aggies prepare for elite eight

Gary Blair has been there and done that.

He has been to the Women's Final Four before. In 1998, he coached the Arkansas Razorbacks to their first and, so far, only Women's Final Four appearance. As on Monday, Arkansas is the lowest seed to compete in the Final Four. The Razorbacks were the No. 9 seed.

On Tuesday, Blair has another opportunity to go to his second Women's Final Four. His Texas A&M will play Baylor in a Texas-sized Dallas Regional championship game. Texas A&M has never been to the Final Four.

"It's great," Texas A&M senior Danielle Adams said in the Texas A&M Battalion on Monday. "I've never been to an Elite Eight. This is my first one, and I'm pretty sure these girls are happy to get back to the Elite Eight. So it's all a dream come true to us. We just have to keep our focus and keep pushing towards the next game."

Adams is one of 27 seniors who are setting their sights on going to the Final Four in Indianapolis. Connecticut's Maya Moore, Stanford's Kayla Pedersen and Jeanette Pohlen, Tennessee's Angie Bjorklund, Gonzaga's Courtney Vandersloot and Baylor's Melissa Jones are among the other star seniors who are playing in the round of eight this week.

UConn is playing Duke in the Philadelphia Regional championship game on Tuesday. The Dayton Regional (Tennessee vs. Notre Dame) and the Spokane Regional championship games will be played on Monday.

The Aggies are looking to prevent Baylor from qualifying for the Final Four for the second straight year. So far, Texas A&M is 0-3 against Baylor, including a loss in the Big 12 championship game in Kansas City.

The Aggies qualified for the Elite Eight by crushing Georgia 79-38 in the Dallas Regional semifinals on Sunday, making it the second time Texas A&M made it to the round of eight. Three years ago, the Aggies lost to Tennessee in regional finals.

The win over the Bulldogs was a historic one for Texas A&M. The Aggies improved to 30-5, guaranteeing their first 30-win season in program history.

Now, Texas A&M is one win away from making more history and helping Blair get back to the Final Four for the first time in 13 years.

Basketball powerhouses look to clear Sweet 16 hurdle

So far, things have been sweet for the Stanford, Duke and Ohio State women's athletic programs in the 2010-2011 school year.

Stanford, Duke and Ohio State are the only schools in the country that have reached the Sweet 16 in three sports -- soccer, volleyball and basketball.

In volleyball, Stanford and Duke were eliminated in the regional finals and Ohio State lost to Stanford in the regional semifinals. In soccer, Stanford lost to Notre Dame in the championship match, Ohio State lost to Notre Dame in the national semifinals and Duke was eliminated in the Sweet 16.

This weekend, the Stanford, Duke and Ohio State women's basketball teams are in regional action and all of them have potential of reaching the Final Four in Indianapolis.

Stanford is two wins away from its fourth consecutive trip to the Final Four. The top-seeded team in the Spokane Regional, the Cardinal will play fifth-seeded North Carolina. With UCLA and Xavier getting knocked out in the second round, Stanford is heavily favored to win the Spokane Regional and head to Indianapolis.

But in order to get out of the Spokane Regional, Stanford may have to get past Gonzaga. The Bulldogs, who beat UCLA in the second round, are playing just 1.3 miles from campus, so they get to sleep in their own beds. Stanford beat Gonzaga 84-78 in a non-Pac-10 matchup earlier in the season.

The Cardinal are making their 18th Sweet 16 appearance. They will be playing a North Carolina team that has caught fire since the ACC tournament. The Tar Heels reached the conference championship game, then beat Fresno State and Kentucky to reach the Sweet 16. Now, they're traveling over 2,600 miles to Spokane to take on a Stanford team that hasn't lost a game since December.

Ohio State is making its second Sweet 16 trip in three years. The Buckeyes will make the 72-mile bus ride on I-70 west to Dayton to play Tennessee in the regional semfinals.

Ohio State is the lone Big Ten team in the Sweet 16. The Buckeyes advanced to the regional semifinals by beating Georgia Tech 67-60 in the second round last week at Columbus.

"I definitely think that game prepared us for anything we could potential face, because I don't think any other team is going to play physical-slash-dirty like that," Ohio State senior Jantel Lavender told the Ohio State Daily Lantern on Thursday. "I think that Tennessee will be physical, and that game definitely prepared us for Tennessee."

