No ranked team is safe in women's hoops
But coaches say all the upsets good for game
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Rutgers’ remarkable run of upsets is the most prominent example of what’s happening across the board in women’s college basketball this season.
No one is safe.
Connecticut and Tennessee, the sport’s giants, both had three losses heading into their game Saturday at Hartford. Texas and Georgia also had lost three times as the weekend got underway.
Week after week, unranked teams have knocked off Top 25 opponents, or Top 25 teams have lost to opponents ranked below them. After Iowa’s loss to Penn State on Thursday night, no one is undefeated.
“Those kind of things give everyone hope,” said Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly, whose team pulled off an upset of its own with a 19-point win over No. 20 Kansas State.
“It’s great for the game. That’s what makes people look, the upsets. It’s not like pro wrestling where you know who’s going to win ahead of time. Let’s play the games and let’s keep people excited and energized and enthusiastic and think about what could happen.”
No. 14 Rutgers capped its eight days of upsets by beating top-ranked LSU 51-49 in overtime Wednesday. The Scarlet Knights started their run by defeating then-No. 8 Tennessee and then-No. 4 Texas.
“The Rutgers run is really exceptional,” Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. “It’s great for them and it’s great for women’s basketball.”
VanDerveer’s eighth-ranked team is among the upset victims as well, losing to unranked Oregon.
“It’s anybody’s race,” VanDerveer said. “There’s a lot of jockeying going on. One horse could be up front and somebody else comes from the back of the pack.
“You can’t get lapped if you plan to be in the pack. But if you stay healthy and keep improving and play good competition, you’re going to be OK at the end.”
Healthy and happy
If Penn State coach Rene Portland wasn’t feeling great before, she certainly was after the Lady Lions’ trip to Iowa.
In a season marked by up-and-down play and uneven 3-point shooting, Penn State (7-6) went 10-for-21 from beyond the arc and won 77-71 for just its second road victory.
“You live and die by the 3-pointer and there were some of them that even I smiled at,” said Portland, who has battled through some health problems.
Portland fainted after a game in mid-November, then missed three games while on a medical leave.
“It was quite difficult for everyone, though they went 3-0 in that time,” said Portland, who added with a laugh, “We didn’t do very well when I came back, so maybe I should have stayed out.”
Coach accused
Coach Don Flanagan of No. 23 New Mexico has come under fire from one of his former players.
University, NAACP and state officials met to discuss complaints by former Lobos guard Fatima Maddox, who alleged Flanagan treated white athletes better than black players.
Maddox, a sophomore, quit the team late last month after Flanagan benched her for a game.
A statement issued at the meeting said the NAACP was not taking an adversarial approach but wanted to make sure that Maddox was released from her scholarship and that school officials would help her transfer.
University president Louis Caldera said that was being done.
Flanagan has said he did not know what prompted Maddox’s complaints.
“I didn’t kick her off the team,” he said. “I think we have one of the most positive environments of any program in college basketball in the country. We treat our players well.”
Flanagan, in his 10th season at New Mexico, said he had never heard complaints from anyone that he was biased against a particular group of players. He said the benching was a coaching decision and Maddox understood the reason.
Improved Maples Pavilion
Stanford’s players and coaches aren’t the only ones pleased with the $30 million facelift at Maples Pavilion.
The infamous bouncy court is history, much to the delight of Washington coach June Daugherty. When asked whether she misses the former floor, Daugherty had a quick response:
“No, I don’t,” she said. “For the first time in nine years, I didn’t come out of here with the crick in the back of my neck, from doing the bobblehead thing.”
Daugherty is glad to see Stanford’s storied women’s basketball program — and the men’s team and volleyball team that also will use the facility — rewarded with a state-of-the art arena. She said it’s good for the Pac-10, too.
While Stanford is the favorite to win another conference title, Daugherty is convinced the race will be close. Her youthful Huskies — they don’t have any seniors — lost to the eighth-ranked Cardinal 74-61 on Tuesday night.
“It’s anybody’s,” Daugherty said of the title chase. “It’s exciting and good for the league.”
Smooth move
Former Division II power South Dakota State is making a smooth transition to Division I.
In its first season as a provisional member of the top division, the Jackrabbits are 12-4, including a 6-4 record against Division I teams.
Their latest victory was an 86-83 win at Alabama, the second time they’ve defeated a Southeastern Conference team. South Dakota State also has defeated Kentucky and owns a win over Oklahoma State of the Big 12.
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