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NCAA Women briefs

Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times, published March 15, 2001

Injured Tennessee still expecting a strong run

When Tamika Catchings went down and out for the season in January, some people wrote off Tennessee's chances of adding another national title.

Not coach Pat Summitt.

Granted, she worried. Nobody, not even the six-time national champions, loses a national player of the year without problems.

But the No. 3 Vols (29-2) head into the NCAA Tournament as the top seed in the Mideast Region and play Austin Peay Friday in a first-round game not really having skipped a beat -- yet -- since losing Catchings.

"I just really applaud this team," Summitt said. "I've had a lot of teams that faced adversity, but none better than this particular group from the freshman class all the way up to the senior class."

Catchings was with the Vols as they rebounded from a Dec. 30 loss to Connecticut by winning their next five games. Then the two-time All-American tore the ACL in her right knee against Mississippi State on Jan. 15.

Summitt called it "a big curveball," something the Vols couldn't overcome easily.

"It took us a full 24 to 48 hours to put the emotions aside and now say, 'Let's refocus. Here's what we have to do,' " Summitt said.

With Catchings relegated to the bench, her teammates worked at picking up the slack. Summitt thinks they got even better, especially on offense.

They won their next 13 games and finished with a fourth consecutive SEC regular-season title. They also finished first in RPI with the nation's toughest schedule.

"The reality is All-Americans have taken their place. That's the reality," Vanderbilt coach Jim Foster said. "For most people, that's not a reality. It's another opportunity for someone to step up. That's all.

When the Associated Press' All-America team was released Tuesday, Tennessee had more people listed than any other school. Catchings was second team, while Michelle Snow, Gwen Jackson, Semeka Randall and Kara Lawson were honorable mention.

"It's not like they're going to chopped liver," Foster said.

The Vols' only loss since Catchings' injury came on March 3 to Foster's Commodores in the semifinals of the SEC tournament.

The loss angered the Vols. Summitt saw it as a valuable opportunity, the chance to teach lessons before the NCAA Tournament where one loss ends the season.

Since returning to the court for practice, Summitt has been working her Vols hard to improve in the areas where they miss Catchings the most -- rebounding and defense.

"When we had our backs against the wall, she's been a player who'll come up, make the risk, get the steal and get the putback. Now the challenge is to get them to make sure they feel that sense of urgency at both ends," Summitt said.

TALENT ABOUNDS: Much has been made about who won't be playing. But how about all those who will?

The 64-team field still is loaded with talent, with All-Americans, would-be All-Americans, players who aren't as well known as Riley and Ralph and Catchings -- but might be soon.

"The whole country is looking at this tournament," Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly said. "It's a chance for players to show what they can do as individuals, a chance for teams to show what they can do. If you step up and do it in the NCAA Tournament, everybody knows it."

It all starts Friday, with 16 first-round games at eight campus sites.

The players worth watching start with Notre Dame's Ruth Riley, a unanimous All-American and winner of the Naismith Award as the nation's top player. Riley leads the top-seeded Irish against Alcorn State in the Midwest Region at South Bend, Ind., on Saturday.

The Irish also have a third-team All-American in point guard Niele Ivey. Her backcourt partner, Alicia Ratay, has made a nation-leading 53.8 percent of her three-point shots.

Top-ranked Connecticut, the No. 1 seed in the East, won't have Svetlana Abrosimova and Shea Ralph when it begins defense of its national title against visiting Long Island on Saturday. Abrosimova is out with a torn ligament in her foot, Ralph with an ACL torn in the Big East tournament final.

But the Huskies haven't lost since Abrosimova went out on Feb. 1 and there's ample talent left. Point guard Sue Bird is a third-team All-American. Freshman Diana Taurasi is a fearless shooter. Tamika Williams, Swin Cash and Asjha Jones are strong inside.

"We've got a bunch of guys who have won the national championship, who have been through it," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. "Some team is going to have to beat us and if they do, then great. But it won't be because we don't have Shea or Svet."

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