Baylor
Waco, Texas, 31-2.
Nickname: Lady Bears. Coach: Kim Mulkey.
Conference: Big 12. Bid: Big 12 champion.
Region: Dallas. Seed: No. 1.
Tournament Record: 19-8, 9 years. Last appearance: 2010.
Scoring: Team (80.1); Brittney Griner 22.6; Odyssey Sims 13.5; Destiny Williams 9.0.
Rebounds: Team (45.0); Brittney Griner 7.8; Destiny Williams 7.0; Melissa Jones 7.0.
Assists/Turnovers: Team (16.9/14.0); Melissa Jones 3.8/1.3; Odyssey Sims 3.1/2.1.
3-pointers: Team (.392); Odyssey Sims 62.
Last Ten: 9-1.
The Skinny: Baylor is on a mission to get back to the Final Four after coming so close to beating Connecticut last season. Brittney Griner is the most dominant player in the country on both ends of the floor. The key to any sustained tournament run may lie in the play of freshman guard Odyssey Sims.
Prairie View A&M
Prairie View, Texas, 21-11.
Nickname: Lady Panthers. Coach: Toyelle Wilson.
Conference: Southwestern Athletic Conference. Bid: SWAC champion.
Region: Dallas. Seed: No. 16.
Tournament Record: 0-2, 2 years. Last appearance: 2009.
Scoring: Team (56.3); Siarra Soliz 13.0; Dominique Smith 12.1.
Rebounds: Team (34.5); Latia Williams 6.5; Robin Jones 6.2.
Assists/Turnovers: Team (10.8/19.3); Trinity Robinson 2.7/2.1; Latia Williams 1.9/2.2.
3-pointers: Team (.303); Siarra Soliz 43; Dominique Smith 41.
Last Ten: 8-2.
The Skinny: In their first year under Toyelle Wilson, she’s continued the momentum started by her predecessor, Hall of Famer Cynthia Cooper-Dyke. Led by SWAC freshman of the year Soliz, the Lady Panthers overcame a late deficit to beat regular-season champ Southern in the SWAC finals. A shaky offense could be their undoing.
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Houston
Houston, 26-5.
Nickname: Cougars. Coach: Todd Buchanan.
Conference: Conference USA. Bid: At-Large.
Region: Dallas. Seed: No. 8.
Tournament Record: 1-4, 4 years. Last appearance: 2005.
Scoring: Team (74.5); Courtney Taylor 15.7; Brittney Scott 15.6; Porsche Landry 15.0.
Rebounds: Team (44.1); Courtney Taylor 11.4; Lesslee Mason 9.1.
Assists/Turnovers: Team (12.8/16.5); Porsche Landry 4.0/4.0; Veronica Hicks 3.3/2.3.
3-pointers: Team (.340); Brittney Scott 80.
Last Ten: 9-1.
The Skinny: Todd Buchanan was an assistant at Houston the last time the Cougars made the NCAAs. Now that he’s back as the head coach, the Cougars hope their pressing style will lead to a long run.
West Virginia
Morgantown, 23-9.
Nickname: Mountaineers. Coach: Mike Carey.
Conference: Big East. Bid: At-Large.
Region: Dallas. Seed: No. 9.
Tournament Record: 5-6, 6 years. Last appearance: 2010.
Scoring: Team (65.8); Liz Repella 13.9; Madina Ali 12.7.
Rebounds: Team (38.3); Madina Ali 7.0; Liz Repella 5.6.
Assists/Turnovers: Team (13.1/17.9); Sarah Miles 4.5/3.5; Liz Repella 2.0/2.3.
3-pointers: Team (.319); Liz Repella 61.
Last Ten: 4-6.
The Skinny: The Mountaineers started out strong winning all 14 of its non-conference games, but slumped in the tough Big East to 10th place. They have the talent and defense to make a deep run, but need to find consistency that has been lacking since the New Year.
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Wisconsin-Green Bay
Green Bay, 32-1.
