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The University of Tennessee Lady Vols may be the #1 seed in the Oklahoma City regional, but they will definitely feel like they are playing an “away” game, as they face the #9 seed Purdue Boilermakers in tonight’s second round matchup at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, IN, on Purdue’s home court. How did this happen? In 2003, the NCAA committee decided to change formats for the post-season tournament, moving from playing first and second round games on the home court of the higher seed, to a format of pre-determined host sites for sub-regional games. Because the women’s game does not yet have the support that would bring in large crowds for teams at a completely neutral site, host schools are placed in the brackets they are hosting, and therefore situations like tonight’s game occur.

UT head coach Pat Summitt doesn’t mind. She says her Lady Vols perform better in front of large crowds, and when they have struggled is when people are not in the gym. “Whether they’re yelling for us or against us, I think having a great environment is best for us,” Summitt said. Rest assured, there will be a highly vocal black-and-gold clad crowd at Mackey tonight, where Purdue has averaged over 9400 for their home games this season, putting them in fourth place in the nation for home game attendance average, trailing only UT, UCONN, and Oklahoma. Mackey Arena is also known for having an “elevated” court, reminiscent of that other homecourt of a black-and-gold team, Memorial Gym on the campus of Vanderbilt University.

UT enters tonight’s matchup with a 31-2 record and is a perfect in NCAA second round games with a 20-0 mark. Purdue sports a 19-14 record, having finished with an 11-7 Big Ten conference record, and received an automatic bid to the NCAA tourney by virtue of winning their conference tournament. What more can you say about Tennessee that hasn’t already been said? The women in orange live for this time of year, focusing on the NCAAs like Smokey chasing a raccoon. Purdue on the other hand, is playing with a thin bench, having lost two starters before the season ever started, but Purdue has a fairly solid tradition themselves when it comes to the postseason. The 2008 tourney marks the Boilermakers’ 19th overall and 15th straight appearance in the NCAAs. They have won one National Championship, in 1999 under head coach Carolyn Peck. UT is vying for their eighth NCAA women’s basketball championship, and are attempting to become the fourth team ever to win back-to-back titles. USC did it in 1983 and 1984, UCONN had a three-peat from 2002-2004, and the Lady Vols had a three-peat of their own from 1996 to 1998.

Probable starters for UT:

G Shannon Bobbitt, 5-2 SR: 9.9 ppg, 3.1 rpg
G/F/C Candace Parker, 6-4 JR: 21.1 ppg, 8.2 rpg
F Alberta Auguste, 5-11 SR: 5.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg
G Alexis Hornbuckle, 5-11 SR: 10.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg
C Nicky Anosike, 6-4 SR: 8.9 ppg, 7.1 rpg

Probable starters for Purdue:

F Lakisha Freeman, 6-1 JR: 12.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg
G Kalika France, 5-9 SR: 8.4 ppg, 5.5 rpg
G FahKara Malone, 5-3 SO: 10.1 ppg, 3.6 apg
F Natasha Bogdanova, 6-4 JR: 6.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg
C Danielle Campbell, 6-4 JR: 12.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg

My prediction is a homecourt crowd can only take you so far. Knowing Purdue had a squeaker of a first round game compared to the Vols cakewalk, look for PHS to take it to the Boilermakers early and often, wearing down a thin lineup. UT in a romp.

Posted under LeAnne Harrington & NCAA Tournament & Tennessee | No Comments »

by Marilyn McManus, SECWB.com

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It was, perhaps, the cruellest way to lose a game. The two teams sparred for a while, in the first half, then the Gamecocks opened a lead that would grow as high as 14 points. It was enough, anyway, for the Gamecocks fans to smell victory and believe that it was within reach. In the first half, with Jordan Jones on fire, the Gamecocks were able to answer every challenge by the Wolfpack and retain a comfortable lead.

In the second half, the lead began to shrink…but it appeared to stabilize, for some time, at around a 4-point margin. That in itself was remarkable, given that the Gamecocks did not score for the first five minutes of the second half. The 4-point margin held until the final three minutes of the game, when the Wolfpack surge finally resulted in a knockout blow, grabbing a 4-point lead of their own with 1:35 to play. Two foul shots by Ilona Burgrova had the Gamecocks within 2 points only 20 seconds later and the Gamecocks also got the rebound on a missed shot by Shayla Fields, with only 46 seconds left to play. Seconds later, the Gamecocks turned over the ball, then fouled Nikitta Gartrell, resulting in another 4-point lead for the Wolfpack, with only 22 seconds left to play. Brionna Dickerson missed the 3-point attempt on the ensuing possession and the Gamecocks were forced to foul to ensure another possession. By the time they got the ball, the lead was 5 and there were only 8 seconds left. Dickerson hit a 3-point shot with 2 seconds left on the clock, to bring the lead down to 2 points–and the Gamecocks had to foul again. You could have heard a pin drop when Shayla Fields stepped up to the line (in fact, I did clearly hear a fan in another section mutter “you refs stink” and I know nearly everyone in the arena must have heard it, too) but as soon as she hit the first shot, a Wolfpack victory was nearly guaranteed. With only one second left on the clock, Samone Kennedy could only grab the rebound and fling it towards the Gamecock basket in desperation. The ball fell well short and the Wolfpack moved into Round Three of the WNIT championship.


Jordan Jones was the leading scorer of the game, with 27 points on 9-12 shooting, including 7 of 9 from 3-point range. Ilona Burgrova was next, with 12 points (including 6-8 at the free throw line) and 3 rebounds. Demetress Adams led the Gamecocks with 8 rebounds.

It was on the boards that the Wolfpack did much of their damage, out-rebounding the Gamecocks 48-35. The Wolfpack had 23 offensive rebounds–compared to the Gamecocks’ 6–for a lot of second chance looks for points. It was enough to make the difference in the game, despite the Gamecocks out-shooting them from the field (40% v. 35%), the 3-point line (66% v, 35%) and the free throw line (79% v. 62%).

Shayla Fields, Nikitta Gartrell and Kadijah Whittington were in double figures for NC State, with 16, 14 and 11 points, respectively. Whittington also had 15 rebounds in the game, 9 defensive and 6 offensive. Lucy Ellison had 6 rebounds for the Wolfpack, all on the offensive glass.

The South Carolina Gamecocks end their season with a 16-16 record

Posted under Marilyn McManus & South Carolina & WNIT | No Comments »