The 11 officials chosen to officiate the 2025 Women’s Final Four in Tampa Bay have been finalized by the NCAA DI Women’s Basketball Committee. These officials were chosen based on the suggestions of Penny Davis, the national coordinator of women’s basketball officiating.
A three-person officiating crew will oversee each game, including the national semifinal matchups on Friday and the national championship game on Sunday, with two standby officials for each of
the three games. The chosen officials have been informed and will take the court at Amalie Arena in April 2025. Stay tuned for the complete list of referees scheduled to officiate the season’s top games!
- Kyle Bacon.
- Tiffany Bird-Nelson.
- Fatou Cissoko-Stephens.
- Gina Cross.
- Maj Forsberg.
- Felicia Grinter.
- Brian Hall.
- Brenda Pantoja.
- In’Fini Robinson.
- William Smith.
- Joe Vaszily.
“The officials chosen for the Final Four have exemplified excellence and consistency throughout both the regular season and the tournament,” Davis said. “Their dedication, precision, and ability to perform under intense pressure earned them nominations from their conferences, my recommendation, and approval by the basketball committee. Officiating at this level is both a great honor and a significant responsibility, and I have full confidence that this group is well-prepared and ready for the challenge ahead.”
Forsberg is set to make her seventh appearance at the Women’s Final Four, while Cross will officiate for the sixth time. Bird has been chosen for her fourth Women’s Final Four, and Vaszily, Pantoja, and Grinter are all making their ninth appearances. Bacon, Robinson, and Hall will be participating in the Women’s Final Four for the second time, and Smith and Cissoko-Stephens are set to experience their inaugural Final Four.
The first semifinal on Friday features two No. 1 seeds: South Carolina, the champion of the Birmingham Region 2, and Texas, the Birmingham 3 Region champion. South Carolina is making its fifth straight Final Four appearance and seventh overall, while Texas is returning to the Final Four for the fourth time in its history, marking its first visit since 2003. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. Eastern time.
The second semifinal, slated for 9:30 p.m. Eastern time, pits the Spokane 1 Region champion and overall No. 1 seed UCLA against the Spokane 4 Region champion and No. 2 seed UConn. This will be UCLA’s first-ever appearance in the Women’s Final Four, while UConn is making a record 24th appearance in this prestigious event.