LaTech disappointed over 5 seed

[Bball Girl]

Barrmore (http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/wbasketball/ncaatourney02/story?id=1349060)expected a 3 seed...get real by playing who?

Lassister said "we thought all we had to do was win (against Hawaii) but obviously that wasn't true"...a win over Hawaii by 2...who didn't even make the field is enough to notch a 3 seed?

[Big12Bear]

hahahaha par for the course! I hope UT beats em by 30.

[JK]

Thanks Big12Bear! It's gonna be a toss-up if we meet them. I wouldn't be surprised if we blew them out, and wouldn't be surprised if they kicked our butts either. It's time for us to break the jinx! They've put us out of the NCAA's four or five times. Four that I know of, '84 and '88 in the Regional Finals after we'd lost Annette Smith (84) and Clarissa Davis (88) to knee injuries. In '90 they beat us in the Regional Final - - Senior Venus Lacey and Annie Lockett were just better than our team on which Ceneitra Henderson was a mere freshman. In '94 (or '92?) they put us out very quickly in the first round. '88 and '90 were both in the Erwin Center -- I don't know about '94 ('92?). They may have beaten us in the '87 Final Four semis which was also played in the Erwin Center. The '88 Regional Final was devastating! It was an overtime game that ended a season which saw us lose two consecutive games when Davis went down in late December, then turn around and not lose another game until the regional final. I'll never forget that one! I can't remember the exacts of the others, I must be getting old and have seen too many games! I've been watching this team since I was 15 yrs old!!! It's time for them to reward one of their biggest fans with a blow-out of La Tech!!! Don't you agree?

[This message has been edited by JK (edited 03-12-2002).]

[This message has been edited by JK (edited 03-12-2002).]

[This message has been edited by JK (edited 03-12-2002).]

[Bevo]

I agree, JK! It has been a long, hard, frustrating road against the Lady Techsters down through the years. Making the pill particularly bitter to swallow is that most of those NCAA losses have come in the Erwin Center:

1987 Final Four Semifinals: La Tech 79, UT 75. 15,303 partisan fans saw the Longhorns whittle a 10-point Tech lead down to 2 in the last minute before losing. Teresa Weatherspoon led La Tech against a Longhorn squad featuring Clarissa Davis, Andrea Lloyd and Beverly Williams.
1988 Regional Final: La Tech 83, UT 80 (ot). As I remember, there was a bit of controversy surrounding the fact that La Tech and Texas were placed in the same region. But La Tech had played its (usual) soft schedule, and as JK mentioned, Texas' Davis had gone down with an ACL tear earlier in the season. Trailing by one with four seconds remaining, Lyssa McBride (one of my all-time favorites who had gone 6-for-7 from the field that night) turned down an open shot and tried to feed Doreatha Conwell in the post. The pass was intercepted and La Tech went on to the 1988 National Championship.
1990 Regional Final: La Tech 71, UT 57. La Tech pretty much dominated this one.
1993 Second Round: La Tech 82, UT 78. Both teams had slipped a bit from past glory, and the senior class that included Cinietra Henderson and Vicki Hall ended their careers with disappointment. BTW, does anyone remember who won the Championship that year? http://hoopscoop.net/ubb/wink.gif

That 1984 Regional Final was in Ruston and was won by La Tech 85-60. The Techsters also beat the 'Horns in the 1983 Regional Final in Ruston 72-58. KMR was the senior point guard for the Techsters in that one. Those two were a little before my time as a Longhorn fan.

(I love discussing all of this history because so many of today's fans don't get much of it from places like ESPN, whose memory doesn't seem to extend back past UConn's first championship). http://hoopscoop.net/ubb/wink.gif

This is a new day, however. I'll wager that the young ladies playing this weekend don't have any memories of the ancient history. Its time to start a new chapter - one in which Texas has the upper hand. And lest we forget, both teams have to win a game before the matchup materializes. I certainly don't want the team to get caught looking ahead.

[This message has been edited by Bevo (edited 03-12-2002).]

[Big12Bear]

Wow, I'm surprised it is that one-sided. Has UT ever beaten LA Tech?

[RaiderPower1]

Good post, Bevo. History will change when UT destroys La Tech. Shut down Walker and I think you got it. Of course don't let Lassiter go off on you. go Horns!

