seniors ready for ncaa tourney

There are 180 seniors who will be playing in this year's NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament.

And all of them share the goal -- cut down the nets at Indianapolis on April 5.

Four of those seniors have experience of cutting down the nets -- Connecticut's Maya Moore and Lorin Dixon and Tennessee's Angie Bjorklund and Sydney Smallbone.

Moore and Dixon helped UConn win national titles in each of the last two years. When they were freshmen, they were part of a UConn team that lost to Stanford in the national semifinals at Tampa, Fla. Now, they're looking to help UConn complete a three-peat for the second time in program history. The Huskies had a string of national titles from 2002-2004.

Bjorklund and Smallbone are looking to end their college basketball careers the same way they started -- playing on a national championship team. When they were freshmen, Bjorklund and Smallbone helped the Lady Vols beat Stanford in the championship game at Tampa. But they didn't have much luck the next two years. When they were sophomores, Tennessee lost to Ball State in the first round. When they were juniors, the Lady Vols lost to Baylor in the Memphis Regional semifinals.

Bjorklund, Smallbone and the Lady Vols will begin their quest for their ninth national championship on Saturday, when they play Stetson in a first-round game at Knoxville. Tennessee is the No. 1 seed in the Dayton Regional.

Or will Moore and Dixon end their college careers by helping UConn tie Tennessee for the most national titles with eight? The Huskies begin their quest of a three-peat on Sunday, when they play Hartford in a first-round game at UConn. The Huskies are the No. 1 seed in the Philadelphia Regional.

Stanford's senior duo of Kayla Pedersen and Jeanette Pohlen hopes the fourth time's the charm for them this year. They played in the Final Four in each of the last three years, but they didn't celebrate a national championship.

It's been 10 years since Notre Dame last won a national championship. Seniors Becca Bruszewski, Mary Forr, Brittany Mallory and Devereaux Peters are setting their sights on helping the Irish end that drought.

The Baylor Bears were the Queens of Indianapolis when they won their first national title there in 2005. Melissa Jones and Whitney Zachariason will look to help Baylor leave Indy with another crown.

After the Green Bay Packers won the Super Bowl last month, Wisconsin-Green Bay seniors Heather Golden, Celeste Hoewisch and Kayla Tetschlag will look to help the Phoenix bring another championship to Titletown.

After seeing her big brother Ben lose in the Super Bowl, Oklahoma senior Carlee Roethlisberger hopes to make up for it by helping the Sooners win their first national championship. It's her last chance.

On March 5, Alecia Weatherly celebrated her 23rd birthday by cutting down the nets in the Ohio Valley championship game. On April 5, Tennessee-Martin's lone senior would love to cut the down the nets at Indy. But first, her team has to get past Duke in the first round.

After spending last year in the hospital bed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, North Carolina's Jessica Breland wants to help the Tar Heels get back that national championship magic just like in 1994, when Charlotte Smith hit a buzzer-beater against Louisiana Tech.

Xavier's Ta'Shia Phillips and Amber Harris will look to celebrate a national championship in their hometown of Indianapolis. Last year, they came up one win short of going to the Final Four.

Gonzaga's Courtney Vandersloot won the NCAA assist title after averaging 10.2 assists per game. Could she add a national title to her resume?

This could be a year where no seniors will celebrate a national championship. Maryland was the last seniorless team to win a title. This year, the Terrapins are seniorless. Will they do it again?

Last year, Tina Charles, Kaili McLaren, Kalana Greene, Meghan Gardler and Jacquie Fernandes ended their college careers as national champions as they helped UConn beat Stanford in the national title game in San Antonio.

Who will be this year's lucky senior group? Or will there will be any seniors standing on the championship podium at all? We'll find out on April 5.