1981 NAIA women's basketball tournament
 | |||||
| Teams | 8 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finals site | Kansas City, Missouri | ||||
| Champions | Kentucky State (1st title, 1st title game, 1st Fab Four) | ||||
| Runner-up | Texas Southern (1st title game, 1st Fab Four) | ||||
| Semifinalists |
| ||||
| Chuck Taylor MVP | Carolyn Walker (Kentucky State) | ||||
| Top scorer | Nerissa Redo (Texas Southern) (59 points) | ||||
| |||||
The 1981 NAIA women's basketball tournament was the inaugural tournament held by the NAIA to determine the national champion of women's college basketball among its members in the United States and Canada.
Kentucky State defeated Texas Southern in the championship game, 73–67, to claim the Thorobrettes' first NAIA national title.
The tournament was played in Kansas City, Missouri.[1]
Qualification
[edit]The inaugural tournament field was set at eight teams. All teams were seeded.
The tournament utilized a simple single-elimination format, with an additional third-place game for the two semifinal losers.
| Qualified Teams | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| School | Appearance | Last Bid | ||
| Azusa Pacific | 1st | Never | ||
| Berry | 1st | Never | ||
| Kentucky State | 1st | Never | ||
| Missouri Western | 1st | Never | ||
| Northern State | 1st | Never | ||
| Saginaw Valley State | 1st | Never | ||
| Texas Southern | 1st | Never | ||
| Virginia State | 1st | Never | ||
Bracket
[edit]| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | National championship | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Texas Southern | 85 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Virginia State | 57 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Texas Southern | 76 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Northern State | 58 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Northern State | 57 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Missouri Western | 53 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Texas Southern | 67 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Kentucky State | 73 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Azusa Pacific | 65 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Saginaw Valley | 53 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Azusa Pacific | 56 | National third place | |||||||||||
| 7 | Kentucky State | 65 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Kentucky State | 66 | 5 | Northern State | 74 | |||||||||
| 2 | Berry | 65 | 3 | Azusa Pacific | 65 | |||||||||
See also
[edit]- 1981 AIAW National Division I Basketball Championship
- 1981 AIAW National Division II Basketball Championship
- 1981 AIAW National Division III Basketball Championship
- 1981 NAIA men's basketball tournament
References
[edit]- ^ "NAIA Women's Basketball Championship History" (PDF). NAIA. Retrieved January 13, 2022.