Guru’s March Madness - II: The Alamodome Will Remember Texas

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Given a second shot against a massive superior force of opposition firepower Sunday night in the shadow of the Alamo, specifically inside the two-court Alamodome, having tasted a recent taste of upset success against third-seeded UCLA, a small group of Texans set opposite most of the women’s hoops world betting against them, rose up again and this time brought down the pseudo Santa Anna juggernaut that all season had been Big Ten champion Maryland 64-61.

The stunner moves the sixth-seeded Longhorns (21-9), unranked in the final Associated Press women’s poll,  into the Elite Eight and a Tuesday night date with top-seeded South Carolina. 

The matchup creates a reunion of the former Southeastern Conference coaching rivalry of the Gamecocks’ Dawn Staley and Texas’ Vic Schaefer just under a year later from when the sport’s universe read he was giving up the Power 5 force that was Mississippi State to return to his native grounds to revive the Longhorns’ fortunes.

In the process, Schaefer and his crew managed for the moment to alleviate the COVID-19 caused Twilight Zone effect that is this particular setting in the 2021 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament and produce what had been a common term until this season — home court advantage with an energetic group of fans among the estimated crowd of 4,000 meeting the 17 percent arena-limited crowd restrictions as part of the safety protocols.

The magic act even managed to cast a spell over senior center Charli Collier, finally showing beyond big numbers off little guys the predicted number one pick in next month WNBA draft can be big in big games, scoring 16 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, while supplementing her double double with a steal and a block.

Helping the cause was Celeste Taylor, also double doubling with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while making two shots from deep, and dealing four assists.

Double-digit scoring also came from Joanne Allen-Taylor with 14 points and Kyra Lambert with 10 points while Audrey Warrne just missed the mark by a bucket with eight.

Maryland (26-3), which had lost early in the season when everyone was trying contemplate how to even have one and stay safe from the disease, and then suffered a two-pointer setback just over the midway Big Ten mark at Ohio State, was lassoed and roped into captivity by the trademark Schaefer defensive thrust, though Diamond Miller had 21 points, Australian Chloe Bibby, who played for the Longhorns coach at Mississippi State, had 14, and Ashley Owusu was held down to 10 points.

The Terrapins jumped to a nine-point shutout lead early but Texas fought back and once it did, Maryland was found unfit to wear the Santa Anna tag and create another ancient Alamo-style blowout.

Almost a year ago, upon taking the job, Schaefer said he heard a calling and now he’s starting to pick up the phone and give answers.

“We got down 9-0 to start tonight,” he began his postgame press conference over zoom software to the small group of media members here in the building and vast numbers across America through technology who could watch the drama unfold and participate afterwards. “I’m not sure a month and a half ago we could have dug out of that hole.”

“Texas winning is great for the the Big 12,” said Hall of Fame Baylor coach Kim Mulkey, who’s second-seeded Lady Bears (28-2), after handling the upset threat on Saturday from Michigan in overtime, will lead the two-night, doubleheader parade of ticket punching into this weekend’s Women’s Final Four, playing top-seeded Connecticut (27-1) Monday night at 7 out of the River Walk Region on ESPN.

The two teams were supposed to meet during the season in December in Waco, Texas, but the game was cancelled when Mulkey tested positive for the virus and went into quarantine. 

Ironically, Hall of Famer Geno Auriemma came up with a positive test before Connecticut was to head here and so he missed the first two games, handing the reins to Associate Head Coach Chris Dailey while he observed a ten-day quarantine.

Auriemma returned in time to guide the Huskies Saturday over Iowa in the game featuring the two top freshmen in the nation in the Hawkeyes’ Caitlin Clark and UConn’s Paige Bueckers.

Playing for a first-ever Final Four trip from both sides, fourth-seeded Indiana (21-5), which took down top-seeded North Carolina State in the Mercado Region on Saturday, will meet third-seeded Arizona (19-5), which upset second-seeded Texas A&M, in the Monday nightcap.

On Tuesday, overall No. 1 Stanford (28-2), which ejected fifth-seeded Missouri State on Sunday night, will meet second-seeded Louisville (26-3), a 60-42 Sunday winner over sixth-seeded Oregon, at 9 in the Alamo Region after Texas and No. 1 South Carolina play for the Hemisfair Region title at 7, all games also on ESPN.

Trailing 32-25 at the half, Schaefer said, “We can guard them in the half court. We really believed that. 

“I thought our kids executed, boy, some really good stuff tonight. We had 10 turnovers, which I wrote on the board, ten or less.

“We felt we had some areas we could  (exploit)  and kind of take advantage.  

“All the experts had (Maryland) hanging a 100 on us. That’s fine. It’s no big deal. But, again, you go to saying things like that and you better make sure you know who you’re talking about. You have no idea what’s inside the breastplate of my kids.”

The score got knotted by the Longhorns on a Taylor jumper 59-59 inside a minute left in regulation and they then jolted in front when Kyra Lambert swiped a steal off a loose ball and went unmolested for two more points.

Maryland’s Miller missed a shot that Texas’ Lauren Ebo grabbed and passed to Lambert, who was fouled.

