Basketball

By Mike Bryant
For Outsports

For women’s college basketball enthusiasts the upcoming 2003-04 season should be nothing short of spectacular. Depth and experience will be the key factors for the nation’s top teams this year as many programs return loads of talent. The race to become the belle of the bayou may very likely result in a team other than UConn or Tennessee wearing the crown when all is said and done. This, at the end of a season when a loss for the Huskies or Lady Vols won’t necessarily be considered an upset. Parity will be shown in its greatest form this season as many teams boast superstars surrounded by great support.

The nod for the best team in the land to begin the new season goes to UConn, simply because they return everyone from a team that defied many critics last year by prevailing with a second consecutive national championship after losing so much talent the previous year. Coach Geno Auriemma and his staff have done nothing short of create a women’s basketball superpower in Storrs. National Player of the Year candidate Diana Taurasi is finally a senior, as many of UConn’s opponents would be happy to say. Taurasi has become the object of desire for many WNBA scouts as she attempts to lead her fellow Huskies to an unprecedented third straight national crown. In 2003, Taurasi carried her young teammates on her back all the way to a near perfect season, losing one contest to Villanova in the Big East tournament championship game. The Huskies learned from that defeat and marched through the NCAA tournament all the way to the finals, knocking off the likes of TCU, Boston College, Purdue and Texas before downing Tennessee in the championship contest, becoming the first women’s team to win an NCAA hoops title without one senior on its roster.

Chasing Taurasi and UConn for the past three years has been Alana Beard at Duke. Beard, also a heavy favorite for National Player of the Year honors, holds a heavy hunger for a first national title after coming very close over the past three seasons. At last season’s Final Four in Atlanta, the Blue Devils came up short against Tennessee in the semi-finals. Returning a load of experience, in addition to a stellar recruiting class, Beard and Co. could very likely be the squad to dethrone the Huskies.

Both UConn and Duke are loaded with dynamic support to surround their respective superstars and will be pushed all the way to the Final Four by a host of other programs, with deep and experienced rosters, longing for respect and a shot at #1. Look for teams such as Texas, Kansas State, Stanford, LSU, Purdue and Texas Tech to battle the Huskies and Blue Devils for a chance to spice it up at the 2004 Final Four in “Cajun Land” - New Orleans, Louisisana.

PRESEASON 25 BEST:
1. Connecticut 
2. Duke
3. Texas
4. Stanford
5. Kansas State
6. Tennessee
7. LSU
8. Purdue
9. Penn State
10. Texas Tech
11. Georgia
12. Utah
13. Louisiana Tech
14. Notre Dame
15. UCSB
16. Minnesota
17. Arizona
18. Virginia
19. North Carolina
20. Rutgers
21. Ohio State
22. Washington
23. TCU
24. Colorado
25. Cincinnati

Teams on the bubble: Boston College, Auburn, Oklahoma, George Washington, Baylor, Vanderbilt, Creighton, Mississippi State, St. Joseph, Liberty, Arkansas, Virginia Tech, New Mexico

Team Capsules: Outsports Top 10

Title Contenders:
Connecticut Huskies–
Coming back this season with All-American Taurasi (17.9 ppg/6.1 rpg) are Jessica Moore (10.6 ppg), Ann Strother (10.1 ppg), Barbara Turner (10.0 ppg) and Ashley Battle (8.3 ppg), just to name four. Guard Nicole Wolff returns after a season-ending injury early in 2003. Based on last year’s results and the fact that everyone is back, the Huskies are the early favorite to repeat as NCAA champs.

Duke Blue Devils –
All-American Beard (22.0 ppg/6.9 rpg) will rely on some much needed help from fellow senior All-American Iciss Tillis (14.5 ppg/7.4 rpg) and the return of Monique Curry, who sat out last season after a knee injury. The Blue Devils will also look to freshman sensation Brittany Hunter to contribute down low. Duke should be a Final Four lock.

Texas Longhorns –
Stacy Stephens (14.4 ppg) and Heather Schreiber (14.3 ppg) will be joined by freshman phenom Tiffany Jackson down low, giving the Longhorns a strong frontline. Junior point guard Jamie Carey (10.8 ppg) is Texas’ fearless leader and will control the backcourt with sophomore Nina Norman. Jackson is a potential National Freshman of the Year candidate and will be called upon early to help in the paint. The Longhorns look to improve on last year’s semi-final loss to UConn at the Final Four and have the talent and experience to crack the finals this time around.