The Buckeyes will take an 11-game winning streak into Saturday's game with the Lady Vols. Ohio State hasn't lost a game since Feb. 6.

Duke will be playing in a Big East-dominated Philadephia Regional. The Blue Devils play DePaul in the regional semifinals on Sunday and the winner of that game will take on either UConn or Georgetown in the Elite Eight.

The Blue Devils advanced to the Sweet 16 by coming from behind to beat Marist in the second round on Monday at Duke.

"That wasn't a great game for Duke, and there was very little emotion after the game," Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie told the Duke Chronicle on Thursday. "I don't believe in the philosophy of survive and advance. I don't aspire to it. I believe in being a powerful team on the floor and going after things, so I can just tell you there was very little celebration."

Hopefully, Duke will leave Philly on Tuesday with plenty to celebrate. The Blue Devils lost to Baylor in the Elite Eight last year. They haven't reached the Final Four since McCallie took over the program four years ago.

tar heels set for long trip to sweet 16

The North Carolina Tar Heels will be ready for another long trip out West.

Last week, the Tar Heels traveled 1,770 miles to Albuquerque, New Mexico to play in the first and second-round games at the University of New Mexico.

This weekend, North Carolina will be making the longest commute out of all of the Sweet 16 teams. The Tar Heels will make the 2,613-mile trek to Spokane, Wash., to play last year's runner-up Stanford in the regional semfinals on Saturday at Spokane Arena.

Hopefully, all of those long trips will pay off for North Carolina, which is seeking for its first Final Four appearance since 2007. The Tar Heels won their only national championship in 1994.

The winner of Stanford-North Carolina will play the winner of Gonzaga-Louisville in the regional finals on Monday. After its stunning victory over Xavier in the second round on Tuesday, Louisville will make the second-longest commute out of the Sweet 16 teams. Spokane is 2,091 miles from the Louisville campus.

Gonzaga, Ohio State, Baylor and Texas A&M are the only teams that will play in regionals at their home state. Gonzaga, which beat UCLA in the second round on Monday, is just 1.3 miles from Spokane Arena. Ohio State will make the 72-mile trip on I-70 west to Dayton to play Tennessee in the regional semifinals on Saturday. Baylor and Texas A&M are playing in the Dallas Regional and will play Green Bay and Georgia, respectively, on Sunday.

North Carolina is playing in the NCAA tournament at Washington State for the second straight year. Last year's trip to Washington was something the Tar Heels would like to forget.

North Carolina shot 38.5 percent in its first-round game against Gonzaga and lost to the Bulldogs 82-76. The Tar Heels were the No. 10 seed, their lowest seed in school history.

Now, UNC will be playing in a game that will start late at night for those people who are living in the Triangle area. The Tar Heels' game with top-seeded Stanford is scheduled for 11:30 p.m. Eastern/8:30 Pacific. North Carolina will leave for Spokane at 4:45 p.m. Thursday en route to the Raleigh/Durham International Airport.

The New Mexico trip was a good one for the Tar Heels last week. North Carolina beat Fresno State 82-68 in the first round and knocked off Kentucky 86-74 in the second. Senior Italee Lucas scored 22 points in both games.

Lucas, senior Cetera DeGraffenreid and juniors Chay Shegog and Laura Broomfield are among the players who played in last year's game with Gonzaga. All of them scored in double figures. Senior Jessica Breland didn't play while sitting out the season due to Hodgkin's lymphoma.

On Saturday, Breland will get an opportunity to play in the state of Washington. This time, Breland and the Tar Heels want to leave Washington as regional champions and have a pleasant, 2,613-mile flight back to Chapel Hill.

"We worked so hard, and we're playing our best basketball right now," North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell said in the Daily Tar Heel on Wednesday. "We got it going in the ACC tournament, and they've all stepped it up, doing whatever they can to help out...It's a lot of fun to see them play like this and of course to be doing all of this at the right time."

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.

notre dame, purdue aim for short trip to indy

In 2001, Notre Dame and Purdue squared off in the championship game in St. Louis.

It turned to be one of the best championship games in women's basketball history as Ruth Riley hit two free throws in the closing seconds to help Notre Dame knock off Purdue 68-66.

Also that year, Southwest Missouri State (now Missouri State) played in the Women's Final Four in St. Louis. It was the last time a school played in the Women's Final Four in its home state.

