Women's NCAA Tournament
The Baylor Bears are full of respect for the Oregon Ducks, having spent yesterday's off-day news conference extolling the virtues of Oregon's players and style of basketball.
Underneath it all, however, the Baylor women have a score to settle. Being in the NCAA tournament reminds them of the misfortune they suffered in the Big Dance last year. Indeed, the Bears have unfinished business to attend to, those very words emblazoned on T-shirts the players wore in preseason workouts.
The matter has nothing to do with the Ducks, against whom the Bears play tonight in a second-round game at Edmundson Pavilion. But Baylor must keep advancing in the tourney in order to atone for the events of last March 28.
The Bears lost to Tennessee, 71-69, in the 2004 NCAA regional semifinals on a questionable call. Former Bears player Jessika Stratton was called for a foul in a scramble for a loose ball in the final second of regulation with the score tied at 69. Stratton appeared to have control of the ball, but the whistle blew and officials ruled that foul had occurred before the final buzzer.
Tennessee's Tasha Butts sank both free throws, and the game ended in an uproar.
"It will go down in the history of basketball as a way not to let a game end," Baylor coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson said. "If you're a part of it, it's something you'll remember for the rest of your life."
Mulkey-Robertson and her players are trying to forget it. They believe they have moved past it, having put together a 28-3 season and earned the No. 2 seed in the Tempe Regional. But doing so took some time.
"It was such an emotional ending that I couldn't talk to my team," Mulkey-Robertson said of her feelings immediately after the game. "Time healed it, and time heals all wounds. What that game did is it gave us experience on how to handle many situations."
The Bears have tried to turn the heartbreak into a positive. It was addressed at the first team meeting this season, and was only brought up again when the Bears made the NCAA tournament.
"It was more showing the world that Baylor can play with the best teams in the country," guard Chelsea Whitaker said. "It just shows us how far we have to at least make it before this is a satisfactory season."
The Bears say they are more focused at this point of the season. The Ducks are as well, but they don't seem to have the same dead-set mentality.
Oregon won its first-round game over TCU with hundreds of their fans in attendance. It is in the tournament as an at-large selection, a No. 10 seed, and enters tonight's game with virtually nothing to lose.
The tension of being in the tournament wore off on Saturday. Players have enjoyed being in Seattle. And the city has been so hospitable that even Washington women's coach June Daugherty has called Bev Smith, her Oregon counterpart, to let Smith know she is available for any assistance while in town.
"Everyone roots for the underdog," Oregon forward Kristen Forristall said. And the Ducks like being in that position.
"It lets us play our game and be relaxed, but also be intense," forward Cathrine Kraayeveld said. "It lets us just worry about doing what Oregon needs to do to play a good game."
Bottom line: Baylor and Oregon match up well, both featuring size and solid inside play. The Ducks will need to shoot the ball well from the perimeter and rebound well, as the Bears feature one of the top post combinations in the country in 6-1 junior Sophia Young and 6-2 senior Steffanie Blackmon. Expect the Bears to try to push the tempo and take advantage of more team speed. KSU is led by 5-11 senior forward Kendra Wecker, the Big 12 Conference's all-time leading scorer with 2,304 career points. She had a big game in the first round, with 25 points and 12 rebounds in a win Saturday over Bowling Green. Vanderbilt has won 10 of its past 12 games, with both losses coming against Tennessee, a top seed in the tournament. Senior forward Ashley Earley is the Commodores' top gun who, at 5-10, excels on the inside.
The Baylor Bears are full of respect for the Oregon Ducks, having spent yesterday's off-day news conference extolling the virtues of Oregon's players and style of basketball.
Underneath it all, however, the Baylor women have a score to settle. Being in the NCAA tournament reminds them of the misfortune they suffered in the Big Dance last year. Indeed, the Bears have unfinished business to attend to, those very words emblazoned on T-shirts the players wore in preseason workouts.
The matter has nothing to do with the Ducks, against whom the Bears play tonight in a second-round game at Edmundson Pavilion. But Baylor must keep advancing in the tourney in order to atone for the events of last March 28.
The Bears lost to Tennessee, 71-69, in the 2004 NCAA regional semifinals on a questionable call. Former Bears player Jessika Stratton was called for a foul in a scramble for a loose ball in the final second of regulation with the score tied at 69. Stratton appeared to have control of the ball, but the whistle blew and officials ruled that foul had occurred before the final buzzer.
Tennessee's Tasha Butts sank both free throws, and the game ended in an uproar.
"It will go down in the history of basketball as a way not to let a game end," Baylor coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson said. "If you're a part of it, it's something you'll remember for the rest of your life."
Mulkey-Robertson and her players are trying to forget it. They believe they have moved past it, having put together a 28-3 season and earned the No. 2 seed in the Tempe Regional. But doing so took some time.
"It was such an emotional ending that I couldn't talk to my team," Mulkey-Robertson said of her feelings immediately after the game. "Time healed it, and time heals all wounds. What that game did is it gave us experience on how to handle many situations."
The Bears have tried to turn the heartbreak into a positive. It was addressed at the first team meeting this season, and was only brought up again when the Bears made the NCAA tournament.
"It was more showing the world that Baylor can play with the best teams in the country," guard Chelsea Whitaker said. "It just shows us how far we have to at least make it before this is a satisfactory season."
The Bears say they are more focused at this point of the season. The Ducks are as well, but they don't seem to have the same dead-set mentality.
Oregon won its first-round game over TCU with hundreds of their fans in attendance. It is in the tournament as an at-large selection, a No. 10 seed, and enters tonight's game with virtually nothing to lose.
The tension of being in the tournament wore off on Saturday. Players have enjoyed being in Seattle. And the city has been so hospitable that even Washington women's coach June Daugherty has called Bev Smith, her Oregon counterpart, to let Smith know she is available for any assistance while in town.
"Everyone roots for the underdog," Oregon forward Kristen Forristall said. And the Ducks like being in that position.
"It lets us play our game and be relaxed, but also be intense," forward Cathrine Kraayeveld said. "It lets us just worry about doing what Oregon needs to do to play a good game."
Bottom line: Baylor and Oregon match up well, both featuring size and solid inside play. The Ducks will need to shoot the ball well from the perimeter and rebound well, as the Bears feature one of the top post combinations in the country in 6-1 junior Sophia Young and 6-2 senior Steffanie Blackmon. Expect the Bears to try to push the tempo and take advantage of more team speed. KSU is led by 5-11 senior forward Kendra Wecker, the Big 12 Conference's all-time leading scorer with 2,304 career points. She had a big game in the first round, with 25 points and 12 rebounds in a win Saturday over Bowling Green. Vanderbilt has won 10 of its past 12 games, with both losses coming against Tennessee, a top seed in the tournament. Senior forward Ashley Earley is the Commodores' top gun who, at 5-10, excels on the inside.