Nickname: Phoenix. Coach: Matt Bollant.
Conference: Horizon. Bid: Horizon champion.
Region: Dallas. Seed: No. 5.
Tournament Record: 3-11, 12 years. Last appearance: 2010.
Scoring: Team (74.8); Julie Wojta 13.7; Celeste Hoewisch 13.7; Kayla Tetschlag 13.6.
Rebounds: Team (36.5); Julie Wojta 7.7; Kayla Tetschlag 7.3.
Assists/Turnovers: Team (20.3/15.8); Julie Wojta 3.7/2.3; Hannah Quilling 3.6/1.8.
3-pointers: Team (.351); Celeste Hoewisch 51; Adrian Ritchie 38.
Last Ten: 10-0.
The Skinny: The only loss of the season came at Marquette when the Phoenix lost by three on Dec. 12. Wisconsin-Green Bay plays stellar defense and is very unselfish on offense.
Arkansas-Little Rock
Little Rock, 23-7.
Nickname: Trojans. Coach: Joe Foley.
Conference: Sun Belt. Bid: Sun Belt Conference champion.
Region: Dallas. Seed: No. 12.
Tournament Record: 0-1, 1 year. Last appearance: 2010.
Scoring: Team (58.5); Chastity Reed 19.2; Marian Kursh 8.8.
Rebounds: Team (33.8); Chastity Reed 6.3; Marian Kursh 6.1.
Assists/Turnovers: Team (14.8/14.3); Shanika Butler 5.0/2.3; Asriel Rolfe 4.7/2.1.
3-pointers: Team (.312); Janette Merriex 51; Asriel Rolfe 44.
Last Ten: 8-2.
The Skinny: The Trojans have lost twice since Dec. 11 and that was by a combined five points. Chastity Reed remains one of the nation’s best players that nobody outside of Arkansas has heard of.
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Michigan State
East Lansing, 26-5.
Nickname: Spartans. Coach: Suzy Merchant.
Conference: Big Ten. Bid: At-Large.
Region: Dallas. Seed: No. 4.
Tournament Record: 14-10, 10 years. Last appearance: 2010.
Scoring: Team (67.6); Kalisha Keane 15.9; Lykendra Johnson 11.9.
Rebounds: Team (40.5); Lykendra Johnson 8.9; Cetera Washington 6.2.
Assists/Turnovers: Team (15.2/17.6); Brittney Thomas 2.9/2.9; Kalisha Keane 2.1/2.6.
3-pointers: Team (.323); Kalisha Keane 65; Taylor Alton 41.
Last Ten: 8-2.
The Skinny: The Spartans won the Big Ten regular season title before falling to Ohio State in the semifinals of the tournament. Kalisha Keane has developed into the Spartans’ top player this season.
Northern Iowa
Cedar Falls, 27-5.
Nickname: Panthers. Coach: Tanya Warren.
Conference: Missouri Valley. Bid: Missouri Valley champion.
Region: Dallas. Seed: No. 13.
Tournament Record: 0-1, 1 year. Last appearance: 2010.
Scoring: Team (69.8); Jacqui Kalin 15.2; Lizzie Boeck 13.3; Katelin Oney 9.7.
Rebounds: Team (36.1); Lizzie Boeck 7.7; Erin Brocka 6.1.
Assists/Turnovers: Team (14.5/13.7); Jacqui Kalin 3.2/1.2; K.K. Armstrong 2.4/2.3.
3-pointers: Team (.347); Jacqui Kalin 61; Katelin Oney 61.
Last Ten: 10-0.
The Skinny: The Panthers enter the tournament on a school-record 19-game winning streak. Jacqui Kalin was the Most Valuable Player of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament. The Panthers lost to Nebraska 83-44 last year in their first NCAA appearance.
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Georgia
Athens, 21-10.
Nickname: Lady Bulldogs. Coach: Andy Landers.
Conference: Southeastern. Bid: At-Large.
Region: Dallas. Seed: No. 6.
Tournament Record: 50-27, 27 years. Last appearance: 2010.
