Women's
Tourney Preview
By Mike Bryant
For Outsports.com
The science of “Bracketology”
has entered its yearly peak. As the NCAA tournament on the
men’s side is certain to showcase some of the most exciting
basketball in the history of March Madness, the women’s
bracket is also buzzin’ as we enter the first two rounds of
tournament play.
Parity in the college women’s
game has grown plenty over the past few years and this
season has shown no exception. Top-seeds Tennessee, North
Carolina and LSU have fielded some of the best women’s teams
in the past, but its upstart Michigan State, the fourth #1
seed, that looks to shake up that tradition. Tennessee and
LSU split the SEC regular-season and tournament titles and
look to settle the score in the Final Four in Indianapolis
as they are considered by many as two of the favorites.
The Top 16 seeds all have the
capability to get to the RCA Dome for the “Big Dance”.
Three-time defending NCAA champion UConn looks to prove they
can still win in the tournament post-Diana Taurasi. The Big
12 and Big 10 conferences both host multiple heavyweights
that all have the talent to go deep in the tournament.
Baylor (conference champion), Texas, Kansas State and Texas
Tech battled each other in the Big 12, while Minnesota and
Penn State watched their Big 10 counterparts Ohio State and
Michigan State share the regular-season title before the
Spartans came out on top in the conference tournament. The
Stanford Cardinal will be hungry as well after winning both
conference and tournament titles in the Pac-10, which led to
their recent climb to the #1 ranking in the national polls.
The remaining teams in the top-16 are Duke, Notre Dame and
Rutgers and all three are poised, very athletic, and are led
by great coaches and strong traditions.
It wouldn’t be March Madness
if we didn’t have upsets throughout the bracket. TCU,
Temple, Arizona State, Vanderbilt, Florida State, Georgia,
DePaul, Purdue and Oklahoma are the teams most likely to
make things interesting during the early rounds.
Chattanooga Regional
Top 4 Seeds: LSU, Duke,
Texas, Penn State
The top-seeded LSU
Tigers look to be the frontrunners in the Chattanooga
Regional. Led by superstar junior Seimone Augustus and
lightning quick point guard Temeka Johnson, LSU has Final
Four experience after advancing to the national semi-finals
in 2004 before bowing to Tennessee by two points. Add 6-5
freshman phenom Sylvia Fowles to the low post and LSU has
one of the most formidable attacks in women’s college hoops.
Looking to knock off the Tigers in this region are the Duke
Blue Devils and the Texas Longhorns. Duke has been so
close reaching the Sweet 16 each of the past seven years.
Seeking to get back to the Final Four this season after
appearances in 1999, 2002 and 2003, Duke is led by Monique
Currie, one of the country’s most explosive players. She
will look for help from teammates Wanisha Smith, Jessica
Foley and Mistie Williams. Depth has been a weakness for
Duke, so these four must provide some long and productive
minutes. For Texas, super-sophomore Tiffany Jackson
has been the Longhorn’s primary offensive threat all season.
Senior Jamie Carey can hit from long range having knocked
down 65 three pointers on the season. She provides great
leadership with tons of playoff experience behind her.
Heather Schreiber and Kala Bowers round out a balanced Texas
line-up. A big key for Texas will be the play of point guard
and floor-general Nina Norman. Many of Texas’ key players
experienced a Final Four run in 2003 before a surprising
loss ended their tournament play early last season.
Experience should be a big factor for the Longhorns this
year.
Other contenders in this
region: Penn State & Georgia
Top 4 Seeds: North Carolina,
Baylor, Minnesota, Notre Dame
North Carolina, which
won the national title in 1994, will have to travel clear
across the country in order to start their quest for
another. However, that shouldn’t slow the attack the Tar
Heels bring to the court every night. Led by 5-6 dynamo
Ivory Latta, UNC is outscoring opponents by over 21 points a
game. Freshman forward Erlana Larkins has played like a
veteran all season in the paint and will need to continue if
North Carolina is to get by the post-dominated Baylor
Bears in the deciding game for a trip to the Final Four.
Baylor’s post duo, Sophia Young and Steffanie Blackmon,
contribute the most to the Bear’s offensive production. Both
are very active on the blocks at both ends of the floor. If
Baylor can extend defenses from the perimeter, their post
play will shine. Minnesota and Notre Dame are
two other teams that have great post play. Minnesota’s Janel
McCarville is one of the most formidable low block players
in the country and had a breakout season last year as the
Golden Gophers made a late run to get to the national
semi-finals where they lost to eventual champion
Connecticut. Guards Shannon Schonrock, Kelly Roysland and
Shannon Bolden, along with forwards Liz Podominick and Jamie
Broback, return from last year’s Final Four team and know
what it takes to win in big games. For Notre Dame, senior
forward Jacqueline Batteast has been considered one of the
nation’s premiere players for most of her collegiate career.
