The first round of the women’s 29th NCAA tournament is only a few days away and No. 10 seed MTSU is preparing to take on No. 7 Mississippi State for the first time since 1990.
Both teams have met six times over the years, dating back to 1976, but have not met in two decades.
The Lady Raiders are making their 13th appearance in the NCAA tournament and hold an all-times series (4-2) advantage over Mississippi State. The winner of the game will play either No. 2 seed Ohio State or No. 15 seed St. Francis on Tuesday, March 23 in the second round.
This is the sixth NCAA Tournament for the Lady Bulldogs. Last year the team advanced to the second round in the tournament after knocking off Texas in the first round.
Mississippi State is packed with momentum, but MTSU has a secret weapon. Well, she’s not really a secret anymore after scoring 132 points in the Sun Belt Conference.
That’s right. The nation’s leading scorer, Alysha Clark, is a Lady Raider and averages 28.7 points per game. Clark’s presence on the floor will be important, but other players will also have to step up and knock down shots.
After her performance in the Sun Belt Conference, it's apparent that defenders can’t leave Clark open underneath the basket. For this reason, Mississippi State players will most likely have several players on Clark at all times. If the 5-foot-10 senior can’t find an opening in the paint then a win will have to come from outside shooters.
MTSU’s leading shooter and senior guard, Jackie Pickel, will be feeling her share of pressure Sunday if Clark can’t find an opening.
Earlier this month, Pickel was named the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year and selected for the all-conference second team. She also leads the Sun Belt Conference in 3-pointers and steals, averaging 14 points per game.
Other players to watch are junior guard Anne Marie Lanning, senior forward Brandi Brown and junior forward Emily Queen, all average about 7 points per game.
Senior point guard Chelsia Lymon averages 16 points per game but has been playing with a hurt shoulder since earlier on in the season.
Will these players be able to make the necessary shots to win the game? Or will the Lady Raiders fall in the first round?
I guess we’ll find out at 1:30 p.m. central Sunday, March 21. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
Image courtesy of ESPN
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Lady Raiders to play Mississippi State in NCAA first round
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Separate Is Not Equal
It's really sad to read the phrase, "I know it's only women's basketball," in 2010. It's also extremely offensive and sexist of sport writers to imply that women's leagues are inferior to men's.
But this exact sentence appeared on the Web site of a news publication Tuesday night.
At first, I thought it might be a misprint so I refreshed the page. When the page reloaded, the statement was still on the screen. I kept reading but couldn't shake my feeling of disappointment.
Why was it necessary for the reporter to make this comment? It was irrelevant to the story and indirectly claims that women's basketball can't measure up to the skills displayed in male leagues.
This is untrue.
In fact, many men's teams have performed poorly this year and women's sports have excelled. A good example of this is the UConn Huskies.
I'm not a fan of UConn, but the women's basketball team have put on an impressive performance this year. The Lady Huskies have been undefeated this season, while the UConn men's basketball team lost its last four games. You do the math.
And when it comes to the NBA, I'll admit that it is the most popular sports league. I will, however, not admit that the WNBA depends on the NBA for its funding. Don't believe me?
Then read Slam Online's article "WNBA Weekly Mailbag – 2/17/10 – On net losses, and a twist on the double standard," where NBA Commissioner David Stern is quoted as sayi
“The NBA is far less profitable than the WNBA,” he said. “We’re losing a lot of money ($400 million) amongst a large number of teams. We’re budgeting the WNBA to break even this year.”
This is more evidence that the WNBA does have an audience and is growing by itself.
But this post is not about whether men's basketball is more profitable or popular than women's. It's about gender equality–something that still hasn't been reached in the world of sports or outside of the arenas.
Publications should consider equal coverage of women's and men's sports and refrain from interjecting sexist comments into their articles. By doing this, reporters are sending the message to readers that women's basketball is a joke.
When it comes to limited coverage, I understand revenue and Internet traffic is a huge factor for online publications, but I truly believe the WNBA and women's college basketball leagues could be just as successful as male athletics if given equal media coverage.
Click for more blog coverage on gender inequality in women's basketball
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Vanderbilt defeats Georgia in 'Pink Zone'
The theme Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, Tenn. today was "Pink Zone/Think Pink" to raise awareness and money for breast cancer.
