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Thursday, March 29
Final Four full of stories
By Nancy Lieberman-Cline
Special to ESPN.com
This year's Women's Final Four has a mixture of what everyone wants. There are more great storylines than any Final Four in a long time.
On one side, there are two No. 1 seeds meeting for the third time. Connecticut and Notre Dame have been on top for most of the year and have earned the right to get through the brackets and play for a championship.
|  | | UConn's Diana Taurasi has emerged as a go-to player in the absence of two All-Americans. |
Except for Mark McGwire, there's more excitement in St. Louis for Jackie Stiles and SW Missouri State. Purdue and Katie Douglas have overcome tremendous adversity to play for their second title in three years.
UConn may be the defending champion, but the Lady Huskies didn't just waltz back into tournament. They lost two All-American players in Svetlana Abrosimova and Shea Ralph. The Huskies can never replace them, but what an incredible time to have freshman Diana Taurasi emerge. She was going to come off the bench slowly and work her way behind some of the All-Americans. But she may become an All-American her sophomore year.
The tournament hasn't been a coming-out party; she's blowing the doors off. She's stolen the party for herself. Taurasi has such tremendous confidence and flair with her game. Earlier in the year, I was covering the game the UConn-Louisiana Tech game in Ruston, La., and I just remember some of the UConn players telling me that Taurasi has had her best games in practice. When teammates brag about a player like that, you know there's something special happening.
People love to hate UConn coach Geno Auriemma because they are jealous of his success. It's his fifth Final Four since '91. People think he's too cocky because he predicted he would be back at the Final Four. But I dig Geno Auriemma. I love the attitude of the program. Sue Bird is a classic, and Ralph is a great role model. Like Muhammad Ali said, "If you're good, it ain't braggin' " And Geno's team is good. The Huskies are not afraid to say they feel good about themselves. I don't have a problem with that. It may rub people the wrong way; honesty doesn't rub me wrong.
On the other side, Notre Dame has the nicest bunch of great players I've ever been around. They are so humble and so focused. Coach Muffet McGraw has put together a solid contender. Niele Ivey is such a leader and will be coming home to St. Louis. Not only on the court, but off the court, it's a really tight team. In the college game, we haven't seen a post player like Ruth Riley in a long time, in terms of execution and footwork. I believe Hakeem Olajuwon came back because he didn't want to get shown up by Riley's footwork. I thought Olajuwon had the greatest footwork of any post I had seen.
I liken UConn-Notre Dame III to Ali-Frazier III. Both teams know each other and aren't afraid of each other. In a sense, it's too bad their game won't be for the national championship, much like when Tenneseee played UConn a few years ago in the semifinals. That's just how it shook out in the tournament. It is a shame, but don't tell that to Purdue and Southwest Missouri State.
As a special player, Stiles is kind of like Sheryl Swoopes. Like Texas Tech in 1993, the Lady Bears are not from a power conference. Stiles has inched her way into the public eye. Three months ago, how many people knew Stiles was going for the NCAA scoring record? Nobody did. I always say a cereal is not a cereal until you see during Saturday morning cartoons. Then it becomes legit because people see it. Suddenly, everyone is doing feature stories on Stiles.
The people in Springfield, Mo., knew about their gem. But the rest of country asked, "Who's Jackie Stiles? What's this girl like? Can she really play? Yeah, she's good, but wait until she plays Rutgers and coach C. Vivian Stringer's defense shuts her down." Thirty-two points later, people then said, "Wait until she plays Duke. She won't do anything." Forty-one points later, she's playing in the Elite Eight against Washington and hits key shot after key shot and finishes with 32 points. She's amazing.
She accounts for about 35-40 percent of the Lady Bears' offense. And then they have Tara Mitchem, an unsung hero. Stiles doesn't care about not getting the spotlight. Think about it: How many athletes who shoot and score like Stiles have teammates who love them? Usually, teammates are envious or jealous of a star player, but the Lady Bears love Stiles. Her team-first attitude is genuine. The first thing she does in press conferences is thank her teammates, and it comes from the heart.
Purdue, though, might be the most compelling story at the Final Four. The seniors have won 110 games and are the winningest class in Big Ten history. The Lady Boilermakers are tough to guard because they are strong inside and outside. Teams can't just double down on Camille Cooper, who shoots 61 percent from the field and is a silent warrior.
Katie Douglas is not a vocal person either, but she comes up big. How tough do you think it was for Douglas the other night in the Mideast regional final? It was her late mother's birthday. After struggling in the first half, she went to the foul line and pounded her chest and looked up as if to say, "Happy birthday, Mom. This is for you."
Then with two minutes left in the game, Erika Valek, who is just a joy to watch, tears her ACL in the regional semifinal It's like Cooper said, "It wouldn't be Purdue if we didn't have adversity." The team has had three coaches in four years. Teammate Tiffany Young was killed in an accident involving a drunken driver. They have overcome the trials and back in the Final Four, where they were in '99.
Purdue has more athleticism than ever before on the perimeter, with Douglas and the athletic Shinika Parks. Shereka Wright gives coach Kristy Curry some defensive versatility because she can guard four different positions. Kelly Komara just lit it up against Xavier and forced the Xavier guards into six turnovers. Amy Waugh will never buy a Camaro because she'll have nightmares about Komara.
Experience gives Purdue an edge over SW Missouri State. The Lady Bears have no one in the locker room who can tell a story of what it was like to play in the Final Four. But the same thing happened in '93 with Swoopes and Texas Tech. The Lady Raiders rode Swoopes to the championship. Stiles and Mitchem can very well do the same thing for SW Missouri State.
In the other semifinal, I can only guess who will win the Notre Dame-UConn game; it's a toss-up. The winner will execute and rebound better and turn the ball over the least. The two teams have no secrets. They will have to play hard and relaxed, embrace winning and not fear losing.
ESPN analyst Nancy Lieberman-Cline, a Hall of Famer, will break down the women's college basketball world throughout the 2000-2001 season. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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 Geno Auriemma and the Huskies know how to deal with pressure.
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Shea Ralph likes the confidence of the Huskies leading into the Final Four.
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