Only four teams remain in the "big dance." Only three games remain to be played, but only one will be victorious. It was a long trip to Indianapolis, but each team that made it deserves to be there. Yeah, that's right, I said Indianapolis. St. Louis might be on most people's minds, but for me, all I can think about is the Women's Final Four. I know most people will joke about how women's basketball isn't real, and for once, I could care less. My team has made it there and I can't wait until they play next.
This season, the women's game has been noted for its parity, but not much has changed in this year's Final Four. Tennessee will be going back for the fourth straight year and LSU will be making their second straight appearance. Two new teams, Baylor and Michigan State, also made it to the Final Four this year.
The road to Indianapolis provided some challenges and some easy games for these four remaining teams. Baylor was placed as a number two seed and is the lowest seed left in the tournament. The other three all were number one seeds. Baylor had easy first and second round games, but Minnesota and Janel McCarville put up a fight in the Sweet 16, and the Bears won, 64-57.
Baylor then had to face top seed North Carolina and third team All-American Ivory Latta in the Tempe Regional and came away with a nine-point win. The Lady Bears had two players picked for the All-American team with Sophia Young on the second team and Steffanie Blackmon on the third team.
But before Baylor can even get to the championship game, they have to play this Sunday what has been considered the best team this year: LSU. The Lady Tigers have only lost two games this year, once to Rutgers in the regular season, and once to Tennessee in the SEC championship game. LSU has cruised through the tournament so far, and they even made defeating the second-seeded Duke team, with First Team All- American Monique Currie, look easy.
Seimone Augustus, the go-to girl for the Tigers, was unanimously named a first-team All-American and has been considered the best player in the country. She, however, is not the only player that opposing teams need to watch out for. Tameka Johnson was named All-American second team and even though she is only 5'3", plays as if she is the biggest girl on the court, driving to the basket and sometimes even coming up with a few rebounds. The Lady Tigers have veteran players in the guard position, but freshman Sylvia Fowles should not be overlooked in the inside game. She stands 6'5" and provides a commanding presence that will be difficult to control.
Baylor is new to the Final Four, and while they will prove to be a good opponent for the Lady Tigers, the Lady Bears will be unable to control Seimone Augustus, who will shoot outside shots, drive to the basket and prove why she is considered the best player in the country.
On the other side of the bracket stands Michigan State, who is going to the Final Four, along with their men's team.
Michigan State has to face a Tennessee team whose players, besides the freshmen, have played in Final Four games before. The Spartans had a tough schedule in the tournament so far, barely beating USC by two and only just sneaking by Vanderbilt. Stanford was a difficult opponent for the Spartans, with Pac-10 player of the year and freshman of the year Candice Wiggins providing a force difficult to stop. The Spartans, however, pulled off a 76-69 win and achieved their first trip to the Final Four.
Michigan State, while having no players named to the All-American team, have some formidable guards and posts. Point guard Kristin Haynie is Michigan State's all-time leader in steals and assists.
Before Michigan State can move on to the finals, they will have to win against one of the toughest teams in the country, and my personal favorite: Tennessee. This has been a memorable season for the Lady Vols with Coach Pat Summit getting her 880th victory to pass Dean Smith for the most NCAA wins. The tournament proved easy for the Vols, who rolled through the first three rounds. Rutgers proved to be a difficult win, but with 29 free throws made, the Lady Vols were able to win by 10 and avenge a loss from the regular season.
The Lady Vols may not have any players named to the All-American teams, but that is all right, since they have one of the best ensemble casts. This team works together, and if one player is falling short, another will step up. Senior, Loree Moore, provides a great defense for the Vols and leads in the point-guard position while Shanna Zolman has one of the quickest shots in the game. If either of these two are having a bad night, defenders also have to watch out for Brittany Jackson who comes off the bench and isn't afraid to shoot the three, even from a few steps behind the arc.
The inside game for the Lady Vols can be deadly at times, with Shyra Ely constantly taking the ball to the basket and Nicky Anosike, only a freshman, providing another go-to person inside that knows how to shoot or draw the foul. Each inside player, trained by Summit, constantly crashes the boards, and if their first shot misses, their second and third shot will probably go in.
Michigan State has done well in the tournament so far, but I don't think they will be able to defeat the Lady Vols. The Volunteers have experience in this type of situation and rely on multiple players to win games, which I think will prove to be the determining factor in the game on Sunday.
I would love to see LSU and Tennessee play for the championship; two SEC teams vying for who is the best would be a sight to see.
I have picked the Lady Vols to win it all, but that's not really a surprise once you realize I am from Tennessee and have grown up watching Pat Summit and her team. In fact, I think my mother would kill me if I didn't pick them, even if I am supposed to be objective.
These two teams are the best, and with LSU winning the regular season game and Tennessee winning the SEC tournament game, if these two teams make it to the finals, it should prove to be the most exciting game of the year.