Scoring: Team (64.8); Jasmine James 12.1; Porsha Phillips 11.1.
Rebounds: Team (41.5); Porsha Phillips 10.8; Meredith Mitchell 4.7.
Assists/Turnovers: Team (12.4/15.9); Jasmine James 3.7/3.0; Meredith Mitchell 2.6/2.6.
3-pointers: Team (.279); Khaalidah Miller 47; Jasmine James 38.
Last Ten: 5-5.
The Skinny: The Lady Bulldogs were reeling late in the season, dropping four of their final five games. Only a sophomore, Jasmine James ranks No. 6 is assists, No. 9 in assist-to-turnover ratio and No. 9 in steals in the SEC. She played nearly 36 minutes a game, which was four more than anyone else on the Georgia roster.
Middle Tennessee
Murfreesboro, 23-7.
Nickname: Blue Raiders. Coach: Rick Insell.
Conference: Sun Belt. Bid: At-Large.
Region: Dallas. Seed: No. 11.
Tournament Record: 5-13, 13 years. Last appearance: 2010.
Scoring: Team (71.0); Ebony Rowe 17.4; Anne Marie Lanning 13.4.
Rebounds: Team (36.6); Ebony Rowe 10.3; Icelyn Elie 5.9.
Assists/Turnovers: Team (15.4/19.1); Kortni Jones 5.3/3.7; Anne Marie Lanning 4.5/2.5.
3-pointers: Team (.350); Anne Marie Lanning 71; Kortni Jones 54.
Last Ten: 7-3.
The Skinny: The Blue Raiders are still trying to recover from the death of Tina Stewart, who was killed before the start of the Sun Belt tournament. Gone is all-time leading scorer Alysha Clarke. Ebony Rowe has done her best to try and fill in, leading the team in scoring and rebounding.
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Florida State
Tallahassee, 23-7.
Nickname: Seminoles. Coach: Sue Semrau.
Conference: Atlantic Coast. Bid: At-Large.
Region: Dallas. Seed: No. 3.
Tournament Record: 11-10, 10 years. Last appearance: 2010.
Scoring: Team (73/9); Cierra Bravard 14.6; Alex Deluzio 12.2; Courtney Ward 12.1.
Rebounds: Team (42.0); Cierra Bravard 7.6; Natasha Howard 6.4.
Assists/Turnovers: Team (13.5/18.6); Courtney Ward 4.0/3.3; Christian Hunneycutt 3.8/2.7.
3-pointers: Team (.361); Courtney Ward 71; Alex Deluzio 39.
Last Ten: 7-3.
The Skinny: Throw out a loss at Yale and Florida State’s only other defeats came to ranked opponents. Courtney Ward has done a great job guiding this young team. Natasha Howard has a lot of talent and will be the key to the Seminoles making another run to the regional semifinals.
Samford
Birmingham, Ala., 25-7.
Nickname: Bulldogs. Coach: Mike Morris.
Conference: Southern. Bid: Southern champion.
Region: Dallas. Seed: No. 14.
Tournament Record: First appearance.
Scoring: Team (64.4); Emily London 16.4; Savannah Hill 12.5; Ruth Ketcham 7.4.
Rebounds: Team (31.2); Savannah Hill 6.3; Emily London 4.2.
Assists/Turnovers: Team (14.2/ 14.3); Savannah Hill 4/2.8; Emily London 2.8/1.9.
3-pointers: Team (.401); Emily London 81; Paige Anderson 43; Savannah Hill 34.
Last Ten: 9-1.
The Skinny: Samford upset top-seed Appalachian State 57-54 to win its first Southern Conference title and first berth into the NCAA tournament. Samford’s 25 wins are the most in program history.
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Rutgers
Piscataway, N.J., 19-12.
Nickname: Scarlet Knights. Coach: C. Vivian Stringer.
Conference: Big East. Bid: At-Large.
Region: Dallas. Seed: No. 7.
