Gardner returns to Georgia for Mercer's NCAA tourney debut

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - Susie Gardner was thrilled just to coach Mercer to its first women's NCAA Tournament berth.

That thrill grew when the tournament pairings showed the Bears would play Gardner's alma mater, Georgia, in Saturday's first round.

It's a matchup she never expected because the teams already have played this season. She jumped into the air, celebrating with her players, when the pairing was announced.

"The best part about selection Monday is the anticipation of seeing your name at some point," Gardner said. "... I thought there is no way we will play Georgia again. I think that's what really hit me was that we were going to be playing in Athens. I was so happy for our players and especially for our fans."

Georgia (25-6) beat Mercer (30-2) 72-54 on Nov. 19 in Macon, Georgia. Mercer also lost its next game, at Western Kentucky, and has since won 27 straight games.

Gardner played on three Final Four teams during her career at Georgia from 1983-86 and enjoyed more NCAA success as a graduate assistant under former longtime coach Andy Landers.

"Every year we went to the NCAA Tournament and our goal was to win the national championship," Gardner said. "When I got into coaching I thought well, this is going to be easy. Let's go to the NCAA tournament every year."

Instead, the long-awaited invitation came in Gardner's eighth year at Mercer.

"I have a lot of respect for Susie," said Georgia coach Joni Taylor, adding she can understand the emotions of playing the Bears' first NCAA Tournament game at Georgia.

"She's proud. She's excited for the opportunity, and she's going to have her players ready," Taylor said.

In Saturday's first game, Duke (22-8) will play Belmont (31-3). The No. 23 Bruins entered the Top 25 for the first time this season and are looking for their first NCAA Tournament win.

Duke played in its last of four Final Fours in 2006, when the Blue Devils lost in the final to Maryland.

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Some other things to watch in Saturday's first-round games in Athens:

AAU REUNION: Belmont senior guard Kylee Smith, from Alpharetta, Georgia, and Duke senior guard Lexie Brown, from Suwanee, Georgia, became close friends as AAU teammates for the Georgia Ice, beginning when they were in the eighth grade. They've maintained that friendship through college.

"It's not every day you get to play in the NCAA Tournament against your best friend," Smith said Friday. "We're both super competitive. We both love basketball and so I just think it's really going to be a fun experience."

The two also played against each other in high school and have since remained what Smith described as "really being each other's biggest cheerleaders."

BUSINESS AS USUAL: Duke has three senior starters - Brown, Bego Faz Davalos and Rebecca Greenwell - who are pursuing master's degrees in business.

"I don't see any precedence for it," said Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie.

"I've never seen any team, women's basketball or men, ever, have three graduate students. ... I don't think this will ever happen again at Duke, I just don't. I think it was a rare occurrence. ... They're leaving Duke University with an undergrad and full masters, which is just an incredible thing."

TICKETS, ANYONE? Brown is expecting to have a big cheering section with family and friends making the one-hour drive from her hometown.

"I talked to my mom the other day and she asked me to get 40 tickets for the game," Brown said. "Those are just the tickets that I provided. That doesn't count anyone who is coming on their own."

STREAKING: Belmont (31-3) brings a 22-game winning streak into its third straight NCAA Tournament. The Bruins are looking for their first win but gained confidence from a 73-70 first-round loss to Kentucky last year.

"I definitely do think it helps with confidence to think about that game last year and know how much fun it was to play in that kind of game and how tight it was and the toughness that we showed," said senior center Sally McCabe.

Belmont's last loss was Dec. 18 against Wright State. Its only other losses were a season-opener at Oklahoma and against Stanford on Nov. 21.