Throughout the first half, there were a significant number of lead changes, and one tie, 24 up, with 2:36 to go. Vandy's Jessica Mooney definitely made the play for this team with an assist, steal and layup down the court that allowed Vanderbilt to take the lead. Vandy led by five points at halftime.
Starting out the second half, Georgia tried to come strong with a basket from Christy Marshall, but could not match the intensity of Vandy's Tuomi Hannah. Hannah ended up with 10 points.
Mooney only had 4 points but made the last two shots of the game on the foul line.
Photo: Georgia head coach Andy Landers hangs his head after another disappointing play. This picture is not taken from today's game against Vanderbilt.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
No. 4 Dukes falls to No. 8 North Carolina
Then again Duke is ranked No. 4 in the country this year, which is why fans have been scratching their heads wondering why they fell to No. 8 North Carolina on Monday in Chapel Hill.
When these two teams compete there is always rivalry, but it looks like Duke pretty much handed the win to the Tarheels. Chante Black, who has stepped into Bales shoes, led Duke with 13 points. Following her, Abby Waner and Jasmine Thomas had a collective total of 22 points.
On the other side of the court, Rashanda McCants had 22 points alone. And even though North Carolina led in rebounds with 4, the number for both teams was significantly low. I just hope that these new players can unite their teams together and start playing at a national level again.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Summitt first NCAA coach to reach 1,000 wins
The Lady Vols had hoped to gain the win for their coach on Tuesday against Oklahoma, and even though they played their hearts out, they could not match the defensive efforts of Courtney and Ashley Paris.
Tonight the Lady Vols shut down Georgia with a 73-43 win despite Vicki Baugh's knee injury on Tuesday. She will not be out for the rest of the year. Alicia Manning also experienced a thigh injury tonight, but continued to sit on the bench and support her team.
Following in her teammates footsteps, Glory Johnson stepped up and filled the role for Baugh by grabbing rebound after rebound and putting up jumpers. Shekinna Stricklen backed Johnson up and had a remarkable night, but hit the hardwood pretty hard during the second half, causing her to sit on the bench for several minutes in the second half.
While all these injuries might have given Georgia an advantage, it didn't. Georgia still trailed by 30 points with 10 minutes to go in the game.
After the game, Summitt was presented with several gifts including the game ball, a painted portrait and jewelry.
"We have the greatest fans in women's basketball," Summitt said. "I want to thank the administration for giving their commitment a long time ago before it was popular to women's basketball, and what a difference it's made."
Summitt said that she has been extremely blessed in her coaching career.
"We may be young and we may be inexperienced, but our goal is to be in St. Louis for the final four," Summitt said.
Alysha Clark speaks about life on, off court
Fans know her as the 5-foot-10-inch unstoppable force under the basket. Coaches know her as the go-to player that will always step up and make big plays when needed. But very few people know her as a model, reporter and volleyball player.
Alysha Clark is currently a junior forward for the Lady Raiders and the second-leading scorer in the nation but outside of basketball, she is a regular student with goals and aspirations.
"I want to pursue modeling," Clark says. "I took some modeling classes this summer and throughout the first semester.
"That was something I've always wanted to do."
Clark explains that in addition to modeling, she would also like to pursue coaching. After helping coach an Amateur Athletic Union team, Clark says she loves being able to give knowledge that she's learned from coaches to girls so they can be farther advanced than she was when she was a junior in high school.
Originally, Clark says she wanted to be a print journalism major but switched over to broadcasting.
"When I was at Belmont, I was taking a sports reporting class, and I was writing stories from our games when I was hurt," Clark says. "That's just something that I find interesting, because you get to capture the athletes' emotions before and after."
Before making the switch to basketball, Clark says that she played volleyball and followed in her sister's footsteps in running track.
"Those were my first two loves," Clark explains. "I loved playing volleyball and running track in my freshman year of high school."
After moving to Tennessee in her sophomore year of high school, Clark says that basketball was so demanding that she didn't have time to continue playing volleyball and running track. However, it was at this time that she says she really began to develop a love and passion for the game through Mount Juliet High School Head Coach Chris Fryer.
"I learned how to use my left hand my freshman year, but he really developed my left- hand shot," Clark says. "He taught me basic post moves, like how to pivot and how to move."
While adapting to Fryer's coaching methods, Clark says she really found herself believing she could play at a Division I level basketball team. Encouraging her, she says that Fryer put confidence in her to work harder during the season to make up for lost time.
"[He] made me think that maybe I can go and really do something with this [basketball]."
