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4 big-time women’s hoops programs at UD Arena

Boston College center Carolyn Swords (30), left, fights for the loose ball with Virginia forward Jazmin Pitts (21), right, during the third round of the Women's National Invitational Tournament Thursday March 24, 2011 at the John Paul Jones arena in Charlottesville, Va.

Andrew Shurtleff/AP Boston College center Carolyn Swords (30), left, fights for the loose ball with Virginia forward Jazmin Pitts (21), right, during the third round of the Women's National Invitational Tournament Thursday March 24, 2011 at the John Paul Jones arena in Charlottesville, Va.

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Updated 8:27 AM Friday, March 25, 2011

UD Arena will host four schools trying to return to the Final Four as part of the Dayton Regional of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament Saturday and Monday.

Tennessee, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Oklahoma will hold news conferences and practices today at the arena before playing regional semifinals Saturday and a regional final Monday night for the chance to advance to the Final Four.

Each school has at least one previous Final Four appearance, and they have 28 combined (Tennessee 22, Oklahoma 3, Notre Dame 2, Ohio State 1).

NO. 1 TENNESSEE

Record: 33-2

Rank: 4

NCAA record: 108-21 (30 appearances)

Tournament wins

No. 16 Stetson (99-34)

No. 8 Marquette (79-70)

Etc: The Volunteers went undefeated in the Southeastern Conference and won the SEC tournament to earn the region’s No. 1 seed. They have lost only to Georgetown (which finished 24-10) and third-ranked Baylor when it was the nation’s top-ranked team.

UT has won 24 straight and improved to 79-14 all-time as a No. 1 seed in the tournament.

The Vols, who have four players averaging double digits in points, are led in scoring by freshman guard Meighan Simmons (13.7 points per game). Junior forward Shekinna Stricklen (12.6 PPG, 7.3 rebounds per game) was named the SEC’s player of the year, and junior forward Glory Johnson is close to averaging a double-double, at 12.1 PPG and 9.5 RPG.

NO. 2 NOTRE DAME

Record: 28-7

Rank: 9

NCAA record: 29-16 (18 appearances)

Tournament wins

No. 15 Utah (67-54)

No. 10 Temple (77-64)

Etc.: The Fighting Irish tied DePaul for second place behind Connecticut in the Big East before losing to the Huskies in the conference tournament title game, 73-64. Four of Notre Dame’s losses came against top-ranked UConn (three times) and No. 3 Baylor (76-65).

Notre Dame is back in the regional level for the second straight year and ninth time overall.

Junior guard Natalie Novosel (14.9 PPG) and sophomore guard Skylar Diggins (14.4) lead Notre Dame offensively, and senior forward Devereaux Peters ranks No. 7 nationally in field-goal percentage (58.7). The Fighting Irish as a team rank No. 4 nationally in shooting (48 percent from the field).

NO. 4 OHIO STATE

Record: 24-9

Rank: 18

NCAA record: 23-19 (20 appearances)

Tournament wins

No. 13 Central Florida (80-69)

No. 5 Georgia Tech (67-60)

Etc.: The Buckeyes tied for third in the Big Ten with Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin behind first-place Michigan State and second-place Penn State. But OSU got hot late and became just the second Big Ten women’s team to win a third straight tournament title.

Jantel Lavender, a 6-4 senior center from Cleveland, recorded an NCAA record 135th consecutive double-figure scoring game in the second-round win against Georgia Tech, pairing 17 points and 11 rebounds. It was her 76th career double-double. She became the Big Ten’s first four-time player of the year, male or female, and her 135 career games (all starts) are a school record.

NO. 6 OKLAHOMA

Record: 23-11

Rank: 21

NCAA record: 28-13 (14 appearances)

Tournament wins

No. 11 James Madison (86-72)

No. 3 Miami (Fla.) (88-83)

Etc.: The Sooners finished third in the Big 12 behind Baylor and Texas A&M, which topped Oklahoma in the league tournament semifinals. OU upset third-seed Miami (Fla.) in the second round while trying to continue a streak of two consecutive Final Four appearances.

The Sooners are coming on strong after entering the tournament with a 3-5 record in the previous eight games, including an 86-45 loss to UConn and one-point loss (82-81) against Baylor.

Senior guard Danielle Robinson (18.4 PPG) and freshman guard Aaryn Ellenberg (16.4) are both potent scorers for OU, and Carlee Roethlisberger, younger sister of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, is a Sooners senior forward who averages 6.7 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.

Saturday

Noon: No. 4 Ohio State (24-9) vs. No. 1 Tennessee (33-2), ESPN

2:30 p.m.: No. 2 Notre Dame (28-7) vs. No. 6 Oklahoma (23-11), ESPN

Monday

7 p.m.: Regional final, ESPN

Tickets

All-session: $37 for lower arena, $22 for upper arena (prepaid parking $14 for all sessions)

Single sessions: $21, $14 or $7

Purchase at: UD Arena box office or call (937) 229-4433 or go to DaytonFlyers.com

Closed practices: Unlike past years, team practices at UD Arena will be closed to the public.

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