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Home > SECWB News & More! > Our Staff & Contributors > LeAnne Harrington > Who's Got a Date With Destiny? (UT v. Rutgers Preview)
Who's Got a Date With Destiny? (UT v. Rutgers Preview)
by LeAnne Harrington
Posted: April 3rd, 2007 @ 12:45am
Photo by Basketloon/Vaughan from the Final Four |
Pat and C. Vivian. When you are talking about the best in women’s college basketball, no last names are required. When these two Hall of Fame coaches and good friends meet in the 2007 NCAA women’s basketball championship tomorrow night in Cleveland, a combined 69 years of head coaching experience will be on display. Pat Summitt has notched an unmatched 946 wins in 34 seasons. C. Vivian Stringer has amassed 777 wins in 35 seasons. Pat’s wins have all come at a single school: the University of Tennessee. C. Vivian’s wins have come at Cheyney State, Iowa and now Rutgers. Pat has brought her Lady Vols to the Final Four an unprecedented 17 times, with 12 appearances in the championship game. C. Vivian has brought each of her three schools to the Final Four, a feat accomplished by no other coach, man or woman. Summitt says, “You could take Vivian and put her in three more programs and in the next 15 years she would be successful.” Quite lofty praise from the greatest coach of all time. But the similarities stop there. Summitt’s Lady Vols have brought the championship trophy home to Knoxville six times. C. Vivian’s teams have only been to the championship game once, and came home empty-handed when Cheyney lost to LA Tech in the 1982 final. Stringer says, “Pat has won a lot of times. I really would like to know what it feels like (to win the national championship) and I don't need her to tell me what it feels like. I want to experience it myself." So who’s got a date with destiny tomorrow night?
Summitt and Stringer will be bringing two very different teams to the Quicken Loans Arena in less than 24 hours. When you think of this Lady Vols team, the first name that comes to mind is Candace. No last name required here either. Parker, a two-time All-American and this year’s Wade Trophy winner, is only a sophomore and is the undisputed leader of this team. She is changing the way the women’s game is being played, and is already well on her way to becoming the best player of all time. A lithe 6’4”, she has the height of a center but has the fluidity of a guard. She can truly play all 5 positions on the court, something no other player in the game today is capable of doing. When Candace Parker is “on”, she is virtually unstoppable. But make no mistake: this is not a one-woman team. Parker’s supporting cast includes 5’2” point guard Shannon Bobbitt, a juco transfer who is every bit as fiery as Parker; Sidney Spencer, a senior post player who pulls her defender out all the way beyond the arc because she is lethal from 3-point range; Nicky Anosike, a junior who can bang in the post with the best of them; and Alexis Hornbuckle, a junior guard who can also change the face of the game on any given night.
Stringer’s Rutgers team is young, with no seniors on the roster. They are anchored in the middle by sophomore Kia Vaughn, who played a huge part in shutting down Sylvia Fowles, one of the best post players in the nation, in their semifinal slaughter of LSU. Rutgers’ outside game can be sizzling, as evidenced by their 10-for-20 shooting from behind the arc in their semifinal win. Guards Matee Ajavon, Essence Carson, and Epiphanny Prince lead the way from 3-point land, and sophomore Heather Zurich is strong in the post despite being only 6’1”. Rutgers has no “go-to” player like Parker; their claim to fame is a stifling style of defense that is holding their opponents to an average of 44.6 points, and only 29.7% from the field in their five NCAA contests.
For Tennessee, it has been a 9-year drought since their last national championship -- unacceptable by Lady Vol standards. This team is hungry to bring the trophy home to “Rocky Top” once again. Any season that doesn’t end with a win is considered a failure by the Lady Vols. Most people didn’t expect to see Rutgers in this championship game, but they are just going about business as usual, allowing their defense to lead the way. This young team wants nothing more than to be the one to give coach Stringer her first national championship. Both teams are dressed and ready to go, but only one will get their date with destiny. So who will it be? I, for one, can’t wait to see.
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