Observations from the D3hoops.com staff, garnered from personal observation and discussions with basketball-knowledgeable individuals familiar with these teams.
Mary Washington Eagles
30-2, CAC Champions
School location: Fredericksburg, Va.
Distance to Springfield: 415.1 miles
WHO SHOULD WE BE WATCHING?
Starters
No. 11 Debbie Bruen (13.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, 56.5 percent
shooting)
No. 14 Leigh Kampman
(6.7 points, 6.2 rebounds)
No. 25 Amanda Bates
(5.7 points, 35 percent from 3-point range)
No. 32 Lisa Tracy
(7.4 points, 5.0 rebounds)
No. 44 Liz Hickey
(11.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.8 blocks)
Reserves
No. 15 Katie Clarkin (4.5 points)
No. 21 Brook Davies (3.6 points, 48% from 3-point range)
No. 23 Ashton Mitchell (5.3 points)
No. 24 Katy Larson (6.6 points, 40% from 3-point range)
Key team stats: 72.2 points per game, 46.7 opponents points per game (2 nd in nation), 29.9% opponents field goal percentage (1 st in nation), + 9.4 rebound margin
WHAT'S LIKELY TO IMPRESS ME?
* Debbie Bruen is a point forward who reminded us a little of Scottie Pippen when we saw her last season. She can score, pass and rebound very well. She should be healthy after an illness limited her to 19 minutes in the Bowdoin win.
* Liz Hickey is a center whose impact is much bigger than her 6-3 frame. She's gone from being alright offensively to knowing that if she wants to score, she can't be stopped, because she can shoot over anybody. She's in total control defensively, getting not just blocks, but deflections and alterations.
* The team's defensive intensity, which enables it to win when the offense is struggling. As one regular viewer said to us: “Their defense allows them to win if they score only 42, because they'll allow only 40.” The unsung heroes are Lisa Tracy, a 6-1 forward with a 6-4 wingspan, and 5-8 guard Leigh Kampman, who shadows the opponents best player.
* How well they play when they're mad. Some teams lose focus with anger. Mary Washington gains it. Case in point: A snowstorm and heavy traffic resulted in the Eagles being 2½ hours late for a game at Richard Stockton. When Mary Washington took the floor, the Stockton fans booed. Final score: Mary Washington 75, Richard Stockton 38.
WHY WILL THEY WIN?
* Because defense wins championships and if they can win twice, there will be no doubt that this is the nation's best defensive team.
HOW IN THE WORLD IS MY TEAM GONNA BEAT THEM?
* Mary Washington isn't without weaknesses. Hickey is a 51 percent free throw shooter, the only troublesome spot in her game. The team is also down a scorer due to an injury to Sarah Flanagan (10.4 points). Some wonder if the Eagles are as strong physically as Midwestern teams like DePauw and Washington University, but we wouldn't doubt them given the wins against Scranton and Bowdoin.
I DIDN'T KNOW THAT…
* Head coach Deena Applebury actually played against Washington U., while a member of the Missouri-St. Louis women's basketball team and handed the Bears one of two defeats suffered their first national championship season, 1997-98.
DePauw Tigers
29-3, SCAC Champions
School location: Greencastle, Ind.
Distance to Springfield: 892.5 miles
WHO SHOULD WE BE WATCHING?
Starters
No. 11 Suzy Doughty (7.2 points, A/TO ratio nearly 2 to 1, 82
steals)
No. 13 Cassie Pruzin (9.1 points, 42% from 3-point range)
No. 14 Kalei Lowes (6.4 points, 47% from 3-point range)
No. 21, Liz Bondi (15.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 57.4% shooting)
No. 35 Emily Marshall
(5.7 points, 6.0 rebounds)
Reserves
No. 21 Caitlin McGonigal (7.8 points, 42% from 3-point
range)
No. 24 Gretchen Haehl (7.2 points, 3.0 assists)
No. 25 Gwen Haehl (4.1 points)
No. 31 Jenna Fernandez (4.7 points)
No. 33 Bridget Bailey (6.6 points, 4.2 rebounds)
No. 34 Andrea Travelstead (3.3 points)
No. 40 Meghan Warner (3.9 points, 70% from field)
Key team stats: 78.5 points per game (scored 74 points in all 4 NCAA games), 47.1 FG Pct (1 st in nation), +10.1 rebound margin, 569 assists/540 turnovers (rare in Division III for any team to have more assists than turnovers)
WHAT'S LIKELY TO IMPRESS ME?
