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Home > SECWB News & More! > SEC Tournament News > 2007 SEC Women's Basketball Tournament, DAY 1
2007 SEC Women's Basketball Tournament, DAY 1
Posted: March 15th, 2007 @ 1:25pm
Well boys & girls, it's that time again -- March Madness has begun & I'm right in the thick of it. I'm here in HOT-lanta at the Women's SEC Basketball Tournament: 11 games in 4 days -- it doesn't get any better than this! For those who enjoy women’s hoops, the SEC Tournament is THE premiere conference tournament to attend. It has been stated that it is oftentimes more difficult to win the SEC Tournament than it is to win the National Championship. This is probably a slight exaggeration, but only very slight. The caliber of games at this tournament will far exceed most games in the NCAAs up to the Sweet Sixteen.
So let me tell you a little about the first day's results. The first game of the day was a real barn-burner, with South Carolina pulling out a 2-point victory over Auburn, 65-63. SC had trailed by as many as 11 in the second half, but kept chipping away at the lead. Ilona Burgrova hit a lay-up to give SC a 64-63 lead with 20 seconds remaining. On Auburn’s last possession, DeWanna Bonner went for the win on an 8-foot shot, but it clinked off the iron and the ensuing fight for the rebound resulted in a jump ball situation, with the Gamecocks getting the ball on alternate possession with 3.6 seconds remaining. After one final made free throw, SC put this one in the record books. The final 2-point margin was their largest lead of the second half.
I must admit, I was pulling for the Gamecocks to win this one. 5 years ago at the SEC Tournament in Nashville, I had the pleasure of meeting 5 wonderful women from South Carolina. They are as rabid about their South Carolina team as I am about Vanderbilt. (Actually, maybe even a little more frothy in the mouth, since one of them wears a chickenhead to all of their games..) Needless to say, it's difficult at best to be anywhere near them and not cheer for the Gamecocks. It was a great win by South Carolina, and for their efforts, they get to meet the Lady Vols in the next round. Talk about a buzzkill... Despite their early exit, look for Auburn to be a serious threat in the league the next couple of years. Nell Fortner, one of the best coaches in the game, has a talented group of young women playing for her. With only 3 juniors and 1 lone senior on her squad - none of whom receives an inordinate amount of playing time - she has a group of youngsters whose best basketball still lies ahead. They are my pick for the sleeper team in the league the next 2 seasons.
The next 2 games of the day were far from spectacular, but that's sometimes what you get when #7 plays #10 and #5 plays #12. Seventh seed Kentucky, looking to improve their chances of getting an at-large bid to the NCAAs, beat Arkansas 72-57 in the second game of the afternoon session, with Jennifer Humphrey leading the way. Humphrey was only 2 assists away from a triple double; her final stats for the game were 21 points, 19 rebounds and 8 assists. Kentucky is a team on the rise since long-time UT assistant Mickie DeMoss took over the reigns in Wildcat Country. She is definitely a Summit disciple; it's almost like watching a little Pat clone roam the sidelines and work the officials. No wonder... she learned from the best. Arkansas’ demise in the SEC tourney capped a tumultuous season which saw the Lady Razorbacks go from a record-setting 15-1 start to a skid which concluded with the Lady ’Backs losing their last 10 games of the season. Arkansas coach Susie Gardner needs to become a more serious threat in the league or she may wind up going the way of Carolyn Peck. More on that indignation later...
In the first game of the evening session, Ole Miss dismantled Alabama 78-49. That’s the kind of “un-pretty” one sees when the league’s best and worst in turnover ratio meet one another in a record-setting game. Ole Miss set a new SEC Tournament record with 25 steals, but Alabama set a new tournament mark as well by committing 42 turnovers. Ole Miss has a very talented team this year; if they don't get an at-large bid into the NCAAs I will be surprised. Stephany Smith has her work cut out for her at Alabama. A Final Four team in 1994, Alabama went winless in the league this year. The now-retired Rick Moody left some giant shoes to fill, but Stephany is up to the task. A talented, hard-nosed coach who built MTSU into a team to be reckoned with, this is only her second year at the helm of the Tide. Allow her a couple of years to recruit the caliber of players she wants to run the offense she has in mind, and she will turn this team around. I just hope the powers-that-be in Tuscaloosa don't follow the lead of those in Gainesville and get rid of a talented coach too quickly.
Just when it looked like this would be the first tournament in many years with no first day upsets, along came little old Florida. What they lacked in numbers they made up for with sheer heart and an unwillingness to allow their season to sink just yet. Entering the tournament as the #11 seed, which is 2 numbers higher than the number of remaining players on their roster, they took on the #5 seed Mississippi State. Despite trailing by as many as 9 points, they played with guts, determination, and never let the game get too far out of reach. They kept chipping away at a team that is arguably more talented and with a deeper bench. I looked at Florida's bench and saw more coaches and assistants in street clothes than I could find players in uniforms. Playing their hearts out and leaving everything on the floor, Florida came away with the big upset that many hoped to see this first day: they beat Mississippi State 69-63. Nothing against Mississippi State or Sharon Fanning -- it's just that, given the current situation, Florida became the sentimental favorite of the tournament crowd.
In fact, the most notable person of the entire tournament is Florida's soon-to-be-former-coach Carolyn Peck. Having been told by the University 2 weeks ago that her services would no longer be needed, her short-staffed team has rallied around their immensely popular coach and pulled off 3 impressive wins in their last 4 games. Florida’s run in this tournament may be short-lived, as the big guns come out to play tomorrow, and Florida’s foe will be #3 seed Vanderbilt. But for tonight, Peck’s gang of 9 is celebrating the fact that their season lasts at least one more day.
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