NCAA Women’s Basketball Notes : Texas Is Out, Old Dominion Is Back In

Marianne Stanley, women’s basketball coach at Old Dominion University, recalled with great agony her experience of having to watch last year’s NCAA women’s Final Four from the bleachers in Pauley Pavilion.

It was only the second time since Stanley became the Lady Monarchs’ coach in 1977 that her team had not reached the national semifinals, and that feeling alone was enough incentive to get her back to the Final Four this season.

“It’s nice to be back here,” Stanley said Wednesday as the Lady Monarchs prepared for their semifinal game against Northeast Louisiana Friday night at the University of Texas. Georgia will play Western Kentucky in the other semifinal, and the winners will meet Sunday for the national championship.

“Last year at Pauley Pavilion, I was so sick to my stomach that I could barely watch,” Stanley said. “We had beaten three of the four teams on the floor (USC, Cheyney State and Louisiana Tech).”

It will be Texas Coach Jody Conradt who will have that sinking feeling Friday night in the Frank Erwin Special Events Center as she ponders what might have been.

The top-ranked Longhorns, everyone’s pick to win the Mideast Regional and advance to the Final Four to play before their hometown fans, were upset by Western Kentucky in the second round, 92-90.

“I’m not very popular with the fans in Texas, but I’m extremely popular among the three other coaches here,” Western Kentucky Coach Paul Sanderford said. “None of them wanted to play Texas. I think they’re the best team in the country, even though they’re not in the Final Four.”

There’s no doubt that Old Dominion belongs here.

The fifth-ranked Lady Monarchs (29-3) won the Sun Belt Conference title before defeating Syracuse, North Carolina State and Ohio State in the tournament.

They are led by All-American seniors Medina Dixon, a 6-foot-3 center averaging 16 points and 8 rebounds a game, and Tracy Claxton, a 6-foot-2 forward averaging 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Having won two national championships and advanced to the semifinals five times in the past seven years, the Lady Monarchs are loaded with tradition.

But Northeast Louisiana knows how to deal with tradition. For years, the Indians played in the shadow of nearby rival Louisiana Tech, which won consecutive national championships in 1981 and ’82.

Last Sunday, Northeast Louisiana beat Louisiana Tech in the Midwest Regional championship game, 85-76.

Second-ranked Northeast Louisiana, which has the nation’s best record (30-1), is making its first appearance in the Final Four, but it could pose quite a challenge to Old Dominion.

The Indians are led by junior center Lisa Ingram, who is averaging 21 points and 9 rebounds a game; freshman forward Chana Perry, 18 points and 12 rebounds, and junior point guard Eun Jung Lee, 18 points and 9 assists. Lee is one of the nation’s most exciting female players.

“When you have a guard who throws lob passes from midcourt, it can be tough to defend against,” Stanley said. “I told my kids not to be surprised if she dropkicks one into the basket. She’s so quick and creative on the floor, you never know what she’s going to do.”

Western Kentucky, ranked 14th with a 28-5 record, is more a one-dimensional team with guard Clemette Haskins, who averages 13 points and 6 assists.

“We run a lot of give-and-go offenses,” Sanderford said. “Give it to Clemette and everyone else go to the boards.”

The Hilltoppers, also making their first semifinal appearance, don’t match up well with Georgia, which is favored to advance to the championship game.

The eighth-ranked Bulldogs (28-4) are led by three-time All-American center Janet Harris, averaging 21 points and 10 rebounds, and All-American guard Teresa Edwards, averaging 15 points. Edwards was named the most valuable player of the West Regional tournament.