Huskies Prepare For Resilient Purdue
Finding Purdue in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament hardly is a surprise - the Boilermakers are making their ninth appearance in 10 years.
But, considering the player and coaching turnover of the past two years, the fact the senior-less Boilermakers are seeded No. 4 in the Midwest Region is a remarkable accomplishment.
Purdue (20-9) will host No. 13-seeded Washington (18-9) in a first-round game Saturday in West Lafayette, Ind.
Purdue’s problems began after the 1995-96 season when the Boilermakers’ successful coach, Lin Dunn, was fired by Morgan Burke, a new athletic director who “wanted to go in a different direction.” The fact Burke didn’t get along with Dunn (this year’s ABL coach of the year with the Portland Power) was no secret.
Purdue maintained its winning tradition under Nell Fortner, who replaced Dunn. Fortner left after one season, though, to become head coach of Team USA, and Carolyn Peck, 32, was elevated from assistant to head coach for this season.
Peck’s simple approach and the outstanding play of Stephanie White and Ukari Figgs kept the Boilermakers on a fast track.
“We eliminated all expectations and just went out and played hard,” Peck said.
Georgia women step up defense
A funny thing happened as Georgia tried to pull itself out of the funk of a first-round SEC tournament loss.
All of a sudden the team started to play defense.
For a team that had treated defense like the Ebola virus, it was a rather remarkable turnaround. Suddenly, Georgia’s practices included scrapes and bruises from diving for loose balls. Charges have replaced reaching-in calls.
So when Georgia faces George Washington tonight, coach Andy Landers is interested to see what the new-look Bulldogs will do.
“(After the SEC tournament) we came back on Friday and hit the floor,” Landers said. “We’ve been able to work hard, not worry about travel plans and return to the work ethic of preseason.”
28-1 wouldn’t be so bad
The women’s tournament - led by Tennessee’s bid for the first three-peat - starts today with 16 first-round games at eight sites. Sixteen more games will be played at eight other sites Saturday.
Top-ranked Tennessee (33-0), trying to become the first women’s team to win three consecutive NCAA titles, is a big favorite in Knoxville on Saturday against Liberty in a matchup of the nation’s only unbeaten teams.
Liberty (28-0) was not pleased at being seeded 16th.
“We’re being told they’re expecting a tremendous crowd at Tennessee,” Liberty coach Rick Reeves said. “I told my players, what if they do sell out? What if you do play in front of 25,000 fans? That would be something special. What’s the worst thing that could happen? The worst thing is that we get beat by the best team in the country.”