She will need help in the paint from Teresa Borton, Crystal
Erwin and Courtney LaVere to relieve defensive pressure.
Notre Dame won the national title in 2001.
Other contenders in this
region: TCU & Arizona State
Top 4 Seeds: Tennessee, Ohio
State, Rutgers, Texas Tech
The Lady Vols of Tennessee
return to this season’s NCAA tournament with the bulk of
last year’s runner-up squad. Head Coach Pat Summit, who has
led Tennessee to multiple national titles (1987, 1989, 1991,
1996, 1997, 1998), goes very deep into her bench which is a
big bonus for teams heading into the NCAA tournament. Senior
forward Shyra Ely is the leading scorer of Tennessee’s
balanced offensive attack. Shanna Zolman and Brittany
Jackson are two of the SEC’s deadliest shooters, while
forwards Tye’sha Fluker, Nicky Anosike and Sidney Spencer
provide great size and physical play in the post. Senior
point guard Loree Moore has run the show for Tennessee
throughout her entire career and will look to lead her team
back to the national finals. Tennessee is one of two teams
(Louisiana Tech is the other) to participate in all 24 NCAA
Division I women’s basketball tournaments. Coach Summit is
looking to surpass Dean Smith’s all-time NCAA win record of
879 victories during the 1st and 2nd
round of tournament action. Ohio State has vaulted
onto the national spotlight ever since sophomore post
Jessica Davenport arrived on campus. Davenport is considered
one of the most imposing forces in the paint and has led the
Buckeye’s at both ends of the court converting nearly 60
percent of her shot attempts while blocking 109 shots.
Guards Caity Matter and Brandie Hoskins compliment each
other well on the perimeter, Matter knocking down 66 treys
on the year, while Hoskins can penetrate and create her own
shots in the Buckeye’s offensive system.
Other contenders in this
region: Texas Tech & Rutgers
Sleepers who could upset:
Purdue, Temple & Louisiana Tech
Top 4 Seeds: Michigan State,
Stanford, Connecticut, Kansas State
The Kansas City regional
could be considered the toughest and most balanced of the
four. Any of the top four seeds could advance to
Indianapolis as each is loaded with talent. Michigan
State is led by Liz Shimek, Lindsay Bowen, Kelli Roehrig
and Kristin Haynie and battled to the top of a tough Big 10
conference. Lack of late tournament experience could be the
biggest test for the Spartans if they are to come up against
the strong traditions of UConn and Stanford. The UConn
Huskies had all eyes on them when the season tipped off in
November as they were to embark on their first season
without the services of Husky great Diana Taurasi. Geno
Auriemma knows how to prepare his teams and even though his
Huskies stumbled more than usual during regular season play,
their tough schedule could make the difference in the end.
Ann Strother, Jessica Moore, Barb Turner and Ashley Battle
all played important roles in UConn’s string of national
titles. Look for UConn to step up big with hopes to avenge
an early season loss to Michigan State back in December.
Stanford is led by Pac-10 Freshman and Player of the
Year, Candace Wiggins. One of the most athletic and dynamic
players in this year’s tournament field, Wiggins has done it
all for Stanford this season. Stanford will go deep in the
tournament if they can balance their strong inside game with
good perimeter shooting. Seniors Kelley Suminski and Susan
King Borchardt are very capable of hitting from downtown,
while the trio of Brooke Smith, T’Nae Thiel and Kristin
Newlin control the paint. Stanford’s depth should help carry
them into the latter stages of the tournament. The Cardinal
won the NCAA title in both 1990 and 1992. The Kansas
State Wildcats, although a very streaky team, can be
extremely dangerous. Led by the very steady play of senior
forward Kendra Wecker, the Wildcats will need great defense
and solid shooting in order to make up for their lack of a
dominant post presence. Guards Laurie Koehn, Claire Coggins
and Megan Mahoney can put up big numbers fast. Koehn has
incredible range as she shoots over 40 percent from beyond
the arc with more than 220 attempts.
Other contenders in this
region: Vanderbilt & Florida State
Sleepers who could upset:
Utah
Players to Watch –
Candace Wiggins, Stanford
(17.3 rpg, 5.4 rpg)
Kendra Wecker, Kansas State (21.0 ppg, 10.1 rpg)
Kim Smith, Utah (17.8 ppg)
Ashley Earley, Vanderbilt (18.5 ppg, 9.7 rpg)
Roneeka Hodges, Florida State (19.0 ppg)
Kate Flavin, Richmond (17.4 ppg)
Ann Strother, Connecticut (13.1 ppg)
Charde Houston, Connecticut (11.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg)
Liz Shimek, Michigan State (14.8 ppg, 9.0 rpg)
Kelli Roehrig, Michigan State (13.7 ppg, 7.5 rpg)
