Big Ten women's basketball tournament
Annual college basketball tournament
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Big Ten Conference women's basketball tournament is held annually at the end of the women's college basketball regular season in the United States. The tournament has been played each year since 1995. The winner of the tournament is designated the Big Ten Tournament Champion, and receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA women's basketball tournament. The tournament is typically held the first week of March with games played Wednesday through Sunday.
| Big Ten Conference women's basketball tournament | |
|---|---|
| Sport | College basketball |
| Conference | Big Ten Conference |
| Number of teams | 15 |
| Format | Single-elimination tournament |
| Current stadium | Gainbridge Fieldhouse |
| Current location | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Played | 1995–present |
| Last contest | 2026 |
| Current champion | UCLA Bruins |
| Most championships | Purdue Boilermakers (9) |
| TV partner(s) | Peacock (first round) Big Ten Network (second round, quarterfinals and semifinals) CBS (championship) |
| Official website | bigten.org Women's Basketball |
The Big Ten did not begin sponsoring women's basketball until the 1982–83 basketball season. In February 1982 during the 1981–82 season, the conference held a tournament at Michigan State in which Ohio State defeated Illinois 69–66 in the championship game. The conference has listed this in some publications as a regular season championship.
Maryland and Rutgers joined the Big Ten Conference for the 2014–15 season, bringing the conference to 14 teams. The 2015 Big Ten Conference tournament was the first for each school, with Maryland winning its first tournament title in its debut season.
The Big Ten expanded to 18 teams for the 2024–25 season with the arrival of Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington.
Originally, Big Ten Network broadcast the first round, second round, quarterfinals and semifinals of the tournament, with the championship game on the ESPN family of networks. Starting in 2024, the first round will air on Peacock and the final will air on CBS.[1]
Results
| Year | Champion | Score | Runner-up | Most Outstanding Player | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Penn State | 68–63 | Ohio State | Missy Masley, Penn State | Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana |
| 1996 | Penn State | 71–69 | Purdue | Angie Potthoff, Penn State | |
| 1997 | Iowa | 63–56 | Illinois | Angela Hamblin, Iowa | RCA Dome, Indianapolis, Indiana |
| 1998 | Purdue | 59–49 | Penn State | Andrea Garner, Penn State | |
| 1999 | Purdue | 80–76 | Illinois | Stephanie White, Purdue | |
| 2000 | Purdue | 71–63 | Penn State | Helen Darling, Penn State | Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana |
| 2001 | Iowa | 75–70 | Purdue | Cara Consuegra, Iowa | Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan |
| 2002 | Indiana | 75–72 | Penn State | Heather Cassady, Indiana | Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana |
| 2003 | Purdue | 67–65 | Ohio State | Shereka Wright, Purdue | |
| 2004 | Purdue | 59–58 | Penn State | Shereka Wright, Purdue | |
| 2005 | Michigan State | 55–49 | Minnesota | Kristin Haynie, Michigan State | |
| 2006 | Ohio State | 63–60 | Purdue | Brandie Hoskins, Ohio State | |
| 2007 | Purdue | 64–52 | Ohio State | Katie Gearlds, Purdue | |
| 2008 | Purdue | 58–56 | Illinois | FahKara Malone, Purdue | |
| 2009 | Ohio State | 67–66 | Purdue | Jantel Lavender, Ohio State | |
| 2010 | Ohio State | 66–64 | Iowa | Jantel Lavender, Ohio State | |
| 2011 | Ohio State | 84–70 | Penn State | Jantel Lavender, Ohio State | |
| 2012 | Purdue | 74–70 | Nebraska | Brittany Rayburn, Purdue | Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana |
| 2013 | Purdue | 62–47 | Michigan State | Drey Mingo, Purdue | Sears Centre, Hoffman Estates, Illinois |
| 2014 | Nebraska | 72–65 | Iowa | Rachel Theriot, Nebraska | Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana |
| 2015 | Maryland | 77–74 | Ohio State | Lexie Brown, Maryland | Sears Centre, Hoffman Estates, Illinois |
| 2016 | Maryland | 60–44 | Michigan State | Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, Maryland | Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana |
| 2017 | Maryland | 74–64 | Purdue | Brionna Jones, Maryland | |
| 2018 | Ohio State | 79–69 | Maryland | Kelsey Mitchell, Ohio State | |
| 2019 | Iowa | 90–76 | Maryland | Megan Gustafson, Iowa | |
| 2020 | Maryland | 82–65 | Ohio State | Ashley Owusu, Maryland | |
| 2021 | Maryland | 104–84 | Iowa | Diamond Miller, Maryland | |
| 2022 | Iowa | 74–67 | Indiana | Caitlin Clark, Iowa | Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana |
| 2023 | Iowa | 105–72 | Ohio State | Caitlin Clark, Iowa | Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| 2024 | Iowa | 94–89OT | Nebraska | Caitlin Clark, Iowa | |
| 2025 | UCLA | 72–67 | USC | Lauren Betts, UCLA | Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana |
| 2026 | UCLA | 96–45 | Iowa | Kiki Rice, UCLA | |
| 2027 | T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada | ||||
| 2028 | Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan |
Championship game results by school
| Appearances | School | Wins | Losses | Last Championship | Last Appearance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Illinois | 0 | 3 | N/A | 2008 |
| 2 | Indiana | 1 | 1 | 2002 | 2022 |
| 10 | Iowa | 6 | 4 | 2024 | 2026 |
| 7 | Maryland | 5 | 2 | 2021 | 2021 |
| 3 | Michigan State | 1 | 2 | 2005 | 2016 |
| 1 | Minnesota | 0 | 1 | N/A | 2005 |
| 3 | Nebraska | 1 | 2 | 2014 | 2024 |
| 11 | Ohio State | 5 | 6 | 2018 | 2023 |
| 7 | Penn State | 2 | 5 | 1996 | 2011 |
| 14 | Purdue | 9 | 5 | 2013 | 2017 |
| 2 | UCLA | 2 | 0 | 2026 | 2026 |
| 1 | USC | 0 | 1 | N/A | 2025 |
- Michigan, Northwestern, Oregon, Rutgers, Washington and Wisconsin have not made an appearance in a championship game.
- Ohio State's 2018 championship was later vacated by the NCAA due to sanctions imposed for impermissible benefits provided by an assistant coach.