An oversight in the 3-point line distance at Moda Center went unnoticed during four games played over two days for the women’s NCAA Tournament in Portland. It wasn’t until Sunday’s Elite Eight matchup between Texas and N.C. State that the issue was brought to light, even though both teams agreed to play as scheduled despite the mismatched 3-point lines.
The NCAA issued a statement acknowledging the error and explaining that the head coaches were informed of the discrepancy but decided to proceed with the game without any delay. The teams did not mention any issues with the court during Sweet 16 games played on Friday and Saturday.
Before Sunday’s game, both Texas coach Vic Schaefer and N.C. State coach Wes Moore were made aware that one end of the court had a shorter distance between the top of the key and 3-point line than usual. Officials measured it with a tape measure shortly before tipoff, discussed it with both coaches, and decided to proceed as planned.
The NCAA announced that they would fix up the court before Monday’s Elite Eight game between Southern California and UConn. This incident is quite unusual but didn’t impact any of the games played before Sunday’s matchup, which was resolved before moving on to their next game on Monday night.
