By Greg Auman, Times Staff Writer
Monday, March 14, 2011
The favorite
Of course, it's top seed Stanford, which has won 23 in a row, among them the only loss Connecticut has taken over the past three seasons. There is senior leadership in Kayla Pedersen and Jeanette Pohlen — who lost in the 2008 final in Tampa as freshmen — and the talented Ogwumike sisters, Nnemkadi and Chiney. The team's only losses came in a span of four days in December, at DePaul and at Tennessee (in overtime no less). The Cardinal has geography in its favor and the fortune of familiarity with its toughest challengers in the region.
Other contenders
It's just cruel that UCLA was placed in this region, regardless of any geographic explanations. The Bruins are 27-4, and since a loss to LSU their other three losses are to Stanford, including the Pac-10 tournament. So naturally, despite a No. 7 national ranking and a win against Notre Dame on their resume, they're a No. 3 seed, and they might have to play Stanford in the region final. You can argue it's hard to beat a team four times in one season, but the Bruins would probably rather get a fresh shot at another top seed. The No. 2 seed, Xavier, has just two losses, but one of them is, naturally, a 37-point loss at Stanford.
Best player
Stanford has three John Wooden Award finalists, but we'll go with Pohlen, who earned Pac-10 player of the year honors in leading the Cardinal this season. She always has been an assist machine, but she has elevated her scoring, from less than double digits last season to 15.8 points per game, with the late-game benefit of a 90.8 percent rate at the free-throw line. Xavier has star power in Ta'Shia Phillips and Amber Harris, but for NCAA Tournament experience and leadership, it's hard to top Pohlen's resume.
Dream matchup
For all the potential rematches Stanford could face, we'd like to see Tara VanDerveer face Sylvia Hatchell next weekend if No. 5 seed North Carolina can get past No. 4 seed Kentucky. That's two coaches with more than 800 career wins each, contemporaries in every sense — Hatchell, 59, started at UNC in 1986 and VanDerveer, 57, started at Stanford in 1985.
Greg Auman, Times staff writer