March Madness Tournament 2006: The Road to Boston (Women's Tournament)

[JohnBM01]

Who says college basketball is a man's game? If all you follow is the men, then you'd be surprised about how hard ladies play basketball. I'm actually surprised that the women's tournament is in its 25th year. If you are 25 or older, then congratulations. You've probably seen more games than anyone.

GTPlanet, it's time to check in with the divas of the hardwood. This is the 25th Anniversary of the Women's National Championship Tournament. So let's begin...


...THE ROAD TO BOSTON!


--- LEGEND ---

! = #1 Seed

No. 1 Seeds
North Carolina
Duke
LSU/Louisiana State
Ohio State



WOMEN'S BRACKETS (Source: ESPN)

CLEVLAND REGION: Nashville, TN; West Lafayette, IN; Trenton, NJ; Norfolk, VA
--- Nashville, TN (Sat) ---
#1 North Carolina! vs. #16 California-Riverside
#8 Vanderbilt vs. #9 Louisville

--- West Lafayette, IN (Sun) ---
#5 UCLA vs. #12 Bowling Green
#4 Purdue vs. #13 Missouri State

--- Trenton, NJ (Sun)---
#6 Texas A&M vs. #11 Texas Christian
#3 Rugters vs. #14 Dartmouth

--- Norfolk, VA (Sun)---
#7 George Washington vs. #10 Old Dominion
#2 Tennessee vs. #15 Army


BRIDGEPOINT REGION: Norfolk, VA; Chicago, IL; Trenton, NJ; University Park, PA
--- Norfolk, VA (Sun) ---
#1 Duke! vs. #16 Southern
#8 Southern California vs. #9 South Florida

--- Chicago, IL (S??) --
#5 Kentucky vs. #12 Chattanooga
#4 Michigan State vs. #13 Wisconsin-Milwaukee

--- Trenton, NJ (Sun) ---
#6 Temple vs. #11 Hartford
#3 Georgia vs. #14 Marist

--- University Park, PA (Sun) ---
#7 Virginia Tech vs. #10 Missouri
#2 Connecticut vs. #15 Coppin State


SAN ANTONIO REGION:
--- Nashville, TN (Sat) ---
#1 Lousiana State! vs. #16 Florida Atlantic
#8 Minnesota vs. #9 Washington

--- Chicago, IL (Sat) ---
#5 North Carolina State vs. #12 Tulsa
#4 DePaul vs. #13 Liberty

--- Denver, CO (Sat) ---
Florida Stat vs. #11 Louisiana Tech
Stanford vs. Southeast Missouri State

--- Denver, CO (Sat)
#7 BYU vs. #10 Iowa
#2 Oklahoma vs. 15 Pepperdine


ALBUQUERQUE REGION:
--- West Lafayette, IN (Sun) ---
#1 Ohio State vs. #16 Oakland
#8 Boston College vs. #9 Notre Dame

--- Tuscon, AZ (Sat) ---
#5 Utah vs. #12 Middle Tennessee State
#4 Arizona State vs. Stephen F. Austin

--- Tuscon, AZ (Sat) ----
#6 Florida vs. #11 New Mexico
#3 Baylor vs. #14 Northern Arizona

--- University Park, PA (Sun) ---
#7 St. John's vs. #10 California
#2 Maryland vs. #15 Sacred Heart



Well, the brackets are set. Now, let's meet the units who will NOT play for a National Championship:

Villanova (Big East)



Let's look at some of my extra commentary.

* Can you believe it? The Kentucky LADY Wildcats got a higher seed than the Kentucky men. If Kentucky's ladies go very far, then guess what. The kittens may be matched up against Michigan State, the 2005 National Champion runners-up. Then if Duke has a stellar run, Kentucky's going to be in some trouble. I like either Georgia or maybe Temple as well for the Regional Final.

