Top 5 lowest-scoring Women's National Championship games of all time

Sometimes, the national championship game is a defensive battle. Unlike men's basketball, the shot clock has existed for almost the entire history of women's college basketball. Likewise for the 3-point shot. This doesn't mean that every women's title game has been back-and-forth, high-scoring intensity. Some have resembled rock fights.

Here are the five lowest-scoring women's title games.

Top 5 lowest-scoring Women's National Championship games of all time

Stanford and Arizona battled in one of the lowest-scoring title games in NCAA history.

#5. 1988 (110 total points)

No. 2 seed Louisiana Tech claimed its second-ever title over No. 1 seed Auburn, 56-54. Tech might have been emotionally spent from its semifinal matchup with defending champion Tennessee. Tech won that one 68-59, but at just 127 total points, that was the highest-scoring game of the entire Final Four.

Auburn led 31-19 at halftime of this game, but in the second half, Tech's Teresa Weatherspoon locked down on Auburn's Ruthie Bolton, who had 16 first-half points. Bolton did not score after halftime, and with the tournament's Most Outstanding Player Erica Westbrooks putting up 25 points, Tech grabbed the come-from-behind win. This was the first of three straight years of losing in the title game for Auburn.

#4. 2021 (107 total points)

Stanford won its third national title, as the top-seeded Cardinal edged out No. 3 seed Arizona, 54-53. It was Arizona's first-ever Final Four. Stanford took an eight-point lead in the first quarter, and after an Arizona rally, it took control early in the fourth quarter and held on.

Stanford's Haley Jones scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds en route to win the Most Outstanding Player. Cameron Brink had 10 points and six boards as well. Arizona shot just 28.0% in the game and hung in by going 13 for 18 on free throws, while Stanford was 2 for 2. Stanford outrebounded Arizona by 18, but also committed 21 turnovers.

#3. 1999 (107 total points)

Purdue and Duke were each in their first-ever NCAA title games and frankly, both played like it. The top-seeded Boilermakers got past the third-seeded Blue Devils, 62-45. Carolyn Peck was coaching her last game at Purdue, having announced her intention to coach in the WNBA. Ukari Figgs was the Tournament Most Outstanding Player.

Duke had reached these heights only after knocking off three-time defending champion Tennessee in Chamique Holdsclaw's final collegiate game. But the Blue Devils may have left their offense in that game, as they scored the second-fewest points in title game history.

#2. 2007 (105 total points)

Top-seeded Tennessee was playing in its 12th NCAA title game, while No. 4 seed Rutgers was in its first. Oddly, Tennessee won this game 59-46, the same score by which it had won its semifinal matchup with NC State. Tennessee rolled in the title game, leading by eleven points at halftime and never being truly threatened.

Tournament's Most Outstanding Player Candace Parker scored 17 points in the title game in delivering Pat Summitt's penultimate title. Ironically, Rutgers had reached the championship game by holding LSU to just 35 points in their semifinal matchup. That is still a record for the fewest points in a Final Four game.

#1. 2010 (100 total points)

With top-seeded and unbeaten UConn and top-seeded Stanford facing off, this was a championship game battle of two experienced and talented teams. They just couldn't score points in a 53-47 UConn win. But even within the lowest-scoring championship game of all time, there's a moral for the wise: keep working.

In the first half, UConn scored just 12 points. The Huskies shot just five for 29 in the half. But the Huskies played enough defense to hang around, trailing 20-12 at intermission. UConn rallied for 41 points after halftime. Most Outstanding Player Maya Moore had 23 points in the victory. Stanford took only its second loss of the year.

After a hot start, it seems safe to say Iowa and South Carolina won't end up on this list. Will anyone ever score fewer than 100 total points in a championship game? Or will UConn and Stanford's mark of championship game futility stand forever?