Tuesday's Stanford/Tennessee final unpredicted, but not unearned

By Bryan Montgomery
STAFF WRITER

Pretty much everyone had it set in stone in their minds. The perfect matchup in the 2008 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament: Connecticut vs. Tennessee. The best team in the nation against the defending champion in a battle of wills. But there is one thing that many, including myself, forgot. They don’t call it March Madness for nothing.

The tournament was selected the day after the men’s tournament bracket was set. The No. 1 seeds in the tournament were Connecticut (Greensboro Region), North Carolina (New Orleans Region), Maryland (Spokane Region) and the defending champion, Tennessee Volunteers (Oklahoma City Region).

In the first round, three upsets occurred, as 10th-seeded Hartford defeated Syracuse 59-55 and ninth-seeded Purdue defeated Utah 59-66. The largest upset of the first round was 11th-seeded Florida State defeating Oklahoma 60-49.

The subsequent two rounds featured a few scares from teams such as Old Dominion, who pushed themselves into the Sweet 16 after an 88-85 win over Virginia, and a buzzer-beating layup from George Washington that took out California, but by the time the women’s tournament hit the Elite Eight, there were four matchups, all with the same seeds playing: No. 1 vs. No. 2.

In the Greensboro region, Connecticut played and finally got rid of a pesky Rutgers team, courtesy of a key three-point shot with less than three minutes remaining from star player Maya Moore. They would meet Stanford in the Final Four, as the Cardinal defeated Maryland by a final score of 98-87, with eventual Player-of-the-Year Candace Wiggins dropping 41 on the Terrapins (the fifth most in tournament history, and keep in mind this was against a No. 1 seed).

The right side of the bracket featured a matchup between North Carolina and LSU, who were looking for their fifth Final Four in a row. The Lady Tigers’ wish was granted, as LSU was too much for UNC, defeating the Tar Heels by a final score of 56-60. First-year Hall-of-Fame coach Van Chancellor was bringing his team to the final four in Tampa, hoping to advance to the championship game for the first time in the five trips for the Lady Tigers.

But LSU would face Tennessee, who defeated Texas A&M 53-45. Candace Parker, one of the best players in the country, was injured in the first half with a dislocated shoulder, but came back and led her team to the win, scoring 26 points.

“I think sometimes when you see finesse players, you don’t realize just how mentally tough they are until you see them fight through the adversity that she fought through tonight,” said Tennessee head coach Pat Summit.

In the Final Four, Stanford continued to play hot, defeating the No. 1 team in the nation in Connecticut by a final score of 82-73. Once again led by Candace Wiggins, who scored 25 and registered a double-double, the Cardinal would face Tennessee, who survived a scare from LSU. After fouling with less than 10 seconds remaining, Tennessee could only look on as LSU, who had been cold from the charity stripe all night long, put in two shots that gave the Lady Tigers the lead.

Tennessee then inbounded the ball to the player everyone knew would get it — Candace Parker. Parker drove the ball past half-court, dished it to teammate Nicky Anosike, who put up a lay-in that missed. Alexis Hornbuckle then made one of the most important plays in Tennessee women’s basketball history, as she tipped the rebound into the basket, giving Tennessee the one-point lead with less than a second remaining, and the win.

Now, it’s not the final we all wanted. Deep down, we all wanted Connecticut and Tennessee, as a matchup between the best team in the nation and the defending champions would be a sure hit. But the championship game that we have now is just as sweet.

Many people have seen the power of the Women’s NCAA tournament to be the east, as many of the last championship winning teams (Maryland, Connecticut, Tennessee) are in the Eastern half of the country.

Now, the west has a good shot at stealing a title, and if there is any team that could do the job, it is Stanford. Looking at this hungry Cardinal team, led by Wiggins, they are a posthumous threat from nearly every part of the court, and love to move the ball quick and hit threes without a moment’s notice.

Looking at the game, basketball fans can be sure of one thing: Memphis vs. Kansas may be the Monday marquee, but don’t forget that Tuesday’s game of Stanford and Tennessee is just as exciting and gives fans the best that March can offer.

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