* How about it, BlazinXtreme? Your Oakland LADIES make the tournament and have a chance to win it all. Always remmeber that no matter how tough or weak the pack is, you are a winner if you make the tournament. Every last team I've noted has a chance at winning the title. Easy for me to say, but don't be intimidated if the team you're matched up against is somebody like Connecticut, Duke, Tennessee, Michigan State, North Carolina, or any teams like that. This is college basketball, where upsets happen and there are no guaranteed picks all the way. So for the sake of GTPlanet's own BlazinXtreme... good luck to the Lady Golden Grizzlies.

* I'm sad that I couldn't spell "Albuquerque" right.

* Army finally makes it to the NCAA tournament [probably ever]. Maggie Dixon is the coach of the Army Women's team. Do you know who her brother is? It's James Dixon, coach of the Pittsburgh Men's team! Brother and sister coaches in the NCAA Tournament. Isn't that something?

* Ivory Latta (UNC, Jr. G) is so kind-spirited and smiles almost all the time. Will she REALLY smile if her team wins the National Championship?


Well, you seen the guys... now the girls. Reply now with your Women's Championship prospects.

 

[JohnBM01]

GTPlanet, the men are putting forth their best energy, now it's time to see the ladies sweat. I'm sure most of the women are accustomed to dancing, having done prom dances and such (sucks I never had a prom). You see ladies sporting luxurious and beautiful dresses and some sort of dressy high-heel sandals or pumps. The ladies will have to trade glass slippers for Nike sneakers. Oh, and they have to trade those $75+ dresses for school basketball uniforms. Not to mention going with sports bras. The women are ready to dance! Play some dramatic music because some teams will have broken hearts by the end of today and tonight. But who? Find out along with me!





This will just be a quick breeze through the Women's Brackets. Again, here are the regions:

WOMEN'S BRACKETS (Source: ESPN)

CLEVLAND REGION: Nashville, TN; West Lafayette, IN; Trenton, NJ; Norfolk, VA
--- Nashville, TN (Sat) ---
#1 North Carolina! vs. #16 California-Riverside
#8 Vanderbilt vs. #9 Louisville

--- West Lafayette, IN (Sun) ---
#5 UCLA vs. #12 Bowling Green
#4 Purdue vs. #13 Missouri State

--- Trenton, NJ (Sun)---
#6 Texas A&M vs. #11 Texas Christian
#3 Rugters vs. #14 Dartmouth

--- Norfolk, VA (Sun)---
#7 George Washington vs. #10 Old Dominion
#2 Tennessee vs. #15 Army


BRIDGEPOINT REGION: Norfolk, VA; Chicago, IL; Trenton, NJ; University Park, PA
--- Norfolk, VA (Sun) ---
#1 Duke! vs. #16 Southern
#8 Southern California vs. #9 South Florida

--- Chicago, IL (S??) --
#5 Kentucky vs. #12 Chattanooga
#4 Michigan State vs. #13 Wisconsin-Milwaukee

--- Trenton, NJ (Sun) ---
#6 Temple vs. #11 Hartford
#3 Georgia vs. #14 Marist

--- University Park, PA (Sun) ---
#7 Virginia Tech vs. #10 Missouri
#2 Connecticut vs. #15 Coppin State


SAN ANTONIO REGION:
--- Nashville, TN (Sat) ---
#1 Lousiana State! vs. #16 Florida Atlantic
#8 Minnesota vs. #9 Washington

--- Chicago, IL (Sat) ---
#5 North Carolina State vs. #12 Tulsa
#4 DePaul vs. #13 Liberty

--- Denver, CO (Sat) ---
Florida Stat vs. #11 Louisiana Tech
Stanford vs. Southeast Missouri State

--- Denver, CO (Sat)
#7 BYU vs. #10 Iowa
#2 Oklahoma vs. 15 Pepperdine


ALBUQUERQUE REGION:
--- West Lafayette, IN (Sun) ---
#1 Ohio State vs. #16 Oakland
#8 Boston College vs. #9 Notre Dame

--- Tuscon, AZ (Sat) ---
#5 Utah vs. #12 Middle Tennessee State
#4 Arizona State vs. Stephen F. Austin

--- Tuscon, AZ (Sat) ----
#6 Florida vs. #11 New Mexico
#3 Baylor vs. #14 Northern Arizona

--- University Park, PA (Sun) ---
#7 St. John's vs. #10 California
#2 Maryland vs. #15 Sacred Heart


Now, the games played on Saturday.


