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Blocking The Way To San Jose Can anyone keep the Lady Vols from another title?
As we embark on the 1999 Women's NCAA Tournament, there is one
absolute truth we can cling to: Rocky Top is the most stubbornly
ineradicable fight song in all of academia. Once it is in your
head, it will not go away. But can the same still be said for
the team that the tune follows everywhere, Tennessee's Lady Vols?
Though this year's Tennessee club is more experienced than last
year's 39-0 juggernaut, it's not invincible. In fact, the Lady
Vols have fallen twice in the past four months, exposing a
vulnerability that brings a ray of hope to other teams heading
to the NCAAs. Now, instead of no examples of how to beat
Tennessee, there are two. In November, Purdue beat the Lady Vols
78-68 by hitting the three (4 of 10), breaking the press and
winning the battle of the boards (36-25). And last month LSU, an
undersized but exceedingly quick team--no starter is over
5'11"--defeated Tennessee 72-69 despite getting punished on the
boards 48-24. The Lady Tigers pulled off the upset by breaking
the press, limiting turnovers (only 11 to Tennessee's 17) and,
perhaps most important, sagging into a 2-3 zone and forcing Lady
Vols slashers Chamique Holdsclaw, Tamika Catchings and Semeka
Randall to take outside shots. "You have to meet Tennessee's
aggression, and you have to get them into a half-court game to
have a chance," says LSU coach Sue Gunter. "Also, you have to
hope they don't bring their A game, which I don't think they did
against us. When they're hitting on all cylinders, they're very
tough to beat."
The No. 2-ranked Lady Vols are gunning for their fourth straight
title. Here are some of the teams that might have what it takes
to knock them off.
Purdue The No. 1-ranked Boilermakers (28-1) may not be
especially quick, but they make few mistakes and have several
good ball handlers. The best backcourt in the nation--Stephanie
White-McCarty, Ukari Figgs and Katie Douglas--sometimes expands
to include reserve Kelly Komara, creating a four-guard offense
that is difficult to defend.
UConn The fourth-ranked Huskies (27-4) are one of the few teams
that have the size, depth and athleticism to run with Tennessee.
Led by Big East Player of the Year Svetlana Abrosimova, UConn
has the best rebounding margin (+13.2) and field goal percentage
(52) in the country and a murderous press. The only thing the
Huskies lack is experience, especially at the point: Injuries
knocked out the first- and second-stringers, leaving sophomore
Marci Glenney as the starter. At home against Tennessee on Jan.
10, the Huskies had three freshmen and two sophomores on the
floor at crunch time and lost 92-81.
Louisiana Tech Granted, the third-ranked Lady Techsters (26-2)
looked unimpressive in their 92-73 loss to Tennessee in
November, but they are more polished now. Louisiana Tech has won
its last 18 games by an average of 35 points, and the team is
loaded with the kind of athletes who are capable of carrying out
coach Leon Barmore's defensive strategy against the Lady Vols:
Allow Holdsclaw and Randall their points while smothering
Catchings.
Clemson The 10th-ranked Tigers (24-5), who beat North Carolina
for the ACC tournament title, are quick, athletic and deep. They
can line up big or small. They are excellent defensive
rebounders. And they have the essential ingredient for
challenging Tennessee: an experienced and unflappable backcourt
in seniors Itoro Umoh and Amy Geren. Unlike the Lady Vols, the
Tigers have a strong inside game, anchored by seniors Nikki
Blassingame and Erin Batth, a 6'4" rock who provides the
invaluable Willis Reed effect by having played in the last five
games despite tearing her right ACL in January. A certain logic
suggests that this could be the team to upend the Lady Vols: "We
beat LSU, and they beat Tennessee," says Clemson coach Jim
Davis. "So I guess when we play Tennessee, we'll win!"
So which teams, besides Tennessee, will find the way to San
Jose, site of this year's Final Four? We think Purdue, Louisiana
Tech and Clemson are up to the challenge, but we just aren't
sure about their fight songs.
--Kelli Anderson
