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Friday, March 16
Purdue doesn't want a repeat
By Chuck Schoffner
Associated Press
Purdue still remembers how awful and empty it felt to lose in
the NCAA women's basketball tournament at home. It's something the
Boilermakers would just as soon not relive.
A No. 4 seed in the tournament last year, Purdue lost to
Oklahoma in the second round and watched dejectedly as the Sooners
moved on to the East Regional semifinals against Connecticut.
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Tough going
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How teams seeded Nos. 5-16 have fared since the NCAA women's tournament moved to 64 teams (top four seeds play at home in the first two rounds):
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Seed
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W-L
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Pct.
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No. 5
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26-28
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.481
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No. 6
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29-28
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.509
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No. 7
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17-28
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.378
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No. 8
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12-28
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.300
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No. 9
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20-28
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.417
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No. 10
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12-28
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.300
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No. 11
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10-28
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.263
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No. 12
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9-28
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.243
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No. 13
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3-28
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.097
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No. 14
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0-28
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.000
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No. 15
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0-28
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.000
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No. 16
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1-28
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.034
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Now the No. 3 seed in the Mideast, the Boilermakers are at home
once more, this time against Cal Santa Barbara in a first-round
game Friday night. Their message to each other: Let's not blow it
again.
"We learned that lesson last year," Purdue All-American Katie
Douglas said. "Playing at home doesn't guarantee a win.
Personally, I was embarrassed. I don't think we played like we were
capable of playing."
First- and second-round games are played in the arenas of the
four highest seeds in each region. Sixteen games are set at eight
campus sites Friday and there will be 16 more on Saturday.
Tennessee will be the only No. 1 seed in action Friday, taking
on Austin Peay in Knoxville. Others playing Friday include Georgia,
the No. 2 seed in the East; Iowa State, the No. 2 seed in the
Midwest; Texas Tech, seeded second in the Mideast, and Florida, the
No. 3 seed in the West.
Defending national champion Connecticut, the No. 1 seed in the
East, opens Saturday against Long Island University.
Cal Santa Barbara understands Purdue's motivation because the
Gauchos suffered the same fate in last year's tournament. They were
the No. 4 seed in the West when they lost at home to Rice in the
first round.
"We were expected to win last year," UCSB's Rachelle Rogers
said. "Who knew Rice? Hopefully, Purdue's thinking who's UCSB?
There's a chance we can beat them on their home court like what
happened to us last year. It's kind of a motivating factor to us."
Austin Peay is stepping into one of the most intimidating
environments imaginable at Tennessee, what with those six national
championship banners hanging from ceiling, the orange seats that
reach almost to rafters and the large crowd -- not to mention all
the talent the Lady Vols put on the floor.
"We have not done anything differently than we have for any
other contest," said Austin Peay coach Susie Gardner, who faced
Tennessee while playing for Georgia in the 1980s. "Perhaps the realization will hit us ... 20 minutes before
tip-off when we run out into a sea of orange and we hear 'Rocky
Top.'"
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