Illinois teams not shut out of women's NCAA tourney
The women will be carrying the NCAA dance card for the state of Illinois this year. All by themselves.
While none of our men's teams made their tourney, two on the women's side did: DePaul and Illinois State.
DePaul, which earned the tenth seed in the New Orleans regional, tips off its postseason run today with a 7 p.m. first-round game against No. 7 Marist (ESPN2).
Instead of hunting for Easter eggs on Sunday, No. 13 Illinois State will be trying to find its way against No. 4 seed Oklahoma (noon, ESPN2) in the Oklahoma City regional.
Here is a closer look at both DePaul and Illinois State and what's in store for them as they experience the madness of March:
DePaul
It may not look like it, but DePaul got a tough draw.
Marist is a mid-major, but this program has proven that it can fit in just fine under the bright lights of the Big Dance.
The Red Foxes (31-2) are making their third straight tournament appearance and are just one year removed from a Sweet 16 appearance. Last year, they shocked Big Ten champion Ohio State in the first round before falling to eventual national champion Tennessee.
Marist, which has double-figure scorers in forward Rachele Fitz (18.6 ppg), guard Julianne Viani (10.4) and center Meg Dahlman (10.0), went 21-0 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and is riding a 21-game winning streak.
DePaul's credentials aren't quite that good.
The Blue Demons (20-11) enter the tournament having lost four of their last six games. DePaul, however, plays in the brutal Big East, arguably the best conference in the country this year.
Earlier this month, DePaul pushed No. 1 Connecticut to the brink before settling for a 77-76 defeat.
With 27 points, guard Allie Quigley came up huge in that game, just as she has all season. She recently scored the 2,000th point of her career and leads DePaul with 19.5 points per game. The senior was recently named an all-Big East selection.
The fast-paced, high pressure Blue Demons also get double figures from guard Deirdre Naughton (15.2 ppg), a transfer from Wake Forest who is playing her first season with DePaul, and forward Natasha Williams (10.1).
The winner of this game will likely face No. 2 LSU, which opens with No. 15 Jackson State, on Monday in the second round.
My pick: DePaul
Illinois State
How does Paris in March sound?
Nice, unless Paris is a person instead of a destination.
Illinois State is getting the person.
The Redbirds (11 a.m. Sunday ESPN2) have the unenviable task of matching up with Oklahoma junior Courtney Paris, a two-time Associated Press all-American who is one of the best centers in the country. The 6-foot-4 Paris averages 18.7 points and an astounding 15.1 rebounds per game. The rebounding mark is tops in the nation.
Courtney's twin sister Ashley, also a strong post player, averages 11.4 points and 8.1 rebounds per game for the 21-8 Sooners, who earned a No. 4 seed after finishing in a tie for third in the rugged Big 12 Conference.
Obviously, Oklahoma loves to pound the ball inside.
Meanwhile, No. 13 Illinois State has one of the best guards in the country in Kristi Cirone, a Chicago native who was named a finalist for the State Farm Coaches All-America team. She averages 16.6 points per game and leads the Missouri Valley Conference with 5.6 assists per game.
With Cirone leading the way, Illinois State clinched the MVC's automatic bid by winning the postseason tournament. The 26-6 Redbirds finished in a three-way tie for the league's regular season championship.
Illinois State also gets double figures from guard Maggie Krick (12.7) and forward Ashleen Bracey (10.2). Illinois State has won eight of its last 11 games while Oklahoma lost its last three.
"We are going to face a really good team with a lot of tradition," Illinois State coach Robin Pingeton said. "Courtney Paris is among the elite players in the nation and it will be fun to see how we can stack up against them."
The winner of this game will face either No. 5 Notre Dame or No. 12 SMU on Tuesday in the second round.
My pick: Oklahoma
Tube time
To hype the beginning of the NCAA women's tournament this weekend, ESPN will be airing a few segments that seem well worth watching.
On Sunday at 8:30 a.m., "Outside the Lines" will take a look at the charged relationship between Tennessee coach Pat Summit and Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma.
Neither coach granted an on-air interview for the piece, but ESPN analyst Rebecca Lobo, a former star at Connecticut, offered this perspective: "I remember coming off of warm-ups and Tennessee was on our half of the court. We asked them to move and they wouldn't move and it just fired some of our players up."
Also, "Outside the Lines" will examine how recruiting in the women's game is becoming more and more intense.
Then, on the 10 p.m. SportsCenter on Sunday, there will be a feature on the Immaculata University team that won the first three regionally bracketed women's national basketball titles in the early 1970s.
-- Patricia Babcock McGraw
Still fightin'
After a heartbreaking, buzzer-beater loss to Purdue in the championship game of the Big Ten women's tournament, Illinois gets a chance to end on a positive note in the WNIT tournament.
The Fighting Illini received a first-round bye and will take on the winner of today's first-round game between Wisconsin-Green Bay and Drake. Illinois will host its second round game on Monday (7 p.m.) at Assembly Hall in Champaign.
This is Illinois' fourth consecutive trip to the WNIT and its sixth overall. The Illini, who are 4-5 all time in the tournament, are one of five Big Ten teams in the 48-team field, which also includes Michigan State, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin.
-- Patricia Babcock McGraw