers University Louis Brown Athletic Center Piscataway New Jersey
West 1 & 2 University of Florida O'Connell Center Gainesville Florida
West 1 & 2 Duke University Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham North Carolina
First and second rounds
AthensRaleighStorrsRustonKnoxvilleWest LafayetteLubbockCincinnatiNotre DameNashvilleAmesSalt Lake CityNormanPiscatawayGainesvilleDurham 2001 NCAA NCAA first and second round venues In 2001 , the field remained at 64 teams . The teams were seeded , and assigned to four geographic regions , with seeds 1–16 in each region . In Round 1 , seeds 1 and 16 faced each other , as well as seeds 2 and 15 , seeds 3 and 14 , seeds 4 and 13 , seeds 5 and 12 , seeds 6 and 11 , seeds 7 and 10 , and seeds 8 and 9 . In the first two rounds , the top four seeds were given the opportunity to host the first-round game . In most cases , the higher seed accepted the opportunity . The exception : Fourth seeded Iowa was unable to host so fifth seeded Utah hosted three first and second-round games The following table lists the region , host school , venue and the sixteen first and second round locations : [ 8 ]
The 2001 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament began on March 16 and ended on April 1. The tournament featured 64 teams. The Final Four, held at the Savvis Center (now Scottrade Center) in St. Louis, consisted of Connecticut, Notre Dame, Purdue, and Southwest Missouri State (now Missouri State), with Notre Dame defeating Purdue 68-66 to win its first NCAA title. Notre Dame's Ruth Riley was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.