NCAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP : Louisiana Tech Doesn’t Get Choked Up in Win

After a week of hounding, Louisiana Tech Coach Leon Barmore came to see the media here at the women’s Final Four as something akin to an irritating Greek Chorus: Let Us Explain It All For You.

The litany went like this: Leon, you and your team are here to avenge a humiliating loss in last years’ championship game. Leon, your team is motivated by revenge. Leon, if you don’t win this time, people will call you a loser and your players chokers.

Barmore has heard it plenty and has liked it less.

Suddenly, in the midst of Tech’s disastrous first half against Auburn Sunday in the Tacoma Dome, in which his team scored only 19 points, Barmore began to hear the refrain again, this time inside his own head. “We are going to fail, like last year.”

Somehow Barmore and his team shut out those thoughts and made a stirring second-half comeback to beat Auburn, 56-54, to win the NCAA championship.

“Last year was certainly a factor in this basketball game,” Barmore said. His team was beaten, 67-44, by Tennessee in Austin, Tex., last year.

“At halftime you can go in there and talk about Xs and Os but you better have a bunch of kids realizing we were flat on our backs, no question about that. I think you have doubts, but you keep fighting and when the game’s over, you either measure up or you don’t measure up.”

Tech (32-2) won its second NCAA title on the strength of a wild comeback that brought the Lady Techsters back from 14 points down before a crowd of 8,448.

Auburn (32-3), playing in its first final ever, broke down defensively in the second half, allowing Tech to take over.

It didn’t happen until late in the game. Angela Lawson’s 18-footer from the corner tied the game, 51-51, with 3:02 left. Lawson had hit a six-footer before that to bring Tech to within two.

This, from a guard who put up only three shots in the first half.

“It just seemed like it was my time to come out,” Lawson said. “I was in the open and I had a little rhythm going. I wanted to be the one to take it.”

On Auburn’s next possession Tech stole the ball and Erica Westbrooks layed it in.

That gave Tech a 53-51 lead with 2:13 remaining. Vickie Orr made a turnaround jumper to tie it with 59 seconds left, but Lawson hit again from 16 feet to give Tech the lead 20 seconds later.

Sharon Stewart’s free throw with 25 seconds left cut Tech’s lead to one.

With six seconds left, the Tigers’ Diann McNeil drove to the basket and tried desperately to put a shot up but found nothing but a wall of Tech bodies. Westbrooks got a hand on the ball and Tech was awarded the ball on possession.

Barmore called time out. When play resumed, Teresa Weatherspoon took the ball inbounds and was fouled by Ruthie Bolton. Weatherspoon made one of two shots to give Tech a 56-54 cushion with three seconds left.

Auburn Coach Joe Caimpi called his last timeout with one second left, but there was scarcely a play that could be designed to win the game.

Bolton heaved the ball the length of the court at the buzzer but it glanced off the glass and bounced harmlessly away.

Bolton was a disappointment for Auburn in the second half. She was 7 for 9 from a the field in the first half, but was 0 for 2 in the second.

She finished with 16 points, McNeil had 16 and 11 rebounds and Orr had 11 points.

Westbrooks scored 25 points for the Lady Techsters.

The Tech drive in the second half was all the more remarkable because of its lame play in the first.

Tech had 11 turnovers in the first half but only 3 in the second. Auburn had 10 turnovers in the second half. Tech shot 36% in the first half but 50% in the second.

Neither team played particularly well in the first half. At one point there were five points scored in five minutes. And then the game slowed down.

It was a nightmare for womens’ basketball officials, who hoped for a more competitive game on national television. Their history has been that every time they get on television, the women produce a dog of a game.

That scenario didn’t play out, to the everlasting relief of Barmore and his team.

“I was embarrassed last year,” Barmore said, returning to the point again. “I was embarrassed for the game of basketball on television. I was embarrassed I didn’t do a better coaching job. I just felt like I let everybody down. The feelings were like opposite ends of the spectrum from last year. I like this end better.”

Women’s Final Four Notes

Named to the All-Tournament team were, Teresa Weatherspoon and Erica Westbrooks of Louisiana Tech, Diann McNeil and Ruthie Bolton of Auburn and Penny Toler of Cal State Long Beach. Westbrooks was named the outstanding player. . . . Weatherspoon had eight assists. . . . There has been much talk of parity this season, the men have it and the women have it. But what of parity between the men and women? Forget it. Each school in the men’s Final Four will receive $1.15 million. The women’s Final Four schools will each get $31,600. . . . Unlike last year’s final in Austin, Tex., this year’s title game was not a sellout. . . . Tech Coach Leon Barmore was asked how he would celebrate the victory, “Well, my wife is in town. . . . “