Belmont drafted Clark and pursued her talent even after she became injured. Clark says that originally she wanted to go to Vanderbilt with her friend and now Vanderbilt junior guard Jessica Mooney. During this time, Clark says that she wanted to be a pediatrician.
"Belmont was consistent in contacting me and sending me letters, and that really meant a lot to me," Clark says. "I didn't want to take a risk in my senior year and end up having no where to go."
Clark spent her time at Belmont well, considering she helped lead the team to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2007. She also scored 1,000 points in 52 games, making her the fastest athlete at Belmont to do so.
In 2007-08, Clark sat on the sidelines of the MT bench due to transfer rules. Clark says she had played Head Coach Rick Insell before and decided to come to MT because of the program he is building.
"The type of mentality and skill set that he teaches, and his passion for the game provides girls the opportunity to reach the next level," Clark says. "[Sitting on the sidelines] was hard, because I wasn't injured and knew I could be out there.
"I took it as an opportunity to see the game from a different aspect."
When it comes to the experience of playing at MT, Clarks says that the schedule is more grueling, considering Insell schedules games against Courtney and Ashley Paris from the University of Oklahoma, LSU and UT.
"I wanted to compete against the best if I want to be among them," Clark says. "Seeing we can compete with those kinds of teams only gives you confidence."
Many people see Clark as an WNBA hopeful, and especially after practicing with 2008's ninth draft pick, Amber Holt, Clark says it would be an honor to play in the league.
"It would be big, especially for my family to get to that caliber," Clark says. "I do it for me, but I also do it for my parents [because] they've always provided so much for me and I've always wanted to do something and have a career where I can give back to them.
"Regardless if I go fifth pick or 15th pick, having that opportunity just to be there is something that I can say to my children that at least I've been there.
Photo by Alex Blackwelder
Monday, February 2, 2009
Summitt goes for 1,000 win against Oklahoma
As of now, the legendary UT women's basketball coach sits at 999 wins.
Pat Summitt has been coaching at UT for 35 years, and is second for most NCAA championships held. She now holds eight.
Despite having a rough 2008-09 season with young and inexperienced players, Summitt has dedicated her life to the sport and refuses to give up on her team. Calling this a rebuilding year, the Lady Vols have been quite inconsistent. Sometimes they win and sometimes they don't. Sometimes they beat higher ranked teams and sometimes they get trampled on by teams that are not ranked.
In January 14, 2003, Summitt became the first woman to reach the 800-win plateau. She also became No. 1 on the Division I all-time wins list in 2005, surpassing Dean Smith's record of 879 wins.
She has signed and coached players like Candace Parker and Tamika Catchings, who now are WNBA all-stars.
The Lady Vols lost to Oklahoma 80-70. Looks like Pat will have to wait for her 1,000 win against Georgia.
Tribute to Pat Summitt on Meredy.com
Pat Summitt Slide show
Friday, January 30, 2009
N.C. State women's basketball coach dies
N.C. State head coach Kay Yow died on Jan. 25 after losing a long battle with cancer, dating back to 1987 when she underwent surgery for breast cancer.
During her career, Yow inspired generations of players, won 737 games, is honored in the Women's Basketball Coach Hall of Fame and is No. 6 on the women's coaching career list.
After Yow's surgery in the late '80s, the cancer returned over a decade later in 2004. Yow was told in 2006 that the cancer had spread to her liver, and took a 16-game leave of absence. Even though Yow wasn't sitting on the sidelines rooting her team on, her players brought a lot of heart and passion to prove to Yow just how much she meant to them.
Watching N.C. State upset No. 1 ranked Duke in the A.C.C. tournament in 2007 really gave Yow a reason to continue coaching. Her players wanted to win the NCAA championship for their coach, and she wanted them to achieve something they could cherish for the rest of their lives.
Following Yow's return, players began wearing pink shoelaces and headbands for breast cancer.
The NCAA also got involved with Women's Basketball Coaches Association's "Think Pink" or now "Pink Zone" to help raise money to be donated to the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund.
Teams participating in "Think Pink" or "Pink Zone" would not only wear pink accessories but wore pink uniforms to raise awareness about breast cancer and money for the foundation.
Unfortunately, N.C. State did not make it to the final four, but did inspire people with their determination to overcome ranking status and make an impression early on in the year.
Kay Yow's obituary in The New York Times.
