|
|
Sunday, March 18
Rutgers' style of D to test Stiles
By Mechelle Voepel
Special to ESPN.com
Two years ago, before Rutgers faced Purdue in the Midwest Regional final, Scarlet Knights coach C. Vivian Stringer started talking philosophically about her team's defense ...
|  | | Rutgers will try to slow down Jackie Stiles' 30.2 scoring average. |
Well, maybe it was philosophically. Maybe it was metaphysically. Maybe it was psychologically. None of it was really penetrating my skull.
Monday night, Southwest Missouri State and scoring wizard Jackie Stiles will go against that confounding defense and try to spring an
upset in the West Region second round in Piscataway, N.J.
Stiles had her bell rung in Saturday's NCAA opener against Toledo, in which teammate Tara Mitchem apparently decided, what the heck, Jackie isn't the only one who can score 40 points.
Stiles is expected to be fine for Monday's game, which sets up the matchup of one of the most offensive-oriented players vs. the team that says defense "rules the house."
Why is Stiles such a great scorer? Of course, you've heard the stories about how she's a practice wacko -- 1,000 shots made a day or she "feels guilty." And, if you watch her, you see what a good athlete she is.
"She has a very quick release, and when you're often at a size disadvantage, that's even more important," said Tennessee coach Pat Summitt, who first saw Stiles at a Lady Vols basketball camp. "But as much as physically, mentally she is a very, very strong offensive-minded player. That allows her to think and consider all her options.
"I think certainly she has put in a tremendous amount of time on her game; you're not born with the skill or ability to shoot the basketball, you develop it. Her feet are always set, she's got a beautiful follow-through. We watched her play in camp and I thought she had incredible focus. You have to be confident to shoot the basketball the way she does."
But that's a confidence/desire that even the best players might find waxes and wanes. At Southwest Missouri State, that's really never
happened with Stiles. You get the feeling that she could be in traction and still hit double digits in scoring.
Against Rutgers' defense, however, she might feel like she's in traction at times Monday night. We'll see how she handles it.
Other action
After Missouri's shocker over Georgia on Sunday, the Big 12 tries for another upset over a higher-seeded SEC team Monday. Sixth-seeded Colorado plays at No. 3 Vanderbilt for a berth in the Midwest Sweet 16 in Denver. These are both multidimensional teams with the ability to score from anywhere.
The other Big 12 team in action Monday, No. 2 Oklahoma, will try to make its second straight appearance the regional semis. It faces a
Stanford team that the Sooners went to overtime to beat in December.
It might be difficult for Colorado State and Michigan to dent their respective No. 1-seeded foes Monday night, Connecticut and Notre Dame. The other No. 1 in action, Duke, certainly has no good memories of its foe, Arkansas. Duke lost to Arkansas in the 1998 West Regional final.
And after the Mizzou roar Sunday, no higher seed is going to feel very safe.
Mechelle Voepel of the Kansas City Star is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. She can be reached via e-mail at mvoepel@kcstar.com. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
|  |
|
|