Making 1-of-2 the lead increased to three and the Terrapins’ Katie Benzan, a Harvard transfer and the nation’s leading three-point shooter, missed from deep.

Texas got the ball and Taylor hit one-of-two for the 64-60 final.

“I’ve been in this situation before,” Schaefer said, referencing the UConn upset. “I’ve been in a game where everybody thought they were going to hang 100 on me and it didn’t happen.”

Collier, who has another year of eligibility, previously announced she plans to turn pro and is considered a target of the Dallas Wings, who have the No. 1 pick.

Maryland coach Brenda Frese’ concession speech acknowledged some cracks in the perceived Terrapins invincible armor.

“I think you saw some inexperience with our team,” Frese said of the breakdown. “Credit goes to Texas. I thought they were physical, they were aggressive, they turned it into a game of defense and rebounding. 

“They made one or two more plays in the fourth quarter that made the difference.”

Noting progress in a Big 12 that included early beatings from Baylor, Schaefer said, “This team has gotten a lot better in the last month, we’ve gotten a lot better. Again, if you run into Baylor two, three times, and you don’t learn from that, shame on you.

“This game had to be where it was because we’re not going to win a 90-88 game. We’re probably not winning 80-78. There were a couple of things that were their bread and butter and I thought we took that from them.”

Speaking of the ambience, Schaefer said, “We haven’t played at home in front of anybody all year. We actually went a month or more where they wouldn’t let anybody in the Drum. We wouldn’t let anybody in the Erwin Center because of the stage we were at in Austin.

“So for them to have that opportunity tonight, it’s really special. I mean think about it, y’all. Kyra Lambert is from San Antonio. She’s getting to do this in front of her parents, her family, her friends. We have kids from the state of Texas. They’re getting to do it in front of their family. We have kids from out of the state whose parents are here, mamas and dads are here.”

Comeback Kid in Louisville Win

Oregon was marred by injuries in its season-ending loss to Louisville, who was lifted by the best performance in weeks from Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year, Dana Evans, who scored 29 for the Cardinals in the 60-42 win. 

Nayra Sabally, who had to leave the game with an injury, and Erin Boley each scored 14 for Oregon while Boley also had 11 rebounds.

“They deserved it,” Oregon coach Kelly Graves said. “They played harder than us.”

As for Louisville’s Jeff Walz: “What an unbelievable effort tonight defensively and on the backboard. 

“I thought we came out and just competed. Did a great job.”

Stanford’s Hometown Heroine

After being away from campus for nearly three months due to stringent COVID-19 protocols in Santa Clara County in the Bay Area of Northern California, Stanford (28-2), the overall No. 1 seed, is well-conditioned to the three weeks here spent by keep advancing with the entire 64-team tourney being held in San Antonio as the men have been doing in Indianapolis.

Kiana Williams, however, who led the Cardinal to a lopsided 89-62 victory to oust Missouri State (23-3), also has a built-in home court advantage with family from San Antonio.

Williams had 16 points, leading the Stanford 15-from deep attack with four three-balls. Hannah Jump scored 17, hitting five from beyond the arc, while Haley Jones scored 11, and Anna Wilson scored 13.

Head coach Tara VanDerveer lifted her record-setting Division I women’s career victory record total to 1,122.

Missouri State got 18 points from Elle Ruffridge, while Abigayle Jackson scored 11, and Jasmine Franklin grabbed 13 rebounds.

Baylor-UConn Showdown

One reason this is the deepest NCAA women’s tourney from the Sweet 16 level forward is the Baylor-UConn matchup Monday night between two teams that could easily be playing for the championship under different bracket, though you can throw Louisville, Stanford, South Carolina, Maryland, and upset victims North Carolina State, and Texas A&M into the mix.

A year ago the cancelled tournament took the Huskies’ long Final Four run off the hook since there was a belief UConn was susceptible to an early exit.

But the Bears could ruin what other conditions temporarily saved.

The near-Michigan upset shows that perhaps there are things to exploit.

The current UConn Final Four streak is 12.

Certainly, the Huskies are much stronger with a season of experience than at the outset with protocol stoppages and a young roster, with the brunt of the attack initially being carried by Buckers.

In the battle of freshmen going in on Saturday with Iowa, others stepped in such as Aliyah Edwards and Christyn Williamson to help out.

“All of a sudden, you’re not going to be a lot better than you’ve ever been, because at some point, you would have been that already,” Auriemma spouted his philosophy Sunday.

“You’re just going to have to be as good as you are.”

The score  with Iowa was 92-72 and the Hawkeyes’ Clark has 21 points on 21 shots.

Among the many talents on Baylor is NaLyssa Smith, averaging 18.2 points and 8.8 rebounds a game.

“They’re long, they’re athletic, they’re physical, they really try to intimidate you and impose their will on you defensively. I don’t know anybody would ever call us that.”

New Kids on the Block — Indiana and Arizona

In the battle Monday night  between the Hoosiers of the Big Ten and the Wildcats of the PAC-12, both experienced turnarounds with the arrival of Teri Moren in the Midwest and alum Ada Barnes in the desert, returning to her alma mater after also been with the Seattle organization in the WNBA.

And for the Moment, That’s the Report.