2003 NAIA Division I women's basketball tournament

2003 (2003) NAIA Division I women's basketball tournament

Teams	32
Finals site	Oman Arena Jackson, Tennessee
Champions	Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm (6th title, 8th title game, 12th Fab Four)
Runner-up	Oklahoma City Stars (6th title game, 6th Fab Four)
Semifinalists	USAO Drovers (1st Fab Four) Vanguard Lions (1st Fab Four)
Coach of the year	Craig Wiginton (Southern Nazarene)
Player of the year	Kesha Watson (Oklahoma City)
Charles Stevenson Hustle Award	Heather McNutt (Southern Nazarene)
Chuck Taylor MVP	Sasha Seriogina (Southern Nazarene)
Top scorer	Kesha Watson (Oklahoma City) (122 points)
NAIA Division I women's tournaments «2002 2004»

The 2003 NAIA Division I women's basketball tournament was the tournament held by the NAIA to determine the national champion of women's college basketball among its Division I members in the United States and Canada for the 2002–03 basketball season.

Southern Nazarene upset four-time defending champions Oklahoma City in the championship game, 71–70, to claim the Crimson Storm's sixth NAIA national title and first since abandoning its prior Redskins nickname.

The tournament was played at the Oman Arena in Jackson, Tennessee.[1]

Qualification

The tournament field remained fixed at thirty-two teams, although a modification was made to the seeding system utilized for the past twelve tournaments. Instead of seeding just the top sixteen teams, all teams were sorted into one of four quadrants and seeded from 1st to 8th within that quadrant.

The tournament otherwise continued to utilize a simple single-elimination format.

Bracket

	First round					Second round					Elite Eight					Final Four					National championship
	1	Oklahoma City	97
	8	Berry	47
						1	Oklahoma City	91
						5	Xavier Louisiana	53
	5	Xavier Louisiana	64
	4	Trevecca Nazarene	55
											1	Oklahoma City	83
											2	Central State (OH)	73
	3	North Georgia	64
	6	Oklahoma Baptist	47
						3	North Georgia	65
						2	Central State (OH)	76
	7	Columbia (MO)	60
	2	Central State (OH)	74
																1	Oklahoma City	72
																8	USAO	52
	1	Dillard	47
	8	USAO	73
						8	USAO	56
						4	The Master's	51
	5	Pikeville	40
	4	The Master's	64
											8	USAO	66
											7	Wayland Baptist	50
	3	Montana Western	75
	6	Saint Xavier	51
						3	Montana Western	57
						7	Wayland Baptist	68
	7	Wayland Baptist	77
	2	Freed–Hardeman	62
																					1	Oklahoma City	70
																					2	Southern Nazarene	71
	1	Houston Baptist	83
	8	Claflin	63
						1	Houston Baptist	68
						5	Point Loma Nazarene	75
	5	Point Loma Nazarene	71
	4	Campbellsville	49
											5	Point Loma Nazarene	61
											2	Southern Nazarene	74
	3	Brescia	66
	6	Lewis–Clark State	51
						3	Brescia	61
						2	Southern Nazarene	71
	7	Brewton–Parker	40
	2	Southern Nazarene	75
																2	Southern Nazarene	62
																2	Vanguard	49
	1	Union (TN)	58
	8	Langston	48
						1	Union (TN)	64
						5	Oklahoma Christian	65
	5	Oklahoma Christian	76
	4	Georgetown (KY)	62
											5	Oklahoma Christian	60
											2	Vanguard	61
	3	Auburn Montgomery	56
	6	Transylvania	57
						6	Transylvania	54
						2	Vanguard	70
	7	Mobile	48
	2	Vanguard	62

See also

• 2003 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament
• 2003 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament
• 2003 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament
• 2003 NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament
• 2003 NAIA Division II women's basketball tournament

References

1. "NAIA Women's Basketball Championship History" (PDF). NAIA. Retrieved March 16, 2022.