The basis for the subregionals returned to the approach used between 1982 and 2002; the top sixteen teams, as chosen in the bracket selection process, hosted the first two rounds on campus.

With just under a minute to go, Xavier took a two-point lead and Kayla Pedersen hit a jumper to tie the game at 53 points apiece.

Connecticut, which had missed eight consecutive shots, began hitting again, and their defense held Baylor without a field goal for over seven minutes.

[7][8][9] After the close call against Xavier, the Cardinal seemed in control in their game against Oklahoma in the second half when they led by 18 points.

Then Stanford stole the ball, was fouled, and hit the final two free throws to complete the victory 73–66.

Connecticut hit but 5 of their 29 shot attempts in the first half for a shooting percentage of 17% described by the New York Times as "laughable".

Maya Moore scored 23 points for UConn and Tina Charles contributed eleven rebounds.

In the end, Connecticut won 53–47 to win their seventh national championship and complete the first back-to-back undefeated seasons in NCAA history.

[12][13] First and Second rounds (Subregionals) The format is the same as the Men's Tournament, except that there are 64 teams and no play-in game.

The subregionals, based on the "pod system" keeping teams at or close to home, will be at these locations from March 21 through 24.

When the decision was made to increase the number of sites to sixteen, Trenton declined to participate.

The NCAA added Stanford, as a replacement:[15] Note: Unless otherwise indicated, all locations are on-campus sites.

While Princeton stayed close early, only down 15–12 at one time, they missed 15 of their next sixteen shots while St. John's pulled out to a sixteen-point halftime lead.

The two teams played roughly evenly the second half, but the halftime lead was more than enough and the Red Storm prevailed 65–47.

Under Maggie Dixon award winning new coach Teresa Weatherspoon, the Lady Techsters took on third seeded Florida State.

La tech started out strong, pulling out to a nine-point lead late in the first half, but the Seminoles fought back to a 40–40 tie at halftime.

The Liberty Flames fought back, and had a slim two-point lead at halftime, but the Kentucky team, behind 26 of 36 free-throws, pulled ahead to win 83–77.

This was Hartford's first at-large invitation to the NCAA Tournament, but without leading scorer Erica Beverly, lost to a season-ending injury, the Hawks were unable to stay with the Tigers.

LSU held Hartford scoreless for nearly eight minutes, scoring 17 consecutive points to take an early lead they would never give up.

However, the Flyers did not fold, and hit a basket with one second left in the game to win by a single point 67–66.

Georgetown, which hasn't been to the tournament in 17 years, started slowly, but managed to hold a two-point lead at halftime.

Georgetown's Monica McNutt hit back-to-back three-pointers to start a 13–0 run at the beginning of the second half.

Baylor's Brittney Griner returned to the floor, after sitting out a two-game suspension for hitting an opponent in a game.

This was freshman Griner's first tournament, and she confessed to having jitters, but she controlled the lane, and help keep Fresno State from winning their first ever NCAA game.

Texas A&M's Tanisha Smith just missed a triple double, with nine assist to go along with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Two years earlier, Riley had thrown punch in an NCAA game, which earned her a one-game suspension.

Oklahoma State lost the game in which the punch was thrown, and did not make it to the Tournament in 2009, so the suspension was served two years later.

Rutgers played even with the Hawkeyes, in the second half, but the seven point halftime lead stood up and Iowa won 70–63.

Earlier in the day, the top seeded men's team, Kansas, lost to Northern Iowa, so no one felt safe in the opening match against UC Riverside.

Stanford jumped out to an 8–0 lead, and behind Ogwumike's double-double (19 points, 11 rebounds) won easily over the Big West champion 79–47.