This year, Notre Dame and Purdue will look to end that drought. If both teams win their first four games, they will be playing in the Women's Final Four in Indianapolis. Notre Dame is three hours from Indy, while Purdue is just an hour away. The Irish and Boilermakers are the only Indiana schools in the 64-team tournament.

Notre Dame is the No. 2 seed and travels to Salt Lake City to play No. 15 Utah in the first round on Saturday.

"We're excited about being a No. 2 seed in the tournament," Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw told the Notre Dame Observer on Monday. "We knew there were six teams in contention for the No. 2 spot and we were rewarded for a great season."

Purdue is the No. 9 seed and will play eighth-seeded Kansas State in a first-round game on Sunday at the University of Connecticut.

Purdue has been successful in first-round games, going 16-1, with its only loss in 1996.

The road to the Final Four will not be easy for Notre Dame and Purdue. The Irish are in the Dayton Region and have to get past teams such as Tennessee, Ohio State, Miami. Purdue is in the Philadelphia Region and has to get past teams such as two-time defending champion UConn, Duke and DePaul.

The Irish will take a 26-7 record into Saturday's game with Utah. Last year, Notre Dame reached the Sweet 16.

Purdue returns to the Big Dance after a year hiatus. The Boilermakers will take a 20-11 record into Sunday's game with Kansas State.

If Notre Dame and Purdue win their respective regional tournaments, they will face each other in the national semifinals at Indianapolis. Notre Dame and Purdue haven't played in the Final Four since that classic championship game 10 years ago.

cal shoots for another wnit title

Cal Poly will accomplish some history on Thursday.

The Mustangs will be playing in their first postseason game in program history. They will play California in the first round of the Women's National Invitational Tournament at home.

Cal Poly hopes its first postseason game will be a memorable one. With a win over the Bears, the Mustangs not only pick up their first postseason victory, but they also will knock off the defending WNIT champions.

Cal certainly has other ideas. The Bears are looking to win the WNIT for the second year in a row. Last year, Cal beat Miami 73-61 in the WNIT championship game at Berkeley.

Five players from last year's championship team -- Rachelle Federico, DeNesha Stallworth, Talia Caldwell, Eliza Pierre and Layshia Clarendon -- are on this year's squad that will take a 17-15 record into Thursday's game with Cal Poly.

Federico said experience will help her team in this year's WNIT.

"It gives us tremendous confidence going into the tournament again, seeing what it feels like to do it and seeing that we have done it," Federico told the Daily Californian on Thursday. "The preparation and the mental, quick turnaround games is something that we're used to. Against a team like Cal Poly, it's almost like the first NCAA tournament round."

Cal's hopes of going to the NCAA's were diminished last week, when it lost to UCLA in the Pac-10 tournament semifinals in Los Angeles.

California started its season with a win over Rutgers, which is playing in the NCAAs this week, and was 8-3 going into Pac-10 play. But the Bears struggled in conference play, going 7-11, including a six-game losing streak. Cal beat Washington and Arizona State in the first two rounds of the Pac-10 tournament before losing to UCLA in the semifinals.

Stallworth and Clarendon are the Bears' top two scorers. Stallworth is averaging 13.6 points per game and Clarendon is averaging 12.8. Caldwell is Cal's top rebounder at 8.4 boards per game.

Federico and Rama N'Diaye are the Bears' only seniors. Federico has been with the program since her freshman year and N'Diaye returned to the team this year after redshirting last year due to knee problems.

Thursday, Cal is playing a Cal Poly team that won its first-ever share of the Big West Conference regular season championship and earned Big West Player of the Year (Rachel Clancy) and Coach of the Year (Faith Mimnaugh) awards.

The Cal Poly-Cal winner plays the winner of Colorado and UC Riverside in the second round.

home sweet home for 12 teams

The Maryland Terrapins had a pair of reasons to celebrate on Monday.

First, they're back in the Big Dance after a year hiatus. And they also found out they will be playing their NCAA tournament games at home.

Maryland is the No. 4 seed and will play St. Francis (Pa.) on Sunday in College Park. The Terrapins are one of 12 teams that will play their first and second round games at home.

If Maryland wins its first two rounds, it will possibly play two-time defending national champion Connecticut in the Philadelphia Regional semifinals.

"To be able to sleep in your own bed, to not have to travel -- we hope it gives us an extra push," Maryland coach Brenda Frese told the Diamondback on Wednesday. "But it's the NCAA Tournament. You're going to get any team's best shot."

