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Tuesday, March 27Falling Snow must pick up defense By Nancy Lieberman-Cline Special to ESPN.com Tennessee has been a part of every NCAA Tournament since it was first held in 1982. And for 20 straight years, the Lady Vols have reached the round of 16. But while Tennessee coach Pat Summitt has traditionally been concerned with manufacturing offense this time of year, the Lady Vols' defense is now the point of concern.
Xavier is a very balanced team, and Melanie Bascomb has done a terrific job with that program. The Musketeers are very balanced, with veteran players like Taru Tuukkanen who know how to handle themselves in any situation. They are amazing shooters -- particularly from the perimeter, where they went 12-for-18 from 3-point range Sunday -- and four players average double figures. But Xavier also is predictable. The team shoots 41 percent from 3-point range and averages 17 treys a game. Nicole Levandusky has taken 340 shots this season, but nearly two-thirds of them (201) have been from 3-point range. Of Reetta Piipari's 233 shots, 143 have been from beyond the arc. Nearly 80 percent of Jennifer Parr's shots (122 of 157) have been from 3-point range. So Tennessee needs to take away Xavier's 3-point attempts and make the Musketeers work very hard for two points. Right now, Tennessee is playing great team basketball and is about nine-deep. Shalon Pillow has never played better in her career, and has given the Lady Vols some incredible minutes recently. Ashley Robinson is becoming a presence on the inside and is becoming the Lady Vols' best shot-blocker. April McDivitt also has come ad continued to push the tempo and step up and make some big 3-pointers. Tasha Butts has given Tennessee another boost. Sunday, she went 3-for-6 from the field, 2-for-3 from 3-point range, for 10 points, and had four rebounds, two steals and no turnovers in 16 minutes. Stiles points If you're going to put on a show, you might as well do it against the best. That's exactly what Jackie Stiles did Monday. In a second-round matchup against Rutgers, Stiles did a great job against one of the best defensive teams in the country, and once again showed us what an amazing player she is. At this point, critics are probably still saying Stiles can't come up big against the top teams in the country, but guess what? She has and will continue to do so. Southwest Missouri State vs. Duke in the Sweet 16 will be a good game. I'd expect the Blue Devils to put freshman Alana Beard on Stiles. Beard is athletic with long arms, and is good at denying with good on-the-ball defense -- all the same ingredients the Rutgers' players had before Stiles dropped in 32. Centers of attention Both the Iowa State-Vanderbilt and Purdue-Texas Tech games will feature great matchups in the paint. In the Midwest, it'll be Iowa State center Angie Welle vs. Vandy's Chantelle Anderson. At 6 feet 6, Anderson is bigger, but they very well negate each other statistically. Welle had 26 points and 13 rebounds in the second round, and also might have the edge when it comes to experience as the Cyclones make their third straight Sweet 16 appearance. Welle is a great finisher with tremendous post moves. She's got a drop step, a step-through and can beat you down the floor. She also finishes well and has very good hands. In the West, Texas Tech's Plenette Pierson will meet Purdue's Camille Cooper. Both are both really good passers and both posts run the floor extremely well, although Cooper is bigger. Pierson's patience has been particularly impressive. She feels the contact, sees the double team, but she does an excellent job of dishing the ball back outside, whether it's reversing to the opposite elbow or cutting across and repositioning. She doesn't force a lot of shots. Iowa State vs. Vanderbilt These two teams absolutely mirror each other. Both have great posts and solid 3-point shooters. For Vandy, Jillian Danker is a great outside threat who will stretch the defense. Meanwhile, 6-foot-2 Zuzi Klimesova will take to the high post, get offensive rebounds and create mismatch problems inside. She is averaging a double-double and will hurt you across the board. Iowa State, however, also has its weapons, beginning with sophomore point guard Lindsey Wilson and the Cyclone senior Megan Taylor, Iowa State's all-time leading scorer and rebounder. In addition to the similarities in personnel, the Cyclones and Commodores also feature similar tactical approaches to the game. Vanderbilt plays more man-to-man defense, but also has a tough zone. Iowa State will run some man defense, but prefers a zone defense almost exclusively. Texas Tech vs. Purdue Texas Tech is playing really well right now, but the big question is which Lady Raider will get the defensive assignment of guarding Purdue senior Katie Douglas. I don't think Katrisa O'Neal will venture out to guard Douglas, so maybe freshman Jia Perkins gets the assignment. Whoever ends up guarding Douglas must make her work. Douglas can shoot over you or go around you, and she's very deceptive. She can hurt you in a variety of ways, especially defensively, where she has 30 more steals than anyone else on her team. Both these teams have high-octane offenses, and this should absolutely be one of the best games in the Sweet 16. Tech averages 73 points a game and has very good outside shooters. When Tech rebounds and runs, Purdue must find the outside shooter, whether it's Amber Tarr, Natalie Richie or Perkins. Purdue almost must look to take away O'Neal's dribble pentration. Tech must also get on the boards and limit Purdue's rebounding and second-half points, and be wary of the Boilermakers' great dribble penetration. This is a team that gets to the line early and often -- four players have been to the foul line at least 100 times, and as a team, Purdue has been to the line 187 more times than its opponent. Other standouts for Purdue include Shereka Wright, who gets to the line 5.5 times a game despite playing just 23 minutes, and Shalicia Hurns, an offensive rebounding machine. Of Hurns' 208 rebounds this season, 90 have come at the offensive end of the floor. Parting shot Notre Dame is doing everything right right now. Ruth Riley is making dinner and brownies for her teammates. The freshmen spent all week sleeping at Niele Ivey's apartment, hanging with the seniors. And every day after practice, Riley, Ivey and Alicia Ratay spend at least an extra 30 minutes in the gym working on their individual skills. In four days in South Bend, I didn't see Ratay miss a shot. But this team still comes down to Riley. There are players who move up and down the court or laterally faster than Riley. But nobody has the skills down low that she does. She is the prototypical post, and the best passer I've seen out of the post in college basketball. I'd compare game to that of Bill Walton's. ESPN analyst Nancy Lieberman-Cline, a Hall of Famer, will break down the women's college basketball world throughout the 2000-2001 season.  Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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