1997–98 Arkansas Razorbacks women's basketball team

1997–98 Arkansas Razorbacks women's basketball
1997–98 Arkansas Razorbacks women's basketball
NCAA tournament West Regional champions
NCAA tournament, Final Four
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 4
Record	22–11 (7–7 SEC)
Head coach	Gary Blair (5th season);
Home arena	Bud Walton Arena

1997–98 SEC women's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 1 Tennessee^†	14	–	0	1.000	39	–	0	1.000
No. 13 Florida	10	–	4	.714	23	–	9	.719
No. 11 Alabama	10	–	4	.714	24	–	10	.706
No. 18 Vanderbilt	9	–	5	.643	20	–	9	.690
Georgia	8	–	6	.571	17	–	11	.607
LSU	7	–	7	.500	19	–	13	.594
	7	–	7	.500	22	–	11	.667
Kentucky	5	–	9	.357	13	–	15	.464
Mississippi State	4	–	10	.286	14	–	15	.483
Auburn	4	–	10	.286	16	–	11	.593
South Carolina	3	–	11	.214	13	–	15	.464
Ole Miss	3	–	11	.214	12	–	19	.387

† 1998 SEC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

The 1997–98 Arkansas Razorbacks women's basketball team represented the University of Arkansas during the 1997-98 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. They were led by head coach and Gary Blair. They finished the season 22–11, 7–7 in SEC play. The Razorbacks won the West Regional and advanced to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament for the first and, so far, only time in program history.

Roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Year
G	10	Christy Smith	5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)	Sr
G	20	Wendi Willits	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	Fr
G	30	Sytia Messer	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	Jr
F	34	Karyn Karlin	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	So

Head coach

Gary Blair (Arkansas)

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule

Source:^[1]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
SEC Tournament
NCAA Tournament
Mar 14, 1998*	(9 W)	vs. (8 W) Hawaii First round	W 76–70	19–10	Maples Pavilion Stanford, California
Mar 16, 1998*	(9 W)	vs. (16 W) Harvard Second round	W 82–64	20–10	Maples Pavilion Stanford, California
Mar 21, 1998*	(9 W)	vs. (5 W) Kansas Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen	W 79–63	21–10	The Arena in Oakland Oakland, California
Mar 23, 1998*	(9 W)	vs. (2 W) No. 8 Duke Regional Final – Elite Eight	W 77–72^[2]	22–10	The Arena in Oakland Oakland, California
Mar 27, 1998*	(9 W)	vs. (1 ME) No. 1 Tennessee National Semifinal – Final Four	L 58–86^[3]	22–11	Kemper Arena (17,976) Kansas City, Missouri
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Polls. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

Rankings

References

^ "1997-98 Women's Basketball Schedule". June 24, 2024.
^ "Lady Razorbacks Gain First Final Four". March 24, 1998. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
^ "The Routs Over: Tennessee Will Play LA Tech for Title". March 28, 1998. Retrieved June 24, 2024.

[1] "1997-98 Women's Basketball Schedule". June 24, 2024.

[2] "Lady Razorbacks Gain First Final Four". March 24, 1998. Retrieved June 24, 2024.

[3] "The Routs Over: Tennessee Will Play LA Tech for Title". March 28, 1998. Retrieved June 24, 2024.

[1]

[2]

[3]

Arkansas Razorbacks women's basketball
Venues	Barnhill Arena (1976–1993) Bud Walton Arena (1993–present)
Culture & lore	History
People	Head coaches
Seasons	List of seasons 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

Roster

Schedule

Rankings

See also

References