Inside Scoop™ by Mel Greenberg
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e-Zine April 2004 Inside Scoop™ by Mel Greenberg Wolverines in Cinderella Clothing – Women’s Hoops The onset of April in women's Vols a comeback win over Baylor in the basketball is a transitional time semifinals. because the NCAA Women's Final Just how Butts got to the foul line is Four that will be played Sunday and another story with a referee making a call Tuesday in New Orleans will mark the on a scramble for a loose ball in a end of one of the most competitive situation that begged for him to swallow seasons ever. his whistle and let the players decide the But it is also a month of new game in overtime. beginnings because as quickly as a A firestorm of criticism erupted across champion will be crowned, attention the country not helped by the NCAA's will then turn to April 17, the day of the refusal to allow the official to be WNBA draft and the date we'll learn interviewed by a pool reporter from the which teams will be the recipients of news media. The aftermath will continue one of the most talented senior to flow this weekend, especially later in classes to play the game. the tournament when the issue is certain First things, first, however, and that to be brought up in the annual media means looking at the field and the so- session with the NCAA tournament called Wolverines in Cinderella committee chairperson. clothing who are known by their In both collegiate and pro circles, school names of Minnesota and LSU. officiating is the item one hears most Tennessee and Connecticut are discussed in need of major improvement back again. That may not be new but in women's basketball, except upgrading the Volunteers, with a little help from is not as easy as it might seem. the sports' No. 1 problem, had two Meanwhile, two days later Butts came daredevil escapes in the Midwest back and broke Stanford's heart with a regional against Baylor and Stanford. shot with 1.7 seconds and Tennessee You could say Tennessee played was on its way to another Final Four. its Tasha Butts off with the 5-11 senior The match up with LSU in the guard making two foul shots in the semifinals reunites two rivals in the final eyelash of a second to give the Page 2 of 9 April 2004 Inside Scoop™ by Mel Greenberg rugged Southeastern Conference. choice of the WNBA Phoenix Mercury, Tennessee has been struggling since and sophomore Barbara Turner were the point guard Loree Moore suffered a knee offensive guns, especially in the East injury in the Duke game in January and final against Penn State that ended the was lost to the season. collegiate career of Kelly Mazzante with But coach Pat Summitt's group has the Nittany Lions. found ways to win close games, but not as Junior center Jessica Moore was inventive as what Butts did at Oklahoma huge in helping Connecticut contend with City. Ashley Robinson and Shrya Ely are UC Santa Barbara's size in a physically two other key players to watch in the grueling win in the East semifinals. Orange and White uniforms. Connecticut is making a nostalgic trip Connecticut's trip is nostalgic in its unprecedented fifth straight trip to because the Huskies made the first of the Finals as the Huskies try to match their eight Final Four trips in 1991 where Tennessee's NCAA record by winning a they lost the semifinals to Virginia. third-straight national title. However, the Dawn Staley-led There were thoughts coach Geno Cavaliers then lost in overtime in the title Auriemma's squad was in trouble game to Tennessee. following a late season loss at Villanova and a loss to Boston College in So much for the oldies. Connecticut's second home - the Hartford As for the debutantes, yeah, well, Civic Center - in the Big East tournament great storylines, great efforts, but major semifinals. surprises - not really when you go turn The Huskies had also yielded a huge the page back earlier in the season. lead against Duke in Hartford in January. Overall, the comforts of home are still Minnesota was rocking with a 15-0 the comforts of home and Connecticut win streak to get started, a run that didn't have to leave the state with a sub caused former Golden Gophers coach regional in Bridgeport and the East finals Brenda Freese, now in her second in Hartford. season at Maryland, ``if Minnesota was Senior Diana Taurasi, likely the name ever going to get to a Final Four, this is to be uttered on April 17 as the overall first their year.'' Page 3 of 9 April 2004 Inside Scoop™ by Mel Greenberg Freese spent the 2001-02 season in leave taken in early February because of Minnesota in