Austin Peay's nonconference schedule played out like an NCAA women's basketball tournament bracket. Facing such teams as Chattanooga, Middle Tennessee State University, Vanderbilt and Xavier was by design, Lady Govs coach Carrie Daniels said.
Honest.
"It's easy to look at some of these games and say 'What is Austin Peay doing?' " Daniels said. "I must be a complete idiot.
Turns out that Daniels was calculating, not crazy. Austin Peay (15-17) is back in the tournament as the No. 16 seed in the Memphis regional by virtue of winning the Ohio Valley Conference tournament. The Lady Govs face Tennessee (30-2) on Saturday (TV: ESPN2, 12:16 p.m.) in the first game of an opening-round doubleheader at Thompson-Boling Arena.
No. 8 seed Dayton (24-7) and No. 9 TCU (22-8) play in the second game at approximately 2:30 p.m. The winners play at 7 p.m. Monday for a trip to the regional semifinals.
Austin Peay marched through its conference tournament for the second consecutive season. As a No. 3 seed, the Lady Govs beat Eastern Illinois in the championship game, 69-60, nine days after losing to the Panthers, 78-47.
"You could see it in their eyes, they were the defending champions,'' Daniels said of her team. "They were motivated and really focused. They finally put all the pieces together on everything we had been talking about."
The Lady Govs had to pick up the pieces after their season's start. In the first 38 days, they ran a gauntlet of six teams that eventually made the 64-team NCAA field. They went 0 for 6 on their ambitious tour but the experience ought to minimize the shock and awe of facing the Lady Vols on their home court.
"I wanted them to have the experience of playing top caliber teams,'' Daniels said. "You're not so shell-shocked. You're not overwhelmed."
The Lady Govs made the tournament last season and lost their opening game to Duke, 83-42, in East Lansing, Mich. The experience reinforced the most basic of NCAA challenges for a low-seeded team, namely dealing with an opponent's size advantage.
"At one point, (Duke) had two 6-6 players out there,'' said Daniels, who wondered at the time: "OK, how do we defend that?"
Austin Peay's best solution to this dilemma came this season against Pittsburgh, which is playing in the WNIT. The Panthers came to Clarksville, Tenn., on Dec. 20 ranked 19th nationally and bigger than the Lady Govs at virtually every position. Pittsburgh had a 6-foot-6 center and a pair of 6-3 forwards.
No matter, Austin Peay played with poise and determination. An aggressive mindset translated into 38 free throw attempts. The size discrepancy wasn't so apparent in the rebounding battle, which Pittsburgh won by a narrow 49-45 margin.
The Panthers needed a 3-pointer by Jania Sims with six seconds left to force overtime before winning 76-75. Despite the outcome, Daniels referred to the effort as "our best game of the season."
It was a good experience, considering what awaits the Lady Govs in their next game.
"We don't have anything to lose,'' Daniels said. "That has to be our mindset."
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Comments » 9
PINK_CHAMPAGNE writes:
Lets Go Lady Vols!
reg_mza#219136 writes:
Nothing to lose blah blah blah, probably the most cliche-ish article every time of year come NCAA tournament. I don't know how many times I've read this. I don't mean to come across as uppidy but it's predictable each year. Go Lady Vols!
JDE984 writes:
"Nothing to lose for Lady Govs against Lady Vols"... except the game.
mmynatt12 writes:
Was not a given last year....I am confident the Lady Vols are a lot better and a lot better prepared, but they can not take anyone for granted. Brewer did that last year (basically she and the team thought all they had to do was show up....)
YankeeVol writes:
please don't be uppidy... but it's OK to be uppity.
BigRMan writes:
After the first round exit last year, do not take ANYTHING for granted. On the men's side look at what Ohio U. did to Georgetown! Nothing is a given. That's why the game is played on the court. I think Coach Summitt will be in their grill to avoid any chance of complacency!
98reax writes:
The players need only look back over the regular season to breath reality about taking any game for granted. The Prep Girl's State Champions would play Tennessee to the wire. That's just the way it is. Look at Bama regular season. They were last place in SEC, but they threatened the entire game. Peay will do the same. What an opportunity for the Govs to catch a #1 seed UT slacking.
I gotta say I could not watch the men last night. They were missing layups and making lazy passes. Chism trying to bring the ball down makes me so nervous. The only thing that has to do with the Lady Vols, hopefully just a good lesson. "Play each possession like the game depends on it." I hope the team starts out like a house on fire and pours on the fuel thru-out. I would like to see the bench contribute at least 15 minutes of tournament caliber ball.
The '08 tournament featured Alberta Auguste, who was key to those wins including the NC. We need someone to have that 'Bert mindset' throughout this run.
topgun writes:
98, et. al.,
Agree with most of your assessments, but after last year's tourney results, Pat and the team are determined to make the final 4 this year. I think they will do just that.
I am concerned about (possibly) meeting the Ucons before the finals, but if the LVs play their game--LVs could beat the Ucons.
Bottom line: The LVs will win this game easily, and will have lots of the starters resting by the middle of the 2nd half. GOVOLS!!
PINK_CHAMPAGNE writes:
I remember Alberta! She was that spark needed! I was happy when Pat put her in the starting linuep! She was that player that could drive to the basket, break the defense down, so important! I want another Alberta to emerge during this tournament! Let's Go Lady Vols!
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