|
|
|
Posting Up - Scoreboard - Top 25 - Features - Notables - Team of the Week - Live Audio |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Coverage of the women's Final Four Updated March 21, 1999 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A View from the Top DANBURY, Conn. -- The resemblance is striking in some ways, more subtle in others. There's the short cropped hair and the twang -- Midwestern, not southern. Her team is well disciplined, yet clearly enjoys just being on the court. And her teams win and win and win. Washington University of St. Louis head coach Nancy Fahey might not necessarily compare to University of Tennessee head coach Pat Summit, but the similarities are there. Fahey's team has earned a reputation as the Tennessee of Division III. That's what happens when you win back-to-back national titles, make three Final Four appearances in the decade and win nine conference titles under Fahey, who now has a career record of 294-61. There is definitely a mystique about this squad, whether it comes from the coach, 1998 Team of the Year center Alia Fischer and dominating forward Tasha Rodgers, or from the supporting cast. Just ask any of the victims in the 38-game winning streak. During the regular season NYU held a 12-0 lead that was forgotten by game's end. Wisconsin-Oshkosh met a similar fate with its early double-digit edge in the NCAA quarterfinals. Semifinal foe Scranton admitted that it played scared throughout the first half, which made the difference in its 74-65 defeat. Washington wasn't daunted by anything, not even the several hundred Scranton fans sitting behind the basket who made their presence felt every time their opponent was setting up its offense. "We heard they were the defending champs and saw the kind of confidence they had," said Scranton's Kelly Halpin after the game. "We came in feeling like we were the underdog instead of (realizing) that there are only four teams in the final four, and we were one of them. We were really scared and we panicked" The Bears are one team against whom you don't want that to happen. Washington pounces on opponents weaknesses and exploits most frontcourts with the dribble-penetration by Rodgers and the remarkable low post moves from Fischer, whose arsenal includes an incredibly accurate turnaround hook that she can shoot with either hand. If you forget about the rest of the team -- something that's easy when watching those two, you'll get burned. Just ask championship foe St. Benedict, which fell victim to a lead-erasing 10-0 second half run keyed by 3-pointers from Beth Ruether and Kjersten Kramer. Washington would control the contest the rest of the way in a 74-65 win. "That's the strength of our team," said Fischer. "We have so many people who can score and do things. We know we can come back with an answer." It starts at the top with the coach, who teases her players by turning into interrogator at the post game press conference. "How did we play?" Fahey asked Rodgers, who wasn't paying attention when the question was posed to the coach. The coach set the tone for the season right at the start. With three new starters to complement Fischer and Emily Nolan, thoughts of last seasons run were soon forgotten. "We knew people would be coming after (us)," Fahey said. "As a team, you try to establish that last year was last year. This year we didn't win (yet). I don't think any team doesn't have the goal of winning a national championship. You can't start the season with less than that. I wouldn't ever go into as season without that goal." The attitude was there game after game, night after night, right through all 40 minutes of the championship contest. The Bears fans chanted "Three-Peat" and afterwards St. Benedict coach Mike Durbin talked of how wonderful the view was from the top of the mountain. Even if it was a glance that was ever so brief. Well this Washington team and its coach are now alone at the summit. They show no signs of stepping down any time soon. "Let's soak this up first," said Fahey, when asked if her team was capable of winning the crown for a third consecutive season. "Am I glad it's over? Yeah. We won. But I would have gone on forever with this group."
Best fans "They are the best," said St. Benedict coach Mike Durbin. "I get tired just from riding the bus from St. Joseph to the Twin Cities. Twenty-six hours -- and they're still all friends. Wow. They gave us a great send-off at the hotel. We heard them when they came through the door (of the Feldman Arena) and that pumped us up. They were behind us all season."
Best stat
Best friends?
Seats still available Washington forward Tasha Rodgers made it a point to say how much she enjoyed playing at a neutral site. "With a neutral site, no one team is shooting on 'their goal.' It makes it equal. No one has a home court advantage."
Built to last The funniest reactions came from Scranton coach Mike Strong and St. Benedict coach Mike Durbin. "How many years does (Washington U. Team of the Year center) Alia Fischer have left?" asked Strong. When told that she was presently a junior, Strong grabbed his head, pointed it down towards the table and let out a huge sigh. Similarly, when Durbin learned that Washington forward Tasha Rodgers was a sophomore he laughed. When he got up to leave the press conference, he made sure to tell Rodgers that he would be happy to get her into summer school so that she could graduate sooner. |
Links
to old pages
Rankings and links to all D-III teams
Contact Us |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
