Three of the Semifinalists Try to Get Parity Started

INDIANAPOLIS — Winning the national championship isn’t the only thing at stake here at the Women’s Final Four.

Three of the four semifinalists that will play today have a chance to put a new face on the women’s game.

Old standby Tennessee (30-4) is the exception. The Lady Volunteers will be aiming for their seventh title. But three-time defending champion Connecticut was eliminated this year in the Sweet 16.

That leaves the new kids -- Baylor (31-3), Louisiana State (33-2) and Michigan State (32-3) -- an opportunity to take the the women’s game in a different direction if, indeed, it is approaching an even playing field.

LSU Coach Pokey Chatman doesn’t want to peer into the future. “You work so hard and so long to get to this moment. And [for LSU] the moment is Baylor. It’s not about tradition, it’s not about the number of titles someone else is holding.”

But according to Baylor Coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson: “The game is getting good. There are so many teams now that are good. Parity is good for our game. You’re always going to see the Tennessees and those guys because they committed [to winning] long ago when nobody else committed, and they have a legendary coach. But it’s good for some of us new folks to get a little bit of exposure.”

Added Michigan State Coach Joanne P. McCallie: “You’ve got four great teams here. And they’re all independent of each other. I hope the games are terrific. But the most important thing is the quality of competition and the battles out there. That’s a key ingredient for getting people to watch the games.”

Tennessee has won more national titles than anyone else (six), but it hasn’t won one since 1998. Although Connecticut isn’t the roadblock this time, more challengers are sprouting, including tonight’s semifinal opponent Michigan State.

Pat Summitt knows the days of domination by Tennessee may be gone. But she said she won’t obsess over that seventh title.

“I think I’ve managed to put things into perspective as a coach,” Summitt said. “Because as a friend of mine said the other day, this is not always a happy profession. And sometimes, if we’re unrealistic about our chances, I think I would be miserable at what I do.

“If you look at in the past three years what Connecticut accomplished, they had the best talent in the country. Sometimes you give credit where credit is due, continue to persevere, and try and get back here on this stage where who knows what can happen.”

There are other story lines. Mulkey-Robertson -- the first woman to play in and be a head coach in the NCAA’s Final Four -- grew up 30 minutes from the LSU campus. As an assistant coach at Louisiana Tech, Mulkey-Robertson tried to recruit Chatman, who went on to play her college ball at LSU. Former Tennessee player Semeka Randall and former Tennessee assistant coach Al Brown are on the Michigan State staff.

Still, the only thing most will remember after Tuesday’s championship final are the games themselves.

LSU has the best team, according to the NCAA seeding committee, and the best player in junior guard Seimone Augustus, who won the Wade Trophy on Saturday and who is expected to win just about every other national player-of-the-year award. But Baylor is the hottest team, bringing an 18-game win streak into the semifinal.

It should come down to the Tigers’ speed vs. the Bears’ ability to control the inside with their forward tandem of Sophia Young and Steffanie Blackmon.

Tennessee is the most experienced team. Its seniors, led by Shyra Ely and Loree Moore, are appearing in their fourth consecutive Final Four. But the Spartans, led by seniors Kristin Haynie and Kelli Roehrig, aren’t expected to be in awe because they have wins this season over nonconference powers such as Connecticut, Notre Dame and Stanford.

If someone other than Tennessee is hoisting the trophy on Tuesday night, they will have deserved it.

And they will be a new face in the women’s game that everyone else will be talking about.