The 1982 Division III women's basketball tournament was the first sponsored by the NCAA and included only 16 teams. The size of the field quickly doubled for the 1983 tournament.

Championship
Elizabethtown 67, N.C.-Greensboro 66
at Elizabethtown, Pa. 

All-Tournament Team
Bev Hall, Elizabethtown (Most Outstanding Player)
Page Lutz, Elizabethtown
Carol Peschel, N.C.-Greensboro
Carol Ferrin, Pomona-Pitzer
Sherry Sydney, N.C.-Greensboro 

Third Place
Pomona-Pitzer 72, Clark (Mass.) 71

National Semifinals
Elizabethtown 71, Clark 51
N.C.-Greensboro 77, Pomona-Pitzer 66

Second Round
Elizabethtown 74, Trenton State 58
Clark 67, Augustana 56
Pomona-Pitzer 62, Scranton 53 (OT)
N.C.-Greensboro 74, Susquehanna 66

First Round
Elizabethtown 86, Christopher Newport 59
Trenton State 70, Widener 43
Clark 67, Boston State College* 49
Augustana 83, Grove City 62
Scranton 69, Manhattanville 49
Pomona-Pitzer 68, Millikin 66
Susquehanna 63, Frostburg State 60
N.C.-Greensboro 71, St. Andrews 63

Trenton State is now known as The College of New Jersey. Boston State College fielded a separate team from Mass-Boston in 1982.