The rest are green with envy

INDIANAPOLIS – No lead will be safe in the all-green women’s national championship game Tuesday night.

Michigan State and Baylor, both in the Final Four for the first time, showed incredible resiliency in staging stirring comebacks to win the semifinal games Sunday night.

First it was Baylor (32-3) roaring back from 15 down in the first half to beat LSU 68-57. Then Michigan State (33-3) went the Lady Bears one better, rallying from 16 down in the second half for a 68-64 victory over Tennessee, the program with more tradition than any other in the sport.

So it’s an all-new final – the first time two Final Four rookies will meet for the title since Texas Tech beat Ohio State in 1993.

“A lot of people really doubted us, but we took their challenge and really rose to the occasion,” Baylor’s Chameka Scott said. “This win really sums up the Baylor team this season. This is what we came to do. This is what we started working for back in June.”

It’s also what both coaches have been working for since they took their jobs in 2000.

Baylor was 7-20 the year before Kim Mulkey-Robertson was hired after 15 years as an assistant at Louisiana Tech, where she had starred as a point guard. But she took the Lady Bears to 21 victories and got them into the NCAA Tournament her first season.

Mulkey-Robertson didn’t stop there. Now the Lady Bears have a chance to write one final chapter in a remarkable story of redemption for their campus and community, which was stained by the shooting death of a men’s basketball player and the subsequent disclosure of NCAA violations in that program.

Michigan State went 10-18 after coach Joanne P. McCallie took over in 2000, but she worked hard at signing Michigan high school players and the Spartans just kept getting better. And now this – playing on the final night of the season against another program that had never before reached this stage.

“I think it speaks to the fact there’s growth and exciting things happening in women’s basketball,” McCallie said. “It’s exciting for people to learn more about other teams, to see that teams are growing and parity is just growing.”

Baylor goes in with the nation’s longest winning streak in women’s hoops, 19 games. Michigan State is right behind with 17 straight wins. And there’s that other, verdant similarity.

“It’s an all-green national championship,” McCallie said. “We’re very excited about that.”

Michigan State’s colors are green and white. Baylor’s are green and gold.

While the adrenaline was running high Sunday night, both teams have to regroup quickly after exhausting, emotional games. Can they do it?

“Oh yeah, I think we’ll find a few things,” McCallie said. “I feel both teams will be ready.”

Baylor 68, LSU 57

Resilient when they fell behind, determined when they got the lead, Baylor shocked top-seeded LSU.

The Lady Bears got 21 points from Sophia Young and major contributions from Emily Niemann and Abiola Wabara to beat LSU in an impressive Final Four debut for a program that once was the worst in the Big 12.

LSU (33-3), seeded No. 1 overall in the NCAA Tournament, jumped out to an early 15-point lead that evaporated by halftime, then couldn’t hold on after building the lead to six in the second half.

Baylor just wouldn’t go away and went ahead to stay when Chelsea Whitaker sank two free throws for a 52-51 lead with 6:17 remaining.

Young then picked off an LSU pass into the post and Baylor capitalized with Wabara’s three-point play for a 55-51 lead. When Young hit a jumper 30 seconds later, Baylor led 57-51 and the Lady Bears had the cushion they needed to hang on down the stretch.

Not even national player of the year Seimone Augustus could save LSU.

Augustus scored 22 points but shot just 10 for 26 and was 0 for 4 from 3-point range.

Baylor (32-3) – Young 9-22 3-4 21, Wabara 4-6 4-4 12, S.Blackmon 2-8 3-3 7, Whitaker 2-7 3-5 7, Scott 2-5 2-2 7, Wyatt 0-0 0-0 0, Tisdale 0-1 0-0 0, Niemann 5-7 3-3 14. Totals 24-56 18-21 68.

LSU (33-3) – W.Jones 0-2 0-0 0, Willis 0-1 0-0 0, Johnson 6-12 1-3 14, Hoston 3-8 0-0 8, Augustus 10-26 2-3 22, Chaney 0-0 0-1 0, Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Fowles 4-7 5-6 13. Totals 23-56 8-13 57.

Halftime—Tied at 28. 3-Point Goals—Baylor 2-9 (Niemann 1-3, Scott 1-3, Tisdale 0-1, Whitaker 0-2), LSU 3-10 (Hoston 2-5, Johnson 1-1, Augustus 0-4). Fouled Out—W.Jones. Rebounds—Baylor 35 (Young 10), LSU 34 (Fowles 12). Assists—Baylor 13 (Young 6), LSU 14 (Hoston 7). Total Fouls—Baylor 11, LSU 19.

Michigan State 68, Tennessee 64

Michigan State rallied from a 16-point deficit – tying a Final Four record – to upset Tennessee.

Trailing 45-29 with 16:02 left, Michigan State wouldn’t quit and finally caught the Lady Vols at 62-62 on two free throws by Victoria Lucas-Perry with 1:20 left. Moments later, Michigan State point guard Kristin Haynie made a steal and layup to put the Big Ten champions ahead.

Tennessee’s Loree Moore then tied it with a runner in the lane, but Spartans senior center Kelli Roehrig scored underneath to make it 66-64 with 35 seconds to play.

The Lady Vols (30-5) then missed a 3-pointer and two inside shots before the ball dropped in the hands of Roehrig, who fed Lucas-Perry for a layup with 2.7 seconds left to complete the remarkable comeback.

MSU’s rally tied Notre Dame’s comeback against UConn in 2001.

Michigan State (33-3) – Shimek 6-10 2-3 14, Roehrig 6-12 0-0 12, Haynie 2-7 0-0 4, Bowen 6-13 2-2 18, Lucas-Perry 4-9 3-4 14, Haynes 2-8 0-0 4, Dwyer 0-0 0-0 0, Grantham 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 26-59 9-11 68. Tennessee (30-5) – Hornbuckle 7-11 1-4 16, Ely 4-14 1-2 9, Anosike 3-10 1-5 7, Zolman 5-13 2-2 13, Moore 5-8 0-0 11, Jackson 1-3 0-0 2, Fluker 3-7 0-0 6. Totals 28-66 5-13 64.

Halftime—Tennessee 31-25. 3-Point goals—Michigan State 7-15 (Bowen 4-7, Lucas-Perry 3-4, Haynes 0-2), Tennessee 3-8 (Hornbuckle 1-1, Moore 1-2, Zolman 1-4). Fouled out—None. Rebounds—Michigan State 33 (Shimek 11), Tennessee 43 (Anosike 13). Assists—Michigan State 16 (Haynie 7), Tennessee 12 (Hornbuckle 6). Total fouls—Michigan State 11, Tennessee 16. Technicals—Michigan State bench. A—28,937.