--- SAN ANTONIO REGION ---
* #16 Florida Atlantic vs. #1 LSU!
The LSU Lady Tigers gave the FAU Lady Owls watery eyes. VERY watery eyes. (72-48; Louisiana State!)

* #9 Washington vs. #8 Minnesota
You can call this somewhat of an upset because the Lady Huskies of #9 Washington took it to the Lady Golden Gophers of #8 Minnesota in this Pac-10/Big Ten match. (73-69; Washington)

I'm in somewhat of a hurry, so let's do RAPID FIRE.

--- RAPID FIRE (all regions) ---
* #5 North Carolina State vs. #12 Tulsa (71-61; Tulsa) *upset!*
* #13 Liberty vs. #4 DePaul (68-43; Liberty)
"Tonight, I'll Be Your NAU-ghty Girl..." #14 Northern Arizona at #3 Baylor (74-56; Baylor)
* #13 Stephen F. Austin vs. #4 Arizona State (80-64; Arizona State)

More scores available at: http://www.ncaasports.com/basketball/womens/scoreboard/madness/20060318

Sunday games are coming up as we see who's going to the Second Round.



JOHN'S SPECIAL!

--- DIVISION 3 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME ---
* Southern Maine vs. Hope
(69-56; Hope College)

My congratulations to Hope College for winning the Division 3 crown. For all the princesses, you are queens, Hope College. Congratulations from me to you.

 

[JohnBM01]

I haven't updated the scores for the Women's Tournament in some time. So let's review the tournament up to this point. Take a look at these scores:



Okay, now let's talk about Boston and the Women's Final Four. You down? Cool.

GTPlanet, who said that basketball is a man's game? The men usually get most of the attention since men's hoops have been around for a while. The games are normally quite exciting. But the Women's Championship is celebrating its Silver Anniversary. Yes, 25 years of deciding a Women's National Champion. What makes this year's tournament special? The thing is that we are guaranteed an ACC team in the National Championship game because three ACC teams filled the Women's Final Four for this season. The only non-ACC team is the SEC's LSU. Since the ACC wasn't the power of the Men's Tournament, maybe the ladies can give the ACC hope. The championship for the women will be in Boston this season, and (I believe) Clevland for the 2007 March Madness. Who will win it all? It's Final Four time!

Just like the Men's Tournament, the same intensity and probability of promise remains on both sides. Question is, who will win? Will it be the Maryland Lady Terrapins whose biggest win was against (then) #1 North Carolina? Will it be the North Carolina Lady Tar Heels who are looking to be as dominant and as successful as their male counterparts? Will it be Duke's Lady Blue Devils who have the Cameron Crazies at their side in home games? Or will it be Pokey Chatman's LSU team who hope her Lady Tigers can give LSU a championship chance after the men lost yesterday?

We seen the boys b-ball. Now, we're about to see what the girls do. What they do, dawg? Now before we go to the Final Four, I haven't updated this thread in a good while. So I'm giving you a bunch of links you can visit to see how the brackets went up to this point:

( Source: http://www.ncaasports.com/basketball/womens/brackets/ )
javascript:goTabtabs('tabs0') -Clevland Region
javascript:goTabtabs('tabs1') -Albuquerque Region
javascript:goTabtabs('tabs2') -Bridgeport Region
javascript:goTabtabs('tabs3') -San Antonio Region

Now you're up to speed. So let's do the Final Four!





(THE 2006 NCAA WOMEN'S FINAL FOUR - GAME 1 OF 2)

* Maryland {(Lady) Terrapins; ACC; College Park, MD}
vs.
* North Carolina {(Lady) Tar Heels; ACC; Chepel Hill, NC}


"Mocha Latta, Anyone?"

