Ladies' Night
Kyle Garmes
April 08, 2006
Who knew that the best game of March Madness would come not only in April, but the day after the men's tournament ended?
With a thrilling 78-75 overtime win over Duke Tuesday night, the Maryland women captured their first national championship for the program. While the rest of us were likely feeling a bit of relief after a dud of a men's Final Four was over, and decided we wanted no more, the Maryland women arrived on the national scene in one of the most well-played games of this postseason. Duke jumped out to an early lead and led by 10 at the half before a very young--Florida-like young--Maryland team forced overtime with a gutty 3-point shot by freshman Kristi Tolliver. The Terps then forced a tough, last-second overtime 3-pointer by Duke that barely grazed the rim, and the game was over.
While the rest of us thought March Madness officially ended when 'One Shining Moment' ended, this year's women's Final Four should have made us think otherwise. In fact, we should have tuning in to the ladies all weekend. While the men gave us maybe ten minutes of entertaining basketball in Atlanta, the ladies provided us with two quality semifinals, and a very entertaining 'Boston OT Party' in the national championship game in TD Banknorth Garden. The women's Final Four also had marquee names, something the men's did not. North Carolina point guard Ivory Latta compares herself to Allen Iverson, and she may be the college game's version of Dee Brown. Duke senior Monique Curry came back this year to win a national championship, and certainly didn't disappoint, as she poured in 22 points vs. Maryland. LSU senior Seimonne Augustus, who fell Sunday night, won her second straight National Player of the Year award. The biggest name in Atlanta was Joakim Noah, and, besides Glen Davis, he was riding solo on the big-name train.
Is the men's game still more entertaining than the women's? Without a doubt. Maybe it was just the backlash of a very talented nation last year, but this year's talent was as poor as any the last ten years. Sure, there's parity, but a North Carolina or Illinois of last year rolls through the 2006 bracket. The new NBA age-limit will certainly help, but there should be some concern among the men.
The ladies gave us as good a Final Four as we could have wanted, highlighted by Maryland's win last night. "Overtime is our time," Maryland's Marissa Coleman said.
Actually, Marissa, this entire weekend was.
With a thrilling 78-75 overtime win over Duke Tuesday night, the Maryland women captured their first national championship for the program. While the rest of us were likely feeling a bit of relief after a dud of a men's Final Four was over, and decided we wanted no more, the Maryland women arrived on the national scene in one of the most well-played games of this postseason. Duke jumped out to an early lead and led by 10 at the half before a very young--Florida-like young--Maryland team forced overtime with a gutty 3-point shot by freshman Kristi Tolliver. The Terps then forced a tough, last-second overtime 3-pointer by Duke that barely grazed the rim, and the game was over.
While the rest of us thought March Madness officially ended when 'One Shining Moment' ended, this year's women's Final Four should have made us think otherwise. In fact, we should have tuning in to the ladies all weekend. While the men gave us maybe ten minutes of entertaining basketball in Atlanta, the ladies provided us with two quality semifinals, and a very entertaining 'Boston OT Party' in the national championship game in TD Banknorth Garden. The women's Final Four also had marquee names, something the men's did not. North Carolina point guard Ivory Latta compares herself to Allen Iverson, and she may be the college game's version of Dee Brown. Duke senior Monique Curry came back this year to win a national championship, and certainly didn't disappoint, as she poured in 22 points vs. Maryland. LSU senior Seimonne Augustus, who fell Sunday night, won her second straight National Player of the Year award. The biggest name in Atlanta was Joakim Noah, and, besides Glen Davis, he was riding solo on the big-name train.
Is the men's game still more entertaining than the women's? Without a doubt. Maybe it was just the backlash of a very talented nation last year, but this year's talent was as poor as any the last ten years. Sure, there's parity, but a North Carolina or Illinois of last year rolls through the 2006 bracket. The new NBA age-limit will certainly help, but there should be some concern among the men.
The ladies gave us as good a Final Four as we could have wanted, highlighted by Maryland's win last night. "Overtime is our time," Maryland's Marissa Coleman said.
Actually, Marissa, this entire weekend was.
Print
Email
