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Sports TwitterRedHawks, Cardinals surge into women's NCAA tourney
Both teams finished the regular season strong while featuring 'do-it-all' players.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
OXFORD — Miami University women's basketball coach Maria Fantanarosa was asked what she knew about her team's first-round opponent.
The Louisville Cardinals, she said, "have a great player who can do it all," are "a team that has different talents that have come together to take their program to a new level" and are "one of the hottest teams in the country right now, coming off a great (conference) tournament."
Extras
Hmmm, sound like anyone we know?
It might not be exactly a mirror matchup when the heavily favored Cardinals face the RedHawks today, March 23, in the first round of Miami's first-ever NCAA tournament, but the teams do have much in common.
Louisville's "great player" is junior forward Angel McCoughtry, who already has been named to two All-America second teams (ESPN.com and CBS SportsLine.com). She led the Big East Conference in scoring (23.6 per game), rebounds (8.8) and steals (4.3).
"They're a very athletic team who can create easy opportunities for themselves with their pressure defense, with their aggressiveness on the boards, getting rebounds and putbacks," Fantanarosa said.
The 19th-ranked Cardinals had won 11 of 12 games before losing to top-ranked Connecticut 65-59 in the Big East tournament final.
According to Miami junior guard Jenna Schone, "I've done some homework on my own. (The Cardinals) will be one of the more athletic teams we've played, and probably one of the best defenses we've seen, because they generate a lot of points off steals. They're a team that's going to want to run.
"What it will come down to," she added, "is taking care of the ball and us attacking them, not letting them take us out of our offense, not letting them dictate."
The unranked RedHawks have won six in a row and are led by senior guard Amanda Jackson, who averages 21.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.7 steals a game.
"Every team prepares to stop A.J.," Schone said, "but she's very good at seeing the floor and at dishing. She knows what to do. We'll be fine."
But Miami is hardly a one-player team. Schone's numbers (13.9 points, 5.2 assists per game) are comparable to those of Bowling Green's Kate Achter, the Mid-American Conference Player of the Year. Miami's Laura Markwood led the MAC in rebounding, and Stephanie Ford led the MAC in blocked shots.
"With our team being so deep, anybody can step up," Ford said. "You never know who's going to have a big game."
"Any team that has a lot of weapons is going to be hard to beat," Schone said. "You can't focus on one person."
Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2197 or pconrad@coxohio.com.
