2021 West Coast Conference women's basketball tournament

2021 West Coast Conference women's basketball tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Season2020–21
Teams9
Finals siteOrleans Arena
Paradise, Nevada
ChampionsGonzaga (9th title)
Winning coachLisa Fortier (3rd title)
MVPJill Townsend (Gonzaga)
TelevisionESPNU/BYUtv
← 2020
2022 →
2020–21 West Coast Conference women's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 14 Gonzaga† 16 – 1   .941 23 – 4   .852
BYU 13 – 3   .813 19 – 5   .792
San Diego 9 – 5   .643 12 – 7   .632
San Francisco 10 – 7   .588 16 – 11   .593
Santa Clara 9 – 8   .529 14 – 11   .560
Portland 9 – 8   .529 14 – 13   .519
Pacific 9 – 9   .500 11 – 11   .500
Saint Mary's 4 – 14   .222 7 – 19   .269
Loyola Marymount 4 – 14   .222 7 – 19   .269
Pepperdine 2 – 16   .111 5 – 18   .217
San Diego suspended their season on February 25, 2021
† 2021 WCC tournament winner
As of December 19, 2024
Rankings from AP poll

The 2021 West Coast Conference women's basketball tournament was played March 4–9, 2021, at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. The winner received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA women's basketball tournament.

Seeds

All of the teams in the conference standings, except for San Diego, qualified for the tournament. San Diego cancelled their season after going 7–12, so they will not compete in the conference tournament. Teams are seeded based on the Ken Pomeroy Adjusted Conference Winning Percentage.

Seed School Conference Overall* Pomeroy AWP
1 Gonzaga 16–1 21–3 .917%
2 BYU 13–3 17–4 .808%
3 San Francisco 10–7 14–9 .587%
4 Santa Clara 9–8 13–10 .545%
5 Portland 9–8 12–11 .510%
6 Pacific 9–9 11–10 .503%
7 Saint Mary's 4–14 6–18 .225%
8 Loyola Marymount 4–14 5–18 .224%
9 Pepperdine 2–16 5–17 .112%

* Overall record at end of regular season.

Venue

For the thirteenth consecutive year, the 2021 WCC Tournament will be held in the Orleans Arena. When the Orleans Arena is set up for basketball games, the seating capacity is 7,471.[1] The tournament is scheduled to be held at the Orleans Arena at least until 2022.[2] The Orleans Arena is located at the 1,886 room Orleans Hotel and Casino about 1 mile west of the Las Vegas Strip.[3] The tickets for the WCC Tournament typically sell out quickly.[4] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, no fans were permitted to attend the tournament for the year 2021.[5]

Schedule

Session Game Time Matchup Television
First round – Thursday March 4, 2021
1 1 12:30 PM No. 8 Loyola Marymount 85 vs. No. 9 Pepperdine 73 BYUtv
Second round – Friday March 5, 2021
2 2 11:00 AM No. 5 Portland 56 vs. No. 8 Loyola Marymount 74 BYUtv
3 2:00 PM No. 6 Pacific 55 vs. No. 7 Saint Mary's 69
Quarterfinals – Saturday, March 6, 2021
3 4 11:00 AM No. 4 Santa Clara 83 vs. No. 8 Loyola Marymount 68 BYUtv
5 2:00 PM No. 3 San Francisco 69 vs. No. 7 St. Mary's 63
Semifinals – Monday, March 8, 2021
4 6 11:00 AM No. 1 Gonzaga 72 vs. No. 4 Santa Clara 62 BYUtv
7 2:00 PM No. 2 BYU 85 vs. No. 3 San Francisco 55
Championship – Tuesday, March 9, 2021
5 8 1:00 PM No. 1 Gonzaga 43 vs. No. 2 BYU 42 ESPNU
Game times in PT. Rankings denote tournament seeding. *denotes overtime game

Bracket

Opening round
Thursday, March 4 		Second round
Friday, March 5 		Quarterfinals
Saturday, March 6 		Semifinals
Monday, March 8 		Championship
Tuesday, March 9
1 Gonzaga 72
4 Santa Clara 62
4 Santa Clara 83
8 Loyola Marymount 68
5 Portland 56
8 Loyola Marymount 85 8 Loyola Marymount 74
9 Pepperdine 73 1 Gonzaga 43
2 BYU 42
2 BYU 85
3 San Francisco 55
3 San Francisco 69
7 St. Mary's 63
6 Pacific 55
7 Saint Mary's 69

* denotes overtime game

See also

References

  1. ^ "Location Spotlight: Orleans Arena | Nevada Film Office". nevadafilm.com. January 23, 2018. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  2. ^ "West Coast Conference agrees to three-year extension to hold tournaments at Orleans Arena | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  3. ^ Hawks, John; Higgins, Tom (February 3, 2009). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Las Vegas: The Savvy Vacationer's Guide to All Things Las Vegas. Penguin. ISBN 978-1-4406-8515-6.
  4. ^ "UCU WCC Basketball Tournament Sold Out". wccsports.com. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  5. ^ "Gonzaga fans bummed, but understand WCC not allowing fans at tournament in Las Vegas | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved February 25, 2021.