The team’s frontcourt star, Sophia Young, never played basketball before she came to the U.S. at age 15. Now, her mother is watching her daughter play basketball for the first time ever, and she is witnessing a joyous emergence. Young and Steffanie Blackmon are the best one-two frontcourt pair in the game.

Baylor, a No. 2 seed that was not expected to get past LSU in the semifinal, is still here, looking to make the big, final play. It is the same way that Mulkey-Robertson once ran her Lady Techsters as a prescient point guard, as the floor leader. Lousiana Tech foolishly let this woman get away, and now Baylor has her.

And Joanne McCallie, the Spartan coach, has been as instrumental turning around Michigan State as Mulkey-Robertson has been transforming Baylor. McCallie came from a small, successful program in Maine, with limited resources. And she hasn’t looked back.

Her Spartans managed a stunning victory against Tennessee, coming all the way back from 16 points down against the world’s most famous college program, 68-64. It’s still not easy to figure how they did this. Victoria Lucas-Perry, one of the weaker links on the team, somehow ended up with 14 points and 6 rebounds. It was that way, too, for Baylor hours before, when Emily Niemann became the unlikely star, an effective three-point bomber.

So here we go, with the oddest final in recent times. These two teams were respected coming into the tournament. They were No. 1 and No. 2 seeds. A Final Four was a reasonable ambition. But a final?

We have no UConn. No Tennessee. No Diana Taurasi. No star in the backcourt. Baylor will have to figure out a way to stop forward Liz Shimek, who has some cute moves in the lane. State must slow Young, whose quick slants are equally punishing.

Neither team has the resume or pedigree to believe it should win, yet neither one seems willing to lose. It is a game begging to be decided by a three-point shot from a substitute, after a starter falls into foul trouble.

The best part about it is that we don’t have a clue about these guys this time. Finally, somebody gets to start a fresh dynasty. Ahh... Breathe the air.

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