The evolution of women’s basketball

On this day in 1969, West Chester State College – under the umbrella of the Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics for Women – won the first national championship in women’s basketball.

The Golden Rams defeated Western Carolina, 65-39, in front of 2,000 fans in West Chester, Pennsylvania, with Pat Ferguson scoring a game-high 20 points. The competition was organized by West Chester coach and assistant professor of health and physical education Carol Eckman, now known as the “mother of  the collegiate women’s basketball national championship.”

Humble beginnings?

Quite.

The game barely rated more than a few lines in newspapers, with the Philadelphia Inquirer burying a six-paragraph report (under the headline West Chester Wins Title In Girls’ Tourney) on page 12 of its sports section.

But while all sports evolve to varying degrees, what women’s roundball fans saw then and what they see now are wildly different games altogether.

West Chester claimed the crown by playing six-on-six basketball, a style that featured three forwards and three guards. But get this – only forwards were allowed to shoot the ball and had to stay in the frontcourt while the guards stayed in the backcourt. In other words, forwards played only offense while guards played strictly defense.

Yet while Title IX (passed in 1972) was a catalyst for making women’s basketball more like the men’s game – five-on-five, full court, shot clock, etc. – the NCAA didn’t sponsor a women’s national championship game until 1982. Up to that point, the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (which grew from the CIAW) coordinated events before dissolving in 1983.

The NCAA voted to sponsor a women’s hoops championship in January, 1981, at its 75^th annual convention (surviving a legal challenge from the AIAW), and the inaugural NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament field was announced on March 6, 1982. Louisiana Tech was named the top seed in the 32-team bracket.

The first tourney game was held on March 12, 1982, when Penn State hosted Clemson. The homestanding Nittany Lions won big, 96-75, with a crowd of 2,553 witnessing history.

Louisiana Tech, which claimed the AIAW title the previous season, went on to win the championship thanks to a 76-62 conquest of Cheyney State (current LSU coach Kim Mulkey was a member of the Lady Techsters and made the All-Tournament Team), and women’s hoops has only grown from there.

And I’m glad, because I’m a big fan and have been for years.

Aside from the fact that I enjoy the sport in general, women’s basketball – especially elite women’s basketball – has always impressed me due to the fundamental aspect of it. While the men’s game is often played above the rim, the women rely more on sharp shooting and defense. If you want to learn about how the game is supposed to be played from a technique standpoint, a good women’s matchup is the best teaching tool.

In fact, when I look back on my sports writing career, some of my favorite moments involved covering women’s basketball. During the decade I worked in South Carolina, one of my beats was Anderson University, a Division II school.

The Trojans were a perennial powerhouse and regulars in the annual DII regionals. Man, they were fun to watch, playing aggressive “D” while launching – and landing – bombs from beyond the arc.

And I also got to write about the University of South Carolina, just as Dawn Staley was building a dynasty in Columbia.

Watching the Gamecocks play meant at times I was watching near perfection.

So, I’m thrilled at how far the game has come. Not only do many NCAA teams play before packed houses, but they feature incredible athletes.

The leading candidate for Player of the Year this season is JuJu Watkins, who averaged 24.6 points per game for Southern Cal during the 2024-25 regular season. She’ll lead her team against UNC Greensboro today.

Other members of the Associated Press First Team All-American team are Paige Bueckers, UConn; Lauren Betts, UCLA; Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame; and Madison Booker, Texas.

All of them, by the way, are playing in the NCAA Tournament.

Hidalgo had 24 points in the Fighting Irish’s 106-54 romp over Stephen F. Austin on Friday, while Betts tallied 14 points to lead the Bruins to a decisive 84-46 victory over Southern in oprning round play.

If you’re a fan of college basketball, it’s the most wonderful time of the year. You’ll see some blowouts to go along with a few startling upsets, and learn to appreciate teams you hadn’t even thought about until now.

And thanks to pioneers like Carol Eckman, the Big Dance is coed.