The ACC is going to win this game. But which team is going to pick up a win? This is a rematch between Maryland and North Carolina after (then) #6 Maryland upset the #1 team then, North Carolina. This time, a win here is much more important. One team will head to the National Championship game and move one step closer to awaiting their destiny. Let's look at Maryland first. I guess you can say that Maryland is good at football and basketball, though basketball is slightly the better program. The girls of Comcast Arena are in Boston to show that they want to win the championship about as bad as anyone else. They'll have to prove it against North Carolina. Maryland won't be going anywhere if the Lady Terrapins do their job AGAIN to North Carolina. Now, let's look to North Carolina. Starbucs Coffee has nothing on Ivory Latta. She's the latest tasteful sensation in college basketball. Coffee shops around America can't get a taste of I. Latta's talent because she's perculated very well. She can be served red hot, or she can be served Lady Tar Heel blue cold. What are her ingredients? Well, that's as guarded as Colonel Sanders recipe for their delicious KFC chicken. Can Ivory Latta and company get their revenge over Maryland? We shall see, right?

I didn't see all of the game. From what I did see, Maryland wanted none of Ivory Latta and her girls as Maryland is in the house for the National Championship. One game down, one to go. Latta had a knee injury in the game as Maryland won by once, or "eleven" en Español. Maryland beats UNC twice, and this one was important.

FINAL SCORE:
Maryland - 81 (Advances to Championship Game)
North Carolina - 70





(THE 2006 NCAA WOMEN'S FINAL FOUR - GAME 2 OF 2)

* Louisiana State {(Lady) Tigers; SEC; Baton Rouge, LA}
vs.
* Duke {(Lady) Blue Devils; ACC; Durham, NC}


"Hokey Pokey"

Now that an ACC team is in, will one more follow? Or will the SEC crash the party? As college football analyst Lee Corso would say, "not so fast, my friend!" That is what LSU hopes to do to Duke. The men lost, so can the women clean up for the men and give LSU that glimmer of hope in the postseason? Pokey Chatman (coach, LSU) looks to motivate and incite her Lady Tigers to get the job done. Duke didn't even make the Final Four this season, but the women did. No Coach K... no problem. The Lady Blue Devils are inspired divas. They are the goddesses of North Carolina women's hoops along with their Chapel Hill rivals. Can these Blue Vixens be devilish on both ends of the court?

LSU was getting blasted by Duke early as it was 9-2 for Duke with five minutes in. Afterwards, the talent on LSU was almost nonexistant compared to Duke. The Lady Blue Devils blew out LSU by 19. So the final is not only an ACC sweep, but it's two rival schools for the National Championship. The final game should be VERY interesting between these two rivals.

FINAL SCORE:
Louisiana State = 45
Duke = 64


ONE LAST FINAL GAME! It's Maryland vs. Duke. Who you got? We'll see who will leave Boston with the grand prize.



One last update before the title game... I would like to give a late congratulations to Grand Valley State University of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC; NCAA Division 2) for winning their first-ever Division 2 crown. The Lady Lakers fought the good fight, and they were money in getting the Division 2 Championship. Grand Valley State is (probably) a traditional football school. But the women's basketball team made them a championship school for women's hoops.

Coming soon, Maryland and Duke look to join Hope College and Grand Valley State University for 2005-2006 championship honors. Which will win it all? We shall see!

 

[JohnBM01]

(*+x The 2006 NCAA Women's National Championship Game x+*)

I've taken you all across America to see how the divas of the hardwood ball on the court. From Hawaii to Maine, South Florida to Gonzaga, the ladies fought as valiantly as their male counterparts. But it all comes down this defining moment. Both teams have never won a National Championship before. That's right. Duke's men won plenty and Maryland's men won in 2002. The ladies don't have a win to show for it. A likely favorite could be Maryland, who upset North Carolina during the regular season. But, the Duke women are just as imposing as the men. Can they prove it against rivals Maryland? An ACC winner is guaranteed, but who? Let's get it on, players!


