1988–89 Auburn Tigers women's basketball team

The 1988–89 Auburn Tigers women's basketball team represented Auburn University during the 1988–89 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Tigers, led by tenth-year head coach Joe Ciampi, played their home games at Joel H. Eaves Memorial Coliseum as members of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 32–2, 9–0 in SEC play to win the conference regular season title. Ranked No. 1, they lost to Tennessee in championship game of the SEC women's tournament. Auburn finished the regular season ranked No. 3 and was selected as the No. 1 seed in the Mideast regional of the NCAA tournament. They defeated Temple, Clemson, and Ole Miss to reach the second Final Four in program history. The Lady Tigers then defeated No. 1 seed in the Midwest region, Louisiana Tech, to avenge last season's loss and reach the National championship game once again. Auburn was defeated by longtime SEC foe Tennessee, 76–60.^[1]

1988–89 Auburn Tigers women's basketball
SEC regular season champions Auburn Dial Classic champions
NCAA tournament, Runner-up
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 2
AP	No. 2
Record	32–2 (9–0 SEC)
Head coach	Joe Ciampi (10th season)
Assistant coach	Carol Ross
Home arena	Joel H. Eaves Memorial Coliseum
Seasons ← 1987–88 1989–90 →

1988–89 SEC women's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 2 Auburn	9	–	0		1.000			32	–	2		.941
No. 1 Tennessee †	8	–	1		.889			35	–	2		.946
No. 10 Georgia	6	–	3		.667			23	–	7		.767
Vanderbilt	5	–	4		.556			21	–	8		.724
LSU	5	–	4		.556			19	–	11		.633
Ole Miss	4	–	5		.444			23	–	8		.742
Mississippi State	3	–	6		.333			12	–	16		.429
Kentucky	3	–	6		.333			12	–	16		.429
Florida	1	–	8		.111			15	–	14		.517
Alabama	1	–	8		.111			14	–	15		.483
† 1989 SEC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

This season marked the second of three straight National runner-up finishes for the Auburn women's basketball program.

Roster

1988–89 Auburn Tigers women's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown G 10 Chantel Tremitiere 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) So William Penn York, PA G 21 Carolyn Jones 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) So West Jones Laurel, MS G 25 Ruthie Bolton 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Sr McClain McLain, MS C 45 Linda Godby 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) Jr Warren Central Indianapolis, IN C 50 Vickie Orr 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Sr Hartselle Decatur, AL	Head coach Joe Ciampi (Mansfield State) Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 26, 1988	No. 7	Tennessee State Auburn Dial Classic	W 104–30	1–0	Eaves Memorial Coliseum  Auburn, Alabama
Nov 27, 1988	No. 7	No. 10 Maryland Auburn Dial Classic	W 75–63	2–0	Eaves Memorial Coliseum  Auburn, Alabama
Nov 30, 1988	No. 5	Southern	W 96–63	3–0	Eaves Memorial Coliseum  Auburn, Alabama
January 6, 1989	No. 3	No. 1 Tennessee	W 67–59[2]	13–0 (1–0)	Eaves Memorial Coliseum (7,150) Auburn, Alabama
SEC Tournament
March 4, 1989*	(1) No. 1	vs. (9) Florida Quarterfinals	W 72–61	26–1	Albany Civic Center  Albany, Georgia
March 5, 1989*	(1) No. 1	vs. (4) LSU Semifinals	W 75–65	27–1	Albany Civic Center  Albany, Georgia
March 6, 1989*	(1) No. 1	vs. (2) No. 2 Tennessee Championship game	L 51–66	28–1	Albany Civic Center  Albany, Georgia
NCAA Tournament
March 18, 1989	(1 ME) No. 2	(8 ME) Temple Second round	W 88–54	29–1	Eaves Memorial Coliseum  Auburn, Alabama
March 23, 1989	(1 ME) No. 2	(4 ME) Clemson Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen	W 71–60	30–1	Eaves Memorial Coliseum  Auburn, Alabama
March 25, 1989	(1 ME) No. 2	(3 ME) No. 12 Ole Miss Regional Final – Elite Eight	W 77–51	31–1	Eaves Memorial Coliseum  Auburn, Alabama
March 31, 1989*	(1 ME) No. 2	vs. (1 MW) No. 3 Louisiana Tech National Semifinal – Final Four	W 76–71[3]	32–1	Tacoma Dome  Tacoma, Washington
April 2, 1989*	(1 ME) No. 2	vs. (1 E) No. 1 Tennessee National Championship	L 60–76[1]	32–2	Tacoma Dome  Tacoma, Washington
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

^[4]

Rankings

Main article: 1988–89 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking

	Week
Poll	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Final
AP	7	5	4	4	3	3	3	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	Not released
Coaches	7	7	4	4	3	3	3	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2