Cincinnati to Host 2003 NCAA Women's Basketball First and Second Rounds

Debbie Merrill

The University of Cincinnati has been selected as one of the 16 first- and second-round sites for the 2003 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship, it was announced by the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee. Shoemaker Center will host the four-team regional on either March 22 and 24 or March 23 and 25, 2003.

The 2002-03 season marks the first year the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee has named pre-determined sites. In years past, first- and second-round sites were awarded to the top 16 seeds.

The other cities that were awarded first and second round sites include Manhattan, Kan. (Kansas State), State College, Pa. (Penn State), Norfolk, Va. (Old Dominion), Boulder, Colo. (Colorado), Storrs, Conn. (Connecticut), Norman, Okla. (Oklahoma), West Lafayette, Ind. (Purdue), Stanford, Calif. (Stanford), Eugene, Ore. (Oregon), Raleigh, N.C. (North Carolina State), Athens, Ga. (Georgia), Ruston, La. (Louisiana Tech), Knoxville, Tenn. (Tennessee), Lubbock, Texas (Texas Tech) and Albuquerque, N.M. (New Mexico).

The regional sites for the 2003 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship are March 29 and 31 or March 30 and April 1. The 2003 Women’s Final Four will be held April 6 and 8 in Atlanta.

Cincinnati is coming off a 27-5 season in which it won the Conference USA Women’s Basketball Tournament. The Bearcats also advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. UC will return three starters this fall, including All-Conference guard Valerie King and C-USA Freshman of the Year center Debbie Merrill.

The awarding of the 2003 first and second round site to Cincinnati continues a series of NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championship events that will be hosted by Conference USA institutions. Listed below are future events that C-USA schools will host over the next three years:

NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship
2003 First and Second Rounds, Cincinnati, Ohio, Hosted by Cincinnati
2004 Final Four, New Orleans, La., Hosted by Tulane

NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship
2003 First and Second Rounds, Tampa, Fla., Hosted by South Florida
2004 First and Second Rounds, Milwaukee, Wis., Hosted by Marquette
2005 Midwest Regional, Rosemont, Ill., Hosted by DePaul