National title no sure thing for UConn
The women's NCAA Tournament opens today, and before anyone goes sizing the players at undefeated and No. 1-ranked Connecticut (33-0) for their national championship rings, Carolyn Peck wants us all to remember 1999.
That year, the Connecticut of the tournament - in other words, the heaviest of heavyweights - didn't win it. Purdue did. Back then, Peck was the head coach at Purdue, which was 28-1 and entered the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 seed in the Midwest. Impressive credentials, but not nearly impressive enough to overshadow a Tennessee team that was being heralded as the best in the history of the women's game.
The Lady Vols had the "Three Meeks," after all.
You remember them, right? Each one amazing, each one an All-American.
One of the "Meeks" was even from around here. Tamika Catchings led Stevenson High School to a state championship in 1995.
"Tennessee was the team to beat," said Peck, now a color analyst for ESPN. "They had Chamique Holdsclaw, Tamika Catchings and Semeka Randall and they were pretty much the guaranteed champion that year."
Tennessee was already the three-time defending national champion, having won the third title in 1998 by going 39-0 and forcing sports writers to use words like "merciless, flawless, without peer, best college team to step on an arena floor, anytime, anywhere."
With pretty much the same cast of characters, the Lady Vols entered the 1999 NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 seed in the East with a 28-2 record.
Tennessee seemed destined for championship No. 4.
That is, until a No. 3 got in the way. No. 3 Duke knocked off Tennessee 69-63 in the regional final to get to its first Final Four.
"I remember Duke played Tennessee a triangle-and-two and that knocked them out," Peck said. "We were able to advance and things played out from there."
Purdue upended Louisiana Tech in the national semifinals and then rolled over Duke 62-45 in the title game to give the Big Ten its first and, to this day, only national championship in women's basketball.
"To win a national championship, really, the stars have to align up and everything has got to be just right," Peck said. "That's what happened for us in 1999."
Purdue, led by All-Americans Stephanie White and Katie Douglas, seemed somewhat destined in its own right. But that one bad game by Tennessee against Duke certainly made the climb to the top much easier for the Boilermakers.
"Even (Connecticut coach) Geno Auriemma has said that if they play one bad game, or if the team that they're playing against has a great game, that could blow it for them," Peck said. "Now, I haven't seen Connecticut have a bad night this year. But the potential is always there. The pressure builds as you're trying to go for that national championship.
"This is NCAA Tournament time. It's a whole new season and I think as a coach, you're looking at that. It doesn't matter what anyone's record is. You've still got to put five players out on the floor just like your opponent."
pbabcock@dailyherald.com