* Their offense, whatever they run, is extremely efficient. One observer with more than 30 years' experience said after watching them last weekend: “I've seen a lot of Division I men's teams that can't run an offense like that.” There's a reason they have the highest field goal percentage in the country. They get a lot of open looks and cash them in, and they almost never turn the ball over.
* They attack in transition, a la Hope, 2006. Sitting next to the Calvin bench on Friday, our ears were pierced of screams from Knights assistants, who yelled “BACK!!!!” after every made basket or miss. If the opponent doesn't get back, they make you pay and if your team does get back, they still make you pay. In “basketballese”, they run a great secondary break, meaning they can flow from a fast break into a halfcourt offense, even if the defense has four to five players back (definition borrowed from ex-Division I men's coach Fran Fraschilla).
* They have the best mid-range jump shooters we've seen, and we've been to six Final Fours. That goes from the smallest players on the floor to the tallest (6-3 center Bridget Bailey). And when they take a step back and shoot the 3, they don't miss. They can score off the catch, on the run, or off a routine dribble, where you're not expecting the shot.
* You'd never know that Liz Bondi was the star player. That's a tribute both to her unselfish play and the caliber of the other players on the floor, and on the bench, which goes 9-10 deep. Basically everyone is playing at the same level and on the same page. If Bondi has an opening, she'll take advantage, but they work to get great shots for everybody.
* They defend like glue both on the perimeter and in the post. They have a couple of shotblockers and the guards play in-your-face and don't get beat off the dribble often.
WHY WILL THEY WIN?
Because having too much of everything is a good thing. They win because they're too much for teams to handle at both the offensive and defensive ends.
HOW IN THE WORLD IS MY TEAM GONNA BEAT THEM?
Someone said to us the other day: “You better hope that all the moons and stars are in the proper alignment” for a team to have a chance. You'll need for their shooters to have trouble adjusting to unfamiliar rims (not likely). You'll have to hope that your team can keep up with them- both their running game, and all the subs that come in. You'll need for the point guard, Doughty, to have a bad day (not likely). In other words, good luck.
I DIDN'T KNOW THAT…
The Haehl sisters, Gwen and Gretchen, were recruited by two schools at this year's Final Four. They eventually settled on DePauw over Washington University, and the University of Chicago. Non-identical twins, they have amazingly identical GPAs- 3.7537. Gretchen is an economics/spanish double major, Gwen is a communication/spanish double major.
New York University Violets
27-2, UAA Co-Champions (Pool C selection, lost UAA title on
tiebreaker)
School location: New York City
Distance to Springfield: 133.5 miles
WHO SHOULD WE BE WATCHING?
Starters
No. 5 Adrienne Rochetti
(10.1 points, 38% from 3-point range)
No. 15 Karen Bachman
(9.2 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.1 blocks, team-high 3.7 assists, 54%
shooting)
No. 23 Gena Brown
(8.9 points, 37% from 3-point range)
No. 25 Jessica McEntee
(17.3 points, 12.7 rebounds, 81% free throws)
No. 42 Stephanie Ryba
(11.8 points)
Reserves
No. 3 Chelsea Trout (5.7 points)
No. 21 Jen Hum-Traverso (2.9 points)
No. 32 Sarah McDevitt (3.3 points)
No. 33 Grace Carmen (2.5 points)
No. 34 Megan Fox (4.4 points, 5.8 rebounds)
Key team stats: 75.8 points per game, 75.3 percent from foul line, +8.7 rebounds, 33.3 opponents FG Pct
WHAT'S LIKELY TO IMPRESS ME?
* In just her sophomore campaign, Jessica McEntee has already become the most dominant player in the UAA. One person familiar with the team called her “A beast” and said that was the ultimate compliment they could give a player. She can post up your strongest player like they're not even there, and she can step out and shoot the 3-pointer. And as Pat Coleman noted on our message boards, her defense could be more impressive than her offense. Even if she's having a bad game, one ‘expert' noted, she's still a special player.
* The team is so solid in transition play and ballhandling that its underrated center, Karen Bachman, leads it in assists. From top to bottom, the lineup can run the court and just about everyone can handle the basketball. Their talent and athleticism are tough to match They can also play the tough, physical game, and impose that on you.
* The Violets are good at dribble penetration, which allows them to run an effective offense with five players starting out on the perimeter.