UConn also will play its first two rounds at home. The Huskies open tournament play against Hartford, the No. 16 seed, on Sunday. Hartford is coached by former UConn standout Jen Rizzotti.

Baylor, Tennessee, Stanford, Penn State, Gonzaga, Xavier, Ohio State, Utah, Duke and Louisiana Tech are also hosting first and second-round games.

Louisiana Tech is playing its opening games at Shreveport, which is an hour from campus. But the Lady Techsters are playing the host of the first and second-round games. Louisiana Tech, the No. 10 seed, is playing seventh-seeded Rutgers in the first round on Sunday.

Penn State will play Dayton in a first-round game on Saturday in Happy Valley. It's a rematch of the Nittany Lions' season opener against the Flyers. Penn State knocked off Dayton 112-107 in two overtimes.

If the sixth-seeded Nittany Lions get past the first two rounds, they'll travel east to Philadelphia for the regional tournament. Penn State played in the Final Four at the City of Brotherly Love in 2000.

"It's a tremendous advantage to play at home the first two games. Then, we'd be playing in Philadelphia," Penn State senior Julia Trogele told the Daily Collegian on Tuesday. "A lot of us are actually from Pennsylvania, so I think we'd still have a lot of support coming out to those games."

Xavier will play South Dakota State in the first round on Sunday in Cincinnati. The Musketeers, who are seeded second, came up one win short of a trip to the Final Four last year.

Gonzaga, which is the No. 11 seed, will play sixth-seeded Iowa in the first round on Saturday. The Bulldogs reached the Sweet 16 in 2010.

In order for top-seeded Baylor to get to the Women's Final Four, the Bears must win all four of their games in Texas. If it survives its first two rounds in Waco, Baylor qualifies for the regional tournament in Dallas.

Senior Melissa Jones will be ready for the NCAA tournament as her vision continues to improve. She suffered a head injury on Feb. 27 against Oklahoma in the Big 12 Tournament, causing problems for her to see out of her right eye.

"I don't know why I wake up randomly in the middle of the night, but every time I do, I just kind of look. It was a shock, like, 'Whoa, there's actually something there,' " Jones told the Baylor Lariat on Tuesday. "I can see things right now, but it's really blurry."

Tennessee plays Stetson in the first round on Saturday in Knoxville. A win qualifies the Lady Vols to the second round against either Marquette or Texas on Monday.

Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt's alma mater, Tennessee-Martin, will be in the tournament for the first time. The Skyhawks play Duke in the first round on Saturday.

Duke drew the No. 2 seed and if it gets past Tennessee-Martin, it will play either Iowa State or Marist in the second round on Monday.

"You can't let what other people think get to you, and I think this team will only go as far as we motivate ourselves to go," Duke senior Jasmine Thomas told the Duke Chronicle on Tuesday. "We can't rely on people to try to fire us up or people that doubt us, so we're excited to prove ourselves."

After winning the Big Ten tournament, Ohio State earned a No. 4 seed and will play Central Florida in the first round on Saturday. The Buckeyes were eliminated in the second round last year.

By winning the Mountain West tournament, Utah earned a No. 15 seed and will second-seeded Notre Dame on Saturday. If the Utes pull off the gigantic upset, they will play either Arizona State or Temple in the second round.

"They are hosting, so we get to play them on their home court in more of a tournament atmosphere," Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw told the Notre Dame Observer on Tuesday. "We like playing in front of a crowd, and they're coming off a win (in the Mountain West tournament). They're going to be a challenge."

Stanford plays UC Davis in the first round on Saturday. If they win, the Cardinal will play either Texas Tech or St. John's in the second round on Monday. Stanford is setting its sights on winning its first title in almost 20 years.

"I'm really excited for our team to be selected as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament," Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer told the Stanford Daily on Tuesday. "As a team, we know we can only play six more games together, and do the absolute best that we can."

Maryland, which participated in the WNIT last year, is looking to win its first championship in five years. But first, the Terrapins have to get past a St. Francis team that won the Northeast Conference this year. If they do that, they likely will play Georgetown in the second round on Tuesday. Maryland lost to the Hoyas 53-45 at Georgetown in November.

Maryland is also one of four teams (the others are Purdue, Rutgers and Miami) that don't have any seniors on their roster. The Terrapins have four juniors, four sophomores and six freshmen on their team.