Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Associated Press
If Ohio State is going to win its first national title in women’s basketball it figured it would have to get by powerhouse Connecticut at some point.
That point could come at the Dayton regional final on March 30.
The Buckeyes (30-4) earned a No. 2 seed and is three wins away from a likely showdown with defending NCAA champion UConn, winners of a women’s record 72-straight games.
“The committee looks to create matchups that would enhance the audience,” Buckeyes coach Jim Foster said. “If we’re fortunate enough to play in Dayton, Buckeye fans would make sure it’s a full arena.”
But first the Buckeyes must get past 15th-seeded St. Francis, Pa., on Sunday at 12:06 p.m. in Pittsburgh. The Red Flash (17-14) is the Northeast Conference champions. The winner of that game faces either Mississippi State or Middle Tennessee. Ohio State defeated Mississippi State in the second round of the tournament last year in Columbus.
The Huskies open Sunday against Southern in Norfolk, Va.
OSU sophomore guard Samantha Prahalis said the Buckeyes can’t look ahead.
“We have to remain focused,” she said. “Knowing that [Connecticut] is out there is tough. If it happens, we’ll be happy. You want to go up against the best. We’re ready.”
Jantel Lavender, the Buckeyes’ three-time Big Ten player of the year, said overlooking St. Francis would be a mistake.
“It’s focusing on one game,” she said. “UConn would be the last game of the Elite Eight. You have to get there before you can play them.”
It was a busy night for Ohio teams. Dayton (24-7) learned it was making its first trip ever to the Division I women’s tournament. The eighth-seeded Flyers will face ninth-seeded TCU (22-8) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Knoxville, Tenn. Should they win, the Flyers would meet the winner of top-seeded Tennessee and Austin Peay — the latter the eighth team in NCAA history to make the tournament with a losing record (15-17).
Dayton coach Jim Jabir said he wanted his players to enjoy every moment.
“I want it to be memorable,” he said. “I know we’ll play hard, but I also want them to enjoy every second because these are memories that you remember for a very long time.”
Cleveland State is a 15 seed and the Vikings (19-13) must play second-seeded Notre Dame (27-5) at 2:30 p.m. Sunday. If they pull the upset, they would play the winner of Wisconsin and Vermont.
“We are thrilled to be back in the NCAA tournament representing Cleveland State,” coach Kate Peterson Abiad said. “This is what we have talked about since the first day of practice.”
Bowling Green (27-6), a No. 12 seed after winning the Mid-American Conference title, travels to Louisville to meet Michigan State (22-9) at 12:11 p.m. Saturday. The winner gets Kentucky or Liberty.
“We did a lot of homework, and we thought we might be a 12 seed,” Falcons coach Curt Miller said. “We are excited about it. We know a lot about Michigan State — it is a rematch of our WNIT game two years ago, and [MSU head coach] Suzy Merchant was a longtime coach in the MAC, so it’s a little bit of a reunion for both of us.”
Xavier, despite being ranked three slots higher than No. 8 Ohio State in the final Associated Press Top 25, received just a No. 3 seed — the best ever for the school.
But the Musketeers (27-3) do get to play in their hometown. They take on East Tennessee State (23-8) in Cincinnati on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Sixth-seeded Vanderbilt (22-10) meets DePaul (21-11) in the earlier game, with the winners meeting on Tuesday. Should the Musketeers win that game, they would advance to the Sacramento regional.
For now, though, they’ll savor playing at home.
“What’s great is your family can come down, and it’s a great opportunity for our fans,” said senior forward April Phillips. “The last two years, we’ve been pretty far away and it was basically just us out there.”
Stanford, Nebraska and Tennessee earned the other No. 1 seeds.
The Big East and Big 12 each garnered seven bids. The ACC had six.
In all, 12 conferences received multiple bids — the highest number since 2001.