Role players may be key to winning women’s title

For Stanford, Tennessee, Connecticut and LSU, winning the national championship could come down to which team’s role players best complement its star.

‘I think if you’re not coaching one of the best players in the country, it’s hard to get to the Final Four,’ Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma said. ‘It’s not a coincidence that the last three years we’ve not been able to get to the Final Four.’

UConn (36-1) plays Stanford (34-3) on Sunday night in the first national semifinal, with Southeastern Conference rivals LSU (31-5) and Tennessee (34-2) meeting in the late game.

The winners play Tuesday night in the championship game at the St. Pete Times Forum.

Stanford’s Wiggins has been almost unstoppable in the tournament, scoring 40-plus points in two games. However, the Cardinal probably wouldn’t be in the national semifinals if JJ Hones hadn’t contributed 23 points against top-seeded Maryland in the regional final.

‘J.J. stepped up big,’ Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. ‘Knocking down big shots, making that steal, I didn’t really even see it I turned and I saw her just going in for a lay up.’

Parker almost single-handedly saved Tennessee in the regional semifinals scoring 34 points and grabbing 13 rebounds against Notre Dame. She then put up 18 points in the first half against Texas A&M before she dislocated her shoulder twice.

Alexis Hornbuckle hit a deep 3-pointer late in the game against the Aggies to give the Lady Vols a chance to repeat as champions.

‘I thought Alexis and Nicky (Anosike), they were key for us, and we didn’t shoot the ball well, and when you struggle offensively sometimes it affects your defense,’ Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said.

With Parker’s shoulder still not at 100 percent, Tennessee is going to need big efforts out of point guard Shannon Bobbitt, Hornbuckle, and Anosike.

Moore has been Connecticut’s leading scorer through the first four games and hit the clutch 3-pointer that helped the Huskies beat Rutgers in the Greensboro Regional final. She only had seven points in the game and the Huskies were able to survive an off night from their fabulous freshman because – in large part – the performance of Ketia Swanier.

The senior guard, who won the inaugural Big East Sixth Man award, scored 12 of her 15 points in the second half and hit six straight free throws in the final minute to seal the victory.

‘I wanted to shout it right then when they announced my name, ‘Ketia deserves the MVP,’ Moore said. ‘She’s my MVP because of her leadership, knocking down free throws, running our team, making hustle plays, diving on the floor. I think she’s one of the most underrated players. She goes out every night and leads us.’

Fowles had a huge game to help LSU beat North Carolina in the New Orleans Regional finals. She had 21 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots. But for the Lady Tigers to be successful they’ll need steady play out of 5-foot-3 point guard Erica White.

Marist went to a triangle-and-two defense in the second round and LSU struggled in the first half as Fowles couldn’t get the ball and Quianna Chaney couldn’t hit from the outside. White stepped up scoring 15 points in the second half to break open a close game.

Parker named AP player of year

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) ‘ Candace Parker led Tennessee back to the Final Four and helped the U.S. national team qualify for the Olympics. On Saturday, she put another exclamation point on her All-American season: The Associated Press college basketball player of the year.

‘I don’t know of another player ‘ I haven’t coached one ‘ who was 6-foot-5 with the skill set she has,’ Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said.

Parker received 40 votes from the 50-member national media panel that selects the weekly Top 25. Maya Moore was second with five votes. Sylvia Fowles and Candice Wiggins had two each and Crystal Langhorne one.

Parker, a 6-foot-5 junior, averaged 21.6 points and 8.3 rebounds this season. On Tuesday night, she scored eight of her 26 points in the second half after twice dislocating her left shoulder to help Tennessee rally past Texas A&M and into the Final Four. She scored 34 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the regional semifinals to send the Lady Vols over Notre Dame.

I feel like just knowing when to take over and not waiting,’ Parker said. ‘I try to play hard on both ends of the court and provide what my team needs.’

Parker was a unanimous All-American, earning first-team honors for the second straight year. She not only helped Tennessee win the national championship last season, but also sparked the U.S. team during Olympic qualifying by averaging a team-high 13.8 points in the FIBA Americas tournament in Chile. Parker will be a major part of the U.S. team at the Beijing Olympics.

Parker will graduate this May and not return for her last year of eligibility. She most likely will be the first pick by the Los Angeles Sparks in the WNBA draft Wednesday.