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Posting Up - Scoreboard - Top 25 - Features - Notables - Team of the Week - Live Audio |
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Coverage of the women's Final Four 1999 team capsules |
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St. Benedict (27-1) Coach: Mike Durbin (13th season) Probable starters: Key reserves: Heidi Schwichtenberg (5.7 ppg, 37-of-89 3s), Beth Holland (6.7 ppg) Commentary: The Blazers have been on a mission since letting a 17-point lead get away in last year's Great Lakes sectionals against Mount Union. They may have caught the break they needed, too, when the West's No. 1 seed, Simpson, lost in the second round two weeks ago. That allowed St. Benedict to host last week's West sectionals. Its obvious strength is in the front court, with the mobile 6-1 All-American candidate Wendorff, a junior, and the 6-1 Ruschmeier. However, the point guard Mark is one of the team's most lethal perimeter threats. St. Benedict has won 16 in a row since losing to MIAC rival St. Thomas in January. The Blazers then turned around and beat St. Thomas in regular-season play and in the tournament. Salem State (28-1) Coach: Tim Shea (18th season) Probable starters: Key reserves: Missy Smock (12.3 ppg, 80-of-196 3s ), Maggie O'Brien (6.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg) Commentary: Nobody is expecting the Vikings to beat St. Benedict, which suits them just fine. Nobody was expecting Salem to beat a considerably bigger Williams team in the Round of 8, either, and the Vikings won it by 16 on the road. Just like in the Williams' match-up against Rebecca Brooks and Erin Duffy, Lunden will have to play big against Wendorff and Ruschmeier. She's their only true post player among the top six. If she does play big, and Smock (10-of-16 from 3 in the sectionals) continues her hot hand and Salem wins the foot race in transition, the Northeast could land a team in the title game for a second straight season. The region hasn't won a national championship since Salem took its only crown while playing at home in 1986. The 5-6 guard Jackson is averaging 5.0 offensive rebounds per game. Scranton (28-2) Coach: Mike Strong (19th season) Probable starters: Key reserves: G Jaime Eilbacher (6.4 ppg, 48-of-124 3s) Commentary: This is a much different Scranton team than the one Strong took the Final Four at New York University two years ago. The Royals back then were more forward orientated, with the three-time All-American Jen Nish and Leanne Leftkowski. Now Scranton is stronger at the guard slots, with the 5-8 junior Halpin being the go-to player than Nish used to be. That kind of alignment can work wonders late in the games, when Scranton has the lead and the opponent is forced to foul. The Royals shoot 70% from the line as a team. First, however, they have to get the lead against Washington. Scranton should have the best fan support at the Final Four, with the school being a mere two-hour drive from Danbury. Strong also recruits in Connecticut and metropolitan New York/New Jersey, with nine of his 15 players coming from that area. Washington (28-0) Coach: Nancy Fahey (13th season) Probable starters: Key reserves: Beth Ruether (5.0 ppg), Sara Ettner (4.6 ppg), Lindsay Merrill (4.5 ppg) Commentary: No Division III team has logged more miles the past two seasons than defending champ Washington, which is riding a 36-game winning streak. Besides playing in the nation's only true intersectional conference, the Bears played at Bridgewater, Va., and Gorham, Maine, on the last two stops of the 1998 tournament, then had to go to Grand Rapids, Mich., last week before heading to Danbury. A post lineup that includes the 6-2 All-America Fischer and sophomore Tasha Tucker could give guard-oriented Scranton problems. Fahey regularly deploys 10 players who average 12 or more minutes. The Bears have had to go through formidable Wisconsin-Oshkosh in each of the last two sectional finals to reach the championship round. That's a pretty good warm-up, maybe even an omen to bank on. |
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