Either Texas or LSU Will Finally End Wait

Texas hasn’t been to a women’s Final Four since 1987.

Louisiana State has never made the trip.

Both teams will have a shot to break their patterns tonight in the championship game of the NCAA West Regional at Stanford’s Maples Pavilion.

The Tigers and Longhorns understand that not “getting caught up in the moment” will be just as important as controlling the rebounds or shooting well.

“I feel this team is very mature,” LSU Coach Sue Gunter said. “Most of them have been in the Sweet 16 or Elite Eight, so they know what’s at stake. Both teams might be nervous in the beginning because so much is at stake, but once they get going it should be an excellent contest.”

Texas Coach Jody Conradt also said her team will be relatively relaxed for the 6 p.m. tipoff.

“It’s interesting because I always want our players to live in the moment,” Conradt said. “It’s been our strong suit; we’ve played every game like it’s the most important game. But ... I think this is a pretty calm team emotionally. We might shoot it over the backboard a few times early, but we will settle into knowing we have to get down and work hard.”

LSU (30-3), the top-seeded team, had little time to savor Sunday’s 69-63 victory over Louisiana Tech, a game in which the Tigers overcame a 17-point deficit in the second half. But the Tigers also have the memory of their Dec. 28 meeting with Texas. LSU trailed by nine in the second half, but outscored the Longhorns, 31-12, in the last 9:42 to win, 76-58.

“The first time we played them we had a long spell where we took a lot of bad shots,” Texas junior forward Heather Schreiber said. “They started getting transition baskets and a lot of momentum. For us to win we have to control the paint and not let their post players [DeTrina White and Aiysha Smith] go off for a lot of points.”

Since that loss Texas (28-5), the second-seeded team, has won 21 of its last 23 and possesses the longest current Division I winning streak at 16 games. That includes the 73-60 win over Minnesota Sunday.

Texas point guard Jamie Carey did not play in the first meeting while recovering from mononucleosis, and the Longhorns feel they are much better with her controlling the offense. LSU knows Texas will remember the game she missed.

“We know for sure they’re going to try and get that win back,” LSU freshman guard Seimone Augustus said.

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In tonight’s East Regional championship game, top-seeded Connecticut (34-1) will play second-seeded Purdue (29-5) at Dayton, Ohio. The East champion will play the LSU-Texas winner in the national semifinals Sunday at Atlanta.