* They play with confidence and energy. One opponent of theirs told us: “You Do NOT want this team to get going; when they play full of energy they will not lose.”
* They are at their best when they are playing hard-nosed man to man defense. Their key to winning is getting up in you, forcing you to take contested shots, and to keep you out of your comfort zone physically.
WHY WILL THEY WIN?
Because they are prepared to win, both physically and mentally and because they will execute their game plan better than their opponents.
HOW IN THE WORLD IS MY TEAM GONNA BEAT THEM?
The best hope for an opponent is to slow them down, deny them offensive rebounds, be aware of McEntee's every move, get a couple players into foul trouble, and keep up with their scoring. That's a pretty full to-do list and might still not be enough.
I DIDN'T KNOW THAT
NYU won the national title in 1997 and there are a lot of good stories from that team, ones with which Janice Quinn's team is very familiar (“Are we ever,” joked one in the Thursday media briefing). Perhaps the best is a behind-the-scenes nugget related to the final moments of the championship game against UW-Eau Claire. We'll let Quinn explain the story behind the story of Marsha Harris' game-winning, buzzer-beating drive through two defenders to the basket.
“Marsha finished that move, from the left side, with her right hand. The reason for that was that her left hand was unusable. She ripped her thumb ligaments on the first play of the game, when she got her hand caught in an Eau Claire player's jersey. Our trainer basically taped her thumb back into her hand so she could play. Afterwards, she needed to have surgery and have a pin put in. Now, Marsha's a surgeon, so she really needs all 10 fingers.”
Washington University Bears
W-L: 24-5 UAA Co-Champions (Won UAA title on tiebreaker)
School location: St. Louis
Distance to Springfield: 1,091.7 miles
WHO SHOULD WE BE WATCHING?
Starters
No. 2 Sarah Schell
(10.6 points, 3.6 assists)
No. 15 Jamie McFarlin
(9.8 points, 10.0 rebounds, 52% from the field)
No. 22 Jill Brandt (8.7 points, 36% from 3-point range)
No. 34 Jenny Southworth
(3.4 points)
No. 40 Rebecca Parker
(13.1 points, 10.3 rebounds)
Reserves
No. 20 Laura Lane-Steele (3.1 points)
No. 24 Zoe Unruh (5.7 points)
No. 33 Halsey Ward (4.2 points, 45 percent from 3-point range)
No. 45 Janice Evans (3.6 points)
Key team stats: 67.2 points per game, + 7.4 rebound margin. Interesting to note that of the four teams, Washington ranks last among them statistically in several categories, including scoring, 3-point percentage (33.1 percent), free throw percentage (62.3 percent), steals (8.0)
WHAT'S LIKELY TO IMPRESS ME?
* They run a complex offense and know it well, predicated on decision making rather than specific options. You never know what they're going to run or where the screens are going to come from. They keep an opponent guessing.
* The starters are impressive: Rebecca Parker has a hook shot that looks like it comes from another era. She's strong, tough, and a good decision maker. Jamie McFarlin is very athletic, has a high release and an arsenal including a tough turnaround jumper and fadeaway. The point guard, Sarah Schell is a point guard who can hit her teammates in stride down the floor.
* They don't lose much on the perimeter when they go to the bench, particularly with Zoe Unruh. She's a player with the skills of a future All-American, including a very quick first step.
* They move the ball well, passing up good shots for even better shots. Again, it relates to their decision-making abilities.
WHY WILL THEY WIN?
They have a lot of different pieces that fit nicely together and they don't get rattled. They had a 1-3 start. They fell behind in the second half against Luther and the first against Puget Sound. They had to rally late against Manchester and early against Lake Forest. As one coach put it, they will be totally ready to go- “Beyond prepared” was the description. They will win because Fahey will make the players see how important it is to live up to the standards of those that have come before them.
HOW IN THE WORLD DOES MY TEAM BEAT THEM?
You have to match them physically because they have the capability to dominate on the boards. You have to be willing to adjust your game plan because they will try to take away the things you do best. They don't shoot 3-pointers often, so if you take away their inside game (very tough), you limit their options. They also struggle at the foul line more than the other three teams here, but that hasn't stopped them yet.
I DIDN'T KNOW THAT
In four of the last five seasons, Washington has lost in the NCAA Tournament to the eventual national champion ('06 Hope, '05 Millikin, '03 Trinity, '02 UW-Stevens Point). Prior to that was their run of four straight national titles.