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By ANTONYA ENGLISH, Times wires
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 30, 2001
Coaches recall 1st semifinal trip
ST. LOUIS -- On a day when all the talk was about the heightened level of excitement surrounding the Women's Final Four and the maturing of the game, the four women who coached in the first NCAA Final Four 20 years ago gathered Thursday afternoon to discuss the evolution of the game.
Pat Summitt (Tennessee), C. Vivian Stringer (then Cheyney State, now Rutgers), Chris Weller (Maryland) and Sonja Hogg recalled both the excitement and uncertainty that surrounded that first tournament and the bitter feelings it left among some Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) supporters who didn't want to allow the game to go under the umbrella of the NCAA.
"It's so exciting to see the growth of the game, in particular for this Final Four to become an event," Summitt said. "We have waited and worked a lot of years, had a lot of great players and dedicated coaches. Back then, we just promoted the game, now the game is promoting itself."
TICKETS ANYONE?: Much like last year's Final Four when two teams from the area participated, getting a ticket to this year's games is difficult. Notre Dame guard Niele Ivey is a St. Louis native and Southwest Missouri State is located just 3 1/2 hours from St. Louis, prompting intense local interest. The Savvis Center seats 19,404, but each participating school gets just 800 tickets and the players and coaches each get six, prompting coaches to say it may be time to move the event to larger, dome-sized facilities.
"I don't think there are enough tickets to go around for the schools that are in it," Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said. "We could not come close to meeting the demand for tickets. I think we need to go to bigger arenas. Our game has finally grown to that point and it would be great to see everybody that wants to come get a ticket."
Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma said it will be interesting to see what will happen with attendance when the game is at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, next year.
"We have 10,000 seats filled every night when we play at home and there's 16,000 when we play at the Hartford Civic Center and they are all season-ticket holders who would want to get tickets if they could," Auriemma said. "When we move into domes, I think it will make it easier for everybody."
A MILESTONE: In 1982, when Summitt took the Vols to the first Final Four, 37 members of the media showed up to watch along with the 9,531 fans who paid $7 to get in. This year there are more than 600 media members and thousands of fans fought for and lost out on a chance spend $100 for a ticket.
WHAT ABOUT US?: With Connecticut's hunt for its second straight title and the personal triumphs of SMS guard Jackie Stiles and Notre Dame's Ruth Riley hogging the media headlines, Purdue is starting to get a little miffed about the lack of attention. After all, the Boilermakers are just two years removed from winning a national championship -- and six of those players will suit up tonight.
"Everyone expects us to be the unexpected, but not us," coach Kristy Curry said. "As far as the attention and the accolades, we are all just laid back and blue collar about it. They (media) can focus on whatever they want. We are not satisfied just coming to St. Louis. We want to win."
COACHES: Connecticut -- Geno Auriemma (425-97, 16th season). Notre Dame -- Muffet McGraw (320-117, 14th season; 408-158 overall).
KEY PLAYERS: UConn -- Sue Bird, G, 5-9 Jr. (10.6 ppg, 5.0 apg); Diana Taurasi, G/F, 6-0 Fr. (11.3 ppg, 3.2 rpg); Swin Cash, F, 6-2 Jr. (12.2 ppg, 7.4 rpg); Asjha Jones, F, 6-2 Jr. (8.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg). Notre Dame -- Ruth Riley, C, 6-5 Sr. (18.4 ppg, 7.7 rpg); Alicia Ratay, G, 5-11 So. (13.0 ppg, 5.1 rpg); Kelley Siemon, F, 6-2 Sr. (11.3 ppg, 7.2 rpg); Niele Ivey, G, 5-8 Sr. (11.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg).
SERIES HISTORY: Connecticut leads the series 12-1. Since 1996, Notre Dame's only win was 92-76 on Jan. 15.
HOW THEY GOT HERE: UConn defeated Long Island 101-29, Colorado State 89-44, North Carolina State 72-58 and Louisiana Tech 67-48. Notre Dame defeated Alcorn State 98-49, Michigan 88-54, Utah 69-54 and Vanderbilt 72-64.
WHAT CONNECTICUT HAS TO DO: Contain Riley and limit the Fighting Irish's inside-outside threat. If Riley gets established inside and Ivey and Ratay start hitting from the outside, that's trouble for UConn. The two guards shoot 50 percent from the arc, and with Riley pounding it inside, the Irish are strong. Stopping their outside threat puts more pressure on Riley, who has been prone to foul trouble, although she has improved this season.
WHAT NOTRE DAME HAS TO DO: Hope Riley stays healthy and out of foul trouble. While the Fighting Irish have great talent, including Ivey and Ratay, the bottom line is how Riley goes, the Irish go. If the senior All-American struggles, or worse, gets into foul trouble, Notre Dame will have serious problems because it lacks depth at center. In fact, lack of depth at guard is also an issue, so Ivey and Ratay also need to stay clear of foul trouble. Notre Dame also has to play stellar defense against Taurasi and Byrd. Allowing both free rein of the court with too many open shots will cost it the game.
COACHES: Purdue -- Kristy Curry (53-14, second season). SMS -- Cheryl Burnett (303-122, 14th season).
KEY PLAYERS: Purdue -- Katie Douglas, G/F, 5-11 Sr. (15.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg); Camille Cooper, C, 6-4 Sr. (14.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg); Shereka Wright, F, 5-10 Fr. (9.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg); Kelly Komora, G, 5-7 Jr. (9.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg). SMS -- Jackie Stiles, G, 5-8 Sr. (30.6 ppg, 3.4 rpg); Tara Mitchem, G, 5-9 Sr. (13.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg); Carly Deer, F/G, 6-0 Sr. (9.0 ppg, 7.9 rpg).
SERIES HISTORY: This is the first meeting.
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Purdue defeated UC Santa Barbara 75-62, LSU 73-70, Texas Tech 74-72 and Xavier 88-78. SMS defeated Toledo 89-71, Rutgers 60-53, Duke 81-71 and Washington 104-87.
WHAT PURDUE HAS TO DO: Make sure Stiles is the only thing the Bears have going for them tonight. The general consensus is you can't stop Stiles, and even containing her hasn't proved helpful for many teams. So assuming that even with her 30.6 point average Stiles can't single-handedly win the game, the next best thing is making sure nobody else steps up. When Stiles went out with foul trouble against Washington, her teammates rallied to save the game, but that hasn't been the case all season. More often, if Stiles doesn't carry it, SMS struggles. The Boilermakers also need to capitalize on the Bears' weakness -- their inside game.
WHAT SMS HAS TO DO: Get great play from its supporting cast. Stiles' teammates are the unknown factor in this game and they'll need to step up big against Purdue, which has six players on its roster from its 1999 championship team. The Bears must also find a way to stop Purdue's inside game. Through the tournament, the Bears haven't shown they have the players to stop a player of Cooper's caliber inside, but containing her will be crucial. Purdue not only has balance, but depth, which may prove detrimental for the Bears.
- Compiled by Antonya English.