Stanford Cardinal –
All-American Nicole Powell (18.8 ppg/9.3 rpg) does everything for Stanford but shouldn’t have to carry as much of the load this year as Stanford returns nearly the entire roster from last season. Point guard Susan King-Borchardt runs the show for the 2003 Pac-10 champs and is joined in the backcourt by fellow juniors Kelly Suminski (11.4 ppg/3.1 apg) and Sebnem Kimyacioglu (8.4 ppg). Juniors Azella Perryman (9.2 ppg) and Chelsea Trotter (9.2 ppg) provide bulk in the paint for the Cardinal. Stanford is the lone team from the left coast making waves among the nation’s elite. This could be Tara VanDerveer’s best chance to get back to the Final Four, behind senior Powell, a dynamite player often left in the shadows of Taurasi and Beard.

Could Possibly Be the Last Team Standing:
Kansas State Wildcats –
Senior All-American Nicole Ohlde will become K-State’s all-time leading scorer this season sitting just seven points shy of the record before the team’s first contest. At 6’5, Ohlde is extremely athletic around the paint and will look to power her team through the madness much further than in 2003. Junior forward Kendra Wecker could easily be the most athletic forward in the nation and can do everything at 6’1. Wecker (19.0 ppg/8.3 rpg) and Ohlde (18.4 ppg/9.0 rpg) led the Wildcats in scoring and rebounding last season and should continue again this year. Junior guards Laurie Koehn (72) and Megan Mahoney (56) can light it up from behind the arc, both averaged more than 13 points per contest and shot well over 40% from downtown. K-State needs to find success on the defensive end. If so, New Orleans could be their final destination.

Tennessee Volunteers –
Never count out a Pat Summit-led team. However, this could be the first time in many, many years that the Volunteers enter the season ranked as low as they are and without a significant “go to” player on its roster. Summit is a recruiting machine though and always has talent in the holding tank ready to share in the limelight. Forwards Shyra Ely (9.8 ppg/ 6.6 rpg), Ashley Robinson, Courtney McDaniel and Tye’sha Fluker have all the tools to put up big numbers in the post. Point guard Loree Moore (3.8 apg) is a steady floor general while sharpshooters Brittany Jackson and Shanna Zolman (7.5 ppg) can score in bunches from long range. Someone will need to step up early if the Lady Vols wish to avoid a letdown following last season’s NCAA runner-up year.

LSU Tigers –
The Tigers made an impressive run in 2003, led by National Freshman of the Year Seimone Augustus’ stellar rookie season (14.8 ppg/5.5 rpg). Senior guards Temeka Johnson (10.0 ppg/5.9 apg) and Doneeka Hodges (9.5 ppg) will lead the Tigers’ perimeter attack. LSU is favored to finish near the top of the SEC once again and conference play will be crucial to help prepare the Tigers’ youth for post-season play. A season-ending loss to Texas in last year’s NCAA tourney will drive the Tigers towards a better finish in 2004.

Final Four Dark Horses:
Purdue Boilermakers –
Coach Kristy Currie returns three senior veterans poised to keep Purdue among the Big-10’s elite. All-American forward Shereka Wright (18.9 ppg/6.3 rpg) is one of the most explosive small forwards in the country and can hurt opponents in many ways. Backcourt-mates Erika Valek (14 ppg/4.9 apg) and Beth Jones (8.7 ppg) can score big numbers. Jones is deadly from downtown hitting 71 treys last season. Coach Currie also landed a big recruiting class led by Katie Gearlds, Miss Indiana Basketball, and post player Erin Lawless. Both players were high school All-Americans and will be called upon early to contribute in the Boilermakers’ rotation.

Penn State Nittany Lions –
The Big-10 conference’s leading scorer, Kelly Mazzante (23.9 ppg), is back for her senior year and will once again be the object of affection for the Nittany Lion’s faithful. Mazzante poured in 98 field goals from beyond the arc last season and has the green light from coach Rene Portland to put the ball up from anywhere on the floor. However, Mazzante is not the only one who can put the ball in the hoop as guards Tanisha Wright (16 ppg) and Jess Strom (9.8 ppg) can also score from the perimeter. If Penn State can solidify its post game on both ends of the floor, and if Wright and Strom can draw some of the defensive pressure off of Mazzante, the Nittany Lions may steal the Big-10 title away from Purdue in 2004.