Answer to your question: Texas Tech, with Sheryl Swoopes and Krista Kirland (j/k...I just had to relive the moment http://hoopscoop.net/ubb/wink.gif )

[JK]

Actually, Cheryl Ford is one to worry about also. She plays a lot like Tennessee's Gwen Jackson. I heard the announcers on TV say that Ford was the WAC POY - - which doesn't necessarily mean that was an accurate statement. If we come out and play like we are capable - - focused and determined - - we should be able to win our sub-regional. If not... well, we all know what could happen in that instance!

[RaiderPower1]

oh, yeah...i forgot about Cheryl. I've only seen La Tech play twice this season and it always seemed like everyone was focusing on Walker more than anyone else.

[AirLonghorn]

I think the Longhorns record against LaTech is 3 wins and 6 losses. Am I correct?
Originally posted by Big12Bear:
Wow, I'm surprised it is that one-sided. Has UT ever beaten LA Tech?

[JK]

I think it is 0-6!

[hornsofthedilemma]

Here's a link from the Austin paper that says La Tech is 6-1 in tournament games in Austin. http://www.austin360.com/coxnet/finalfour/text/0314_barmore.html

Times change.

Hook 'em. http://hoopscoop.net/ubb/ut.gif

[KSUron]

Hook em Horns!

[horntooter]

Originally posted by Bevo:
And lest we forget, both teams have to win a game before the matchup materializes. I certainly don't want the team to get caught looking ahead.



While I'd love to shake the curse of La Tech, it also makes me a little nervous and I wouldn't be too dejected if La Tech is knocked off on Friday. And the UCSB Gauchos might have the weapons to do it. They're on a 21 game win streak, they have a senior center who is a Kodak All-American finalist and a 6'8" sophomore with 65% FG percentage. While they haven't won games against top RPI teams, they lost to Penn State by only 3 points (Texas lost to Penn State by 2 points, but that was without Stephens). And we could still see Barmore leave the floor of the Erwin Center with a loss.

[This message has been edited by horntooter (edited 03-14-2002).]

[horntooter]

The Austin paper today reports that LaTech is 8-0 against UT. He is 6-1 at the Erwin Center, with the only loss to Tennessee in 1987.

"Barmore's one loss in Austin, to Tennessee in the 1987 NCAA chamionship game, came with a team drained from upsetting Texas, the defending national champion. Darth Vader the fans used to call him, partly for his intimidating demeanor."

"By the 1987 NCAA tournament, defending national champion Texas thought it had Louisiana Tech right were it wanted it. Louisiana Tech was playing its first game at the Erwin Center in a Final Four Texas was favored to win. The No. 1 Longhorns were 31-1 and deep in talent. The Lady Techsters were No. 3 in the country, but thinner than usual and didn't like to go beyond their best six players.

The Longhorns pressed Tech point guard Teresa Weatherspoon, hoping she would tire. But Weatherspoon, now a star for the WNBA's New York Liberty, was still fresh enough late in the game. In the closing minutes she bent over and slapped her palms on the floor and scrunched down to play some serious defense. A little later Weatherspoon picked the pocket of All-American guard Beverly Williams and Louisiana Tech handed Texas only its second loss of the year, denying the Longhorns a shot to play for the national championship on their home floor."

Here's the link: http://www.austin360.com/statesman/editions/today/sports_1.html

[carolann]

Hey horntooter, you were just ahead of me. I came over to post that I'd put the Austin-American Statesman link on the front page. So folks, there's the whole ugly story! Well, we beat Tennessee for the first time in 13 years. Why not break another losing streak?

Of course, plenty of people think the Longhorns could be beaten by Wiscosin Green Bay. From what I've read, I don't think the upset is likely. The 2 lower ranked teams that beat Texas this year, Miami-Florida and Texas A&M, both had fast, athletic teams, capable of playing pressure defense for most if not all of the game. Green Bay sounds more like BYU. They are fundamentally sound, shoot well, and play good defense but do not have much team speed.

[horntooter]

I think our fortunes this weekend depend entirely on which team comes out to play. Will Kenya still be wound like a top? Is Heather coming out of her shooting slump? If there is a setback, like Stacy getting two fouls in the first two minutes of the game or Heather missing her first 5 shots, will they stay focused and will someone else step up?