turning the program an acute bronchitis condition. dramatically around to a winner before Her assistant Pokey Chapman has Maryland came with a tantalizing offer to guided the Tigers in her absence. join up with the Terrapins. Still, LSU isn't really coming out of The inside-outside attack of senior nowhere. Many thought the Tigers might guard Lindsay Whalen and 6-2 center make the finals a year ago. The players Janel McCarville, who plays even bigger to watch, who also made the team a than her size, have made the Golden preseason favorite to thrill the locals, are Gophers a force. sophomore Seimone Augustus and But in mid-February, Whalen broke senior Tameka Johnson. two bones in her right hand and missed The key against Tennessee will be to seven games. Minnesota took an produce a better rebounding effort than immediate dive, hence the No. 7 seed. when the two met earlier in SEC However, Whalen made a great competition. recovery and returned for the start of the Connecticut has the experience over tournament where she torched Minnesota, but the Gophers are showing opponents including Duke, the No. 1 no fear so this could be an interesting Mideast seed, and the top team in the game if the Huskies' defense has no final AP poll. answer for McCarville. The fact that Minnesota was a different team without Whalen than with Déjà vu. her only helps to make her value higher when the WNBA teams begin making Penn State's Rene Portland will their picks. receiver her second coach of the year award from the Women's Basketball LSU, only an hour away up the road Coaches Association. Her first occurred from New Orleans at Baton Rouge, in 1991, ironically, in New Orleans. becomes a sentimental favorite and also because the Tigers have been without On Saturday, the Kodak all-American coach Sue Gunter, who is on a medical team will be announced, along with the Page 4 of 9 April 2004 Inside Scoop™ by Mel Greenberg AP coach and player of the year. The there are a slew of players who are first female Wooden Award winner – top close to the elite of the elite. female college basketball player – will be announced, April 10. Without regard to ranking, here goes: Connecticut senior Diana Taurasi - History lesson. Her stats may not have reflected her This is not LSU's first national ability this year, but if this was baseball, semifinals appearance, even though it is how many times does she drive runners the Tigers' NCAA finals debut. In 1977, home with the game on the line. Some the team knocked powerful Immaculata are already calling her the WNBA's out of the semifinals of the AIAW LeBron James in terms of stature if not tournament in Minneapolis and then lost similar circumstance. to Delta State in the title game. Minnesota senior Lindsay Whalen - One of LSU's stars was a center from As previously noted, look at the Gophers Australia named Maree Jackson. Years with her and without her - enough said. later, her daughter Lauren Jackson has Duke senior Alana Beard - Her become a sensation with the Seattle personality may not consist of the same Storm in the WNBA and last season was flair as another well-known senior, but the league's Most Valuable Player. her game does a lot of talking. It's not Consolation four. totally her fault that her supporting cast has failed to show several times in big- Here's one person's view of the four time situations. programs who should have won titles by now but haven't. The quartet is Georgia, Stanford senior Nicole Powell - There Auburn, Virginia, and, after this week, were times this season where she made our newest entry - Duke. one scratch one's head over the way the Cardinal and she fit together. But in the The top five. Vanderbilt game with the seconds ticking What a year it's been for talent, in the Midwest semifinal, she showed especially in the senior class. Picking a coolness under fire in kicking that pass to top five is not easy because, technically, Kelly Suminski, who hit the mark and Page 5 of 9 April 2004 Inside Scoop™ by Mel Greenberg kept Stanford alive into the Tennessee Florida's Vanessa Hayden. She's right game. there with the elite and a name we Houston center Chandi Jones - The should hear throughout the summer in senior guard-forward was a scoring the pros. machine and carried the Cougars to new Kansas State's Nichole Ohlde. Hurt heights. by the Wildcats' annual collapses. But The others. her pro career should be intriguing. Penn State's Kelly Mazzante, the LSU's Seimone Augustus - An Nittany Lion scoring machine should be immediate star next season in the post saluted for a great career even though Taurasi-Beard era.