Maryland {(Lady) Terrapins; ACC; College Park, MD}
vs.
Duke {(Lady) Blue Devils; ACC; Durham, NC}



"American Idols"

Hey, Duke fans! Still saddened about your Men's Lacrosse team? Well, here's some Duke action for you to be excited about. You have a chance to win the National Championship. It's simple- beat Maryland. Let's face it. Duke doesn't know what simple means because they have the power to move mountains and overcome great odds. Duke came all this way, and Lady Blue Devils don't want to lose now. It's like a presidental race- you worked hard all the way through, and only a few votes can mean the difference between you in the White House and you looking for some other thing to rule. Maryland knows about Washington, D.C. because College Park, MD isn't too far away from Washington, D.C. In fact, I think it's due northeast of Washington, D.C. Maryland is looking to take command of ACC and Division 1 Women's basketball for... the first time. Maryland hasn't won a National Championship in either gender of basketball since 2002 when the men won it all. And four years later, Maryland will let Duke know what time it is. It's time to fear the turtle. But more importantly, Fear the Lady Terrapins! Did Duke fear? Maryland leads this (I swear I'm typing this sentence like a baseball announcer) series 2-1. Unlike baseball, there is no rubber game if Duke wins. So let's see who hit the ball 400 feet and got a Grand Slam.

Maryland trailed Duke 38-28 at the half. Inside of one minute left, Duke led 68-64. Some team is going to have His and Her's NCAA Championships tonight! A fade by Maryland made things 68-67. Boston's going to explode with cheers based on whomever cuts down the nets at game's end. Maryland is the best three-point shooting team and cashed in a beautiful bomb with 6.1 left on the clock after the basket. Duke wanted to send Maryland home with nothing. The end result... 70-70. WE'RE GOING TO OVERTIME! Regulation solves nothing! The first half of the Overtime period saw no scoring until Duke hit a deep deuce. It's 74-74 with one minute left in OT. One Duke player had to go to the bench with blood on her knee with 47 seconds left. Harding (Duke, G) crashed and burned and fouled out with 16 pts. and 3 reb's. Maryland hit the free throws to lead 76-75. Two more free throws made by Maryland as Duke ran out of Timeouts. It's 13.4 seconds left. Can they survive? They may be the Blue Devils, but hell no. Maryland wins the National Championship and heading back to College Park, MD with some heavy hardware! It's His and Hers championships for Maryland. The men won in 2002, and the women now won in 2006. These two ACC rivals needed no rubber game because Maryland won it all.

FINAL SCORE, OVERTIME
Maryland - 78 (*+x The 2006 NCAA Division 1 Women's National Champs x+*)
Duke - 75

MY COMMENTS: Congratulations to the Maryland Lady Terrapins. Maryland beat North Carolina TWICE this season. To me, if you beat North Carolina (or even Duke), you're pretty damn good. Hell, you can be Savannah State, Coppin State, St. Bonaventure, Liberty, or Campbell. If you beat North Carolina or Duke, you won a hell of a game. Maryland proven as much as they wanted to and have the hardware to prove it. This game took Overtime, but it was a sweet win for Maryland. That's why I try to bring you both Men's and Women's basketball, because basketball is the fiber which bonds us together. Men AND women play hard on the court. The intensity is the same. The will to win is the same. The big prize is still the same. And Maryland took home the hardware. The ACC proven to have quality women's talent this season as absolutely no ACC or Big East teams were in the Men's Final Four. Three out of the four elibible teams in the Women's Final Four this season were from the ACC. The only non-ACC school was LSU of the SEC. Maryland, good news and bad news. Good- you won the title, so enjoy it. Bad- you're going to be the ones about, I don't know... 333 Division 1 teams want to beat for next season.

Congratulations, and once again... FEAR THE TURTLE!