Texas Tech Red Raiders –
The bad news, head coach Marsha Sharp lost a great player in Plenette Pierson to graduation last year. The goods news, senior guard Jia Perkins (15.9 ppg/5.1 rpg/2.6 spg) is back for her finale season. Perkins has established herself as one of the Big-12’s best players over the course of her career and will be looked upon to carry a little heavier load this season. Perkins does have some solid support in guards Natalie Ritchie (8.8 ppg), who can hit from long-range (61 treys), and Erin Grant (6.5 apg), the Red Raiders point guard and last season’s Co-Big 12 Freshman of the Year. At 6’5, center Cisti Greenwalt (7.2 ppg/5.1 rpg) will see an increase in her minutes as her experience will be looked upon to control the low-post. With a strong backcourt, Texas Tech will vie for Big-12 supremacy with Texas and Kansas State.

Will Wreak Havoc:
Georgia Bulldogs; Utah Utes; Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters; Notre Dame Fighting Irish; UC Santa Barbara Gauchos; Minnesota Golden Gophers –

Two Rounds and Out:
Arizona Wildcats; Virginia Cavaliers; North Carolina Tar Heels; Rutgers Scarlet Knights; Ohio State Buckeyes; Washington Huskies; TCU Horned Frogs; Colorado Buffaloes; Cincinnati Bearcats –


FAB 15:
Seimone Augustus – Soph. (LSU) Shawntinice Polk – Soph. (Arizona)
Jacqueline Batteast – Jr. (Notre Dame) Nicole Powell – Sr. (Stanford)
Alana Beard – Sr. (Duke) Stacy Stephens – Sr. (Texas)
Chandi Jones – Sr. (Houston) Diana Taurasi – Sr. (Uconn)
Kelly Mazzante – Sr. (Penn State) Kendra Wecker – Jr. (Kansas State)
Guiliana Mendiola – Sr. (Washington) Lindsay Whalen – Sr. (Minnesota)
Nicole Ohlde – Sr. (Kansas State) Shereka Wright – Sr. (Purdue)
Jia Perkins – Sr. (Texas Tech)

Other players to watch:
Dee Dee Wheeler (Arizona)
Shameka Christon (Arkansas)
Steffanie Blackmon (Baylor)
Jessalyn Deveny (Boston College)
Debbie Merrill, Valerie King (Cincinnati)
Christy Neneman (Creighton)
Monique Curry, Iciss Tillis (Duke)
Ugo Oha (George Washington)
Kara Braxton, Christi Thomas (Georgia)
Hana Peljito (Harvard)
Chandi Jones (Houston)
Laurie Koehn, Megan Mahoney (Kansas State)
Katie Feenstra (Liberty)
Doneeka Hodges, Temeka Johnson (LSU)
Trina Frierson, Amber Obaze (Louisiana Tech)
Tamara James (Miami)
Janel McCarville (Minnesota)
Tan White (Mississippi State)
Caity Matter, Kim Wilburn (Ohio State)
Caton Hill (Oklahoma)
Tanisha Wright (Penn State)
Cappy Pondexter (Rutgers)
Shyra Ely, Loree Moore (Tennessee)
Jamie Carey, Heather Schreiber (Texas)
Erin Grant (Texas Tech)
Nikki Blue (UCLA)
Ann Strother, Barbara Turner (UConn)
Kristen Mann, Lindsay Taylor (UCSB)
Nikita Bell, La’Tangela Atkinson (UNC)
Kim Smith (Utah)
Jenni Benningfield (Vanderbilt)
Cherrise Graham, Brandi Teamer (Virginia)
Ieva Kublina (Virginia Tech)

Co-Player of the Year – Alana Beard (Duke), Diana Taurasi (UConn)
Co-Coach of the Year – Jody Conradt (Texas), Tara VanDerveer (Stanford)
Co-Freshman of the Year – Brittany Hunter (Duke), Katie Gearlds (Purdue)

Games You Shouldn’t Miss:
Texas at Penn State – Dec. 7th
Notre Dame at Washington – Dec. 7th
Tennessee at Stanford – Dec. 14th
Texas Tech at Washington – Dec. 19th
UC Santa Barbara at Purdue – Dec. 19th
Stanford at Texas Tech – Dec. 21st
Texas at Tennessee – Dec. 28th
Duke at UConn – Jan. 3rd
Stanford at Washington – Jan. 4th
Notre Dame at Purdue – Jan. 4th
Kansas State at Colorado – Jan. 10th
UConn at Notre Dame – Jan. 13th
Tennessee at Duke – Jan. 24th
UConn at Tennessee – Feb. 5th
Duke at North Carolina – Feb. 14th
Arizona at Washington – Feb. 28th
Kansas State at Texas – Feb 29th