NCAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL FINAL : Crew’s Disharmony Flaws Shuttle Mission : Western Kentucky: The Hilltoppers fought among themselves for much of the season, but are united in defeat.

It’s been a wild ride on Western Kentucky’s Big Red shuttle--L.A. or Bust!--on a road no one believed this team of bickering high school stars had even a chance to travel.

The ride ended Sunday in a 78-62 loss to Stanford in the NCAA national championship game.

It had been a season of lows and lower for the Hilltoppers, beginning with four losses in the first eight games. That start did not bode well for a team that had been to the Final Four three times. Things were so bad that during the third game of the season, a loss at Stephen F. Austin, the Hilltoppers were spending more time fighting with each other than concentrating on their opponents.

Western Kentucky’s problem was not unusual in college basketball: The players were sure they had better notions than the coaches about the style of play the team should adopt. Four of Western Kentucky’s starting five players had been voted Miss Basketball in their home states.

Western Kentucky’s shuttle was being piloted by its passengers.

“We had a lot of individual play instead of team basketball, that’s what I attribute to the losses,” said guard Kim Pehlke, the only Western Kentucky player named to the all-tournament team.

There was a change, as everyone knew there had to be if the team was to live up to its media guide prediction of a Final Four appearance. Pehlke said the turnaround came in a confrontational, no-holds-barred fashion.

“You scream at each other,” Pehlke said.

Pehlke took up the task of righting her team, a natural burden for a senior point guard.

“The coaches present the system, they say what we have to do,” she said. “My job is to sell the system to the players.”

Not everyone was buying. Throughout the season the players continually harped at each other. That sniping was apparent Sunday as the game got away from the Hilltoppers. They had shots, but couldn’t make them fall. Pehlke made pinpoint passes, but they bounced off her teammates’ hands.

At one juncture, Pehlke vigorously lectured Liesa Lang for committing what she perceived was an error. It may have been a reflection of Western Kentucky’s growing frustration.

The Hilltoppers set a championship game record for lowest field goal percentage with 29.6% on 21-of-71 shooting. Their total attempts are the second most in a championship game and their 21 shots made are the second fewest in a title game.

“It wasn’t until the last 1:30 that I knew we had lost,” Pehlke said. “Then I just thought to go out and tighten the score. Lose by less--that was what was going through my mind.”

It was a wonder she could hold even those thoughts in the din at the end of the game. The Stanford fans seemed to take over the Sports Arena with their chanting and celebrating.

Western Kentucky red-clad fans stood stoically. Among them were Pehlke’s parents, Charles and Dianna, who for four years had become accustomed to the two-hour drive from their home in Louisville to the campus in Bowling Green for the games.

The Hilltopper bench was quiet. There were no arguments or harsh words. It’s easier to agree when the game is lost and you don’t have the energy to yell and you feel more sad than angry.

Pehlke sat in a white plastic chair in the somber Western Kentucky locker room after the game. You could hear the Stanford fans serenade the national champions as they cut down the nets.

The Big Red shuttle had held together as far as L.A., where it went bust.