Tournament Record: 34-21, 21 years. Last appearance: 2010.
Scoring: Team (61.4); April Sykes 13.6; Khadijah Rushdan 11.9; Monique Oliver 11.3.
Rebounds: Team (34.7); Chelsey Lee 7.3; Monique Oliver 6.2; Khadijah Rushdan 5.7.
Assists/Turnovers: Team (12.9/16.0); Khadijah Rushdan 5.3/3.1; Nikki Speed 3.1/2.7.
3-pointers: Team (.345); April Sykes 63; Erica Wheeler 52.
Last Ten: 7-3.
The Skinny: Defense will always be a staple of C. Vivian Stringer’s teams. The Scarlet Knights have a bit of offense to go with it this season with a potent inside-outside game of Monique Oliver and April Sykes. Khadijah Rushdan does a little bit of everything for Rutgers, achieving the team’s first triple-double in 10 years in early February.
Louisiana Tech
Ruston, 24-7.
Nickname: Lady Techsters. Coach: Teresa Weatherspoon.
Conference: Western Athletic. Bid: At-Large.
Region: Dallas. Seed: No. 10.
Tournament Record: 65-24, 26 years. Last appearance: 2010.
Scoring: Team (73.7); Adrienne Johnson 22.0; Tarkeisha Wysinger-Mackey 11.4; Whitney Jones 10.4.
Rebounds: Team (40.2); Adrienne Johnson 9.5; Tarkeisha Wysinger-Mackey 5.8.
Assists/Turnovers: Team (14.7/16.0); Jasmine Bendolph 4.4/3.3; Tarkeisha Wysinger-Mackey 2.8/2.3.
3-pointers: Team (.331); Whitney Jones 43.
Last Ten: 8-2.
The Skinny: Coach Teresa Weatherspoon has gotten the swagger back for a team that had made the NCAA tournament for the first 25 years before missing for the first time in 2007. They lost at the buzzer to Fresno State in the conference tournament final.
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Texas A&M
College Station, 27-5.
Nickname: Aggies. Coach: Gary Blair.
Conference: Big 12. Bid: At-Large.
Region: Dallas. Seed: No. 2.
Tournament Record: 9-7, 7 years. Last appearance: 2010.
Scoring: Team (78.6); Danielle Adams 22.7; Tyra White 13.8; Sydney Carter 10.3.
Rebounds: Team (39.5); Danielle Adams 8.6; Adaora Elonu 5.8; Tyra White 5.1.
Assists/Turnovers: Team (16.6/14.2); Sydney Colson 6.4/2.8; Sydney Carter 2.9/1.4.
3-pointers: Team (.338); Sydney Carter 40; Danielle Adams 37.
Last Ten: 7-3.
The Skinny: The Aggies ran through the season with the exception of three losses to Baylor, including one in the Big 12 title game. Danielle Adams is one of the top players in the country, able to score inside and out. Coach Gary Blair has his team playing its normal tough defense and a deep NCAA run is very possible.
McNeese St.
Lake Charles, La., 26-6.
Nickname: Cowgirls. Coach: Brooks Donald Williams.
Conference: Southland. Bid: Southland champion.
Region: Dallas. Seed: No. 15.
Tournament Record: First appearance.
Scoring: Team (69.8); Ashlyn Baggett 17.0; Caitlyn Baggett 11.3.
Rebounds: Team (38.7); Kendra Wells 8.1; Kiara Johnson 7.3.
Assists/Turnovers: Team (12.4/16.6); Caitlyn Baggett 4.4/3.2; Ashlyn Baggett 2.4/2.5.
3-pointers: Team (.312); Ashlyn Baggett 72; Ne’Aisha Anderson 45.
Last Ten: 10-0.
The Skinny: McNeese State is in the tournament for the first time thanks to the strong play of twin sisters Ashlyn and Caitlyn Baggett, who combined for 38 points to lead the team to the Southland Conference tournament championship. The Cowgirls are shooting just under 41 percent, but are just under 75 percent from the line.
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