On the Beat for the NCAA Women's Basketball Sweet 16

Last night, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated the Stanford Cardinal 84-68 to advance to the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Final Four. For me, it was the end of a fantastic season of covering women's collegiate basketball.

As I have documented here, it really started for me at last season's Big East championship tourney. DePaul beat Marquette and I was hooked on the sport. All summer, I looked forward to this season. I attended several games at DePaul and Marquette and watched a lot of games on television. I found myself knowing more about women's collegiate basketball than men's pro sports. I realized that one time when my friend and I were watching DePaul at a sports bar.

I started to rattle off stats and info about Rebekah Dahlman, Ashton Millender, Kelly Campbell and the rest of the squad. I even had a favorite player in freshman guard Lexi Held. How did this happen? My friend was even more surprised, but he, too, enjoyed watching the game.

The Big East Championship Tournament was held in Chicago a few weeks ago. Regular season champ Marquette was the #1 seed and looked to avenge their loss to DePaul in last season's tourney. The #2 seed DePaul was peaking though and they took the tourney title in a game that became one of the most exciting games I have ever seen.

I was fortunate enough to get press credentials for the NCAA Tournament Chicago Regionals. Both Marquette and DePaul were in this region and I seriously thought both would make the Sweet 16 and play here. Unfortunately that was not to be. Both teams lost earlier in the tourney.

I was disappointed that I would not see “my teams play, but I eagerly awaited the new teams I would see. I had only seen Notre Dame, Texas A&M, Stanford and Missouri State on television or streaming online. Even without “my” teams, I knew I would see great basketball action.

My weekend started last Friday when I picked up my media credentials. Of course, I was there as the doors opened. I wanted to soak up every possible minute of this experience. Friday featured lockerroom interviews all day.

I was in media sessions with some legendary coaches. Notre Dames Muffet McGraw has 900 wins and 2 NCAA titles. Stanford's Tara Ann VanDerveer has 1,000 wins and 2 national titles. Texas A&M coach Gary Blair has 750 wins and 23 tournament appearances. Missouri State coach Kellie Harper is the youngster of the group, yet she still has 250 victories in just 14 years of coaching. I learned a lot about the game and strategy just by listening to these great coaches during the interviews.

In addition to the coaches, we had access to the players, too. I don't want to start listing individuals, because there are to many and you can get that info elsewhere. I will mention the laser focus these young women had. Whether it was the best player on the #1 ranked Fighting Irish or the last player on the bench for the Bears, each believed their team would win this regional and the championship.

I have previously written about the elite athleticism of these women. Seeing pictures online or even watching games on television does not do them justice. Even in an informal setting for the interviews, their simple movements are fluid.

My respect kicks up when I see these players in practice. At a Marquette game earlier this season, I saw Golden Eagle Natisha Hiedeman drain 14 3 pointers in a row from the side. That's probably the hardest shot and she hit one after another with ease. She finally missed one, then proceeded to ht about 10 more in a row.

The speed, grace and relative strength impresses me more than the men's games. As my dad would say, “This is how basketball was meant to be played.” I don't know when I turned into my dad, but we would definitely agree on our appreciation for the way the women play.

Too often I hear (mostly) men negatively state that they are still just women playing a man's game. I guarantee you that any five women on these teams could beat any 5 of my friends in their prime and it wouldn't even be close.

On Saturday, of course I got to Wintrust Arena early, excited about the two games I would see. I found my spot in press row. Because of the magnitude of this tournament, I did not have my usual courtside seat. Instead, I was on the second level with a lot of the local media. I could have been happen in nosebleed seats, as long as I got to watch these games and be a part of this.

As always, I took my spot and soaked in my surroundings. I love the peace and serenity of an empty arena. I love watching it come alive as the teams take the court for warmups. I love when the sound level rises as fans start to enter the arena. I love as the food smells start wafting around me. I literally get chills every time. As someone who had a late start in writing/reporting, covering an NCAA Sweet 16 weekend is an especially big deal.

I even had a few fans ask me for my opinions or inside stories. I told a few tales from Friday's media sessions. I picked Notre Dame and Stanford to win, with ND advancing, although those weren't really risky picks.

The crowd was very heavily in favor of Notre Dame. Always a popular team, it also helped that the game was played in Chicago, a two hour drive from South Bend. The other teams had pockets of fans, but overall, I saw lots of green.

As expected, the basketball action lived up to the hype. Notre Dame beat Texas A&M 87-80 and Stanford defeated Missouri State 55-46. Congrats to all four teams on playing intense ball from start to finish. Notre Dame and Stanford earned and deserved the wins, but Texas A&M and Missouri State were worthy opponents.

Sunday was another day of practice. It was also another day for me to get more excited about the Stanford-Notre Dame matchup. The winner would go to the Final Four. This was the biggest basketball game I have ever attended on any level.

Once again I arrived very early on game day Monday. Once again, I went to my seat in press row and just reflected. As a fan, I had witnessed a great Big East tourney, followed by an equally great, if not better, NCAA Regional. This is heaven for college basketball fans.

As a professional, this has also been a great couple weeks. I often use the disclaimer “I know I'm not ESPN,” but I am very proud of what I have accomplished in a relatively short time with a late start. Covering the Big East and NCAA tourneys certainly ranks high on my resume.

I made my way down to the Media Room for some pre-game chatter. As a newbie, I was a little out of my league, but the rest of the media folks were always helpful and receptive. I even caught up with the few I knew from other events, like DePaul's Alyssa, who is also my softball media contact.

By the time I went back to my work station, Wintrust Arena was filling up quite well and the decibel level was increasing. Even more so than on Saturday, the Notre Dame faithful came out in huge numbers. I must admit, on the tv screens the crowd did not look as impressive as it was. I think a lot of that comes from fans hanging out in the lounge and other parts not easily visible to cameras. In any case, Wintrust was rocking and I was strapped in for the ride.

Stanford led 13-11 after one quarter and stretched it to 33-26 at halftime. Stanford looked in control, but I knew enough not to dismiss Notre Dame. Besides, the green-clad fans surrounding me wouldn't let me underestimate the Fighting Irish.

The third quarter was a different story, as Notre Dame dominated. While I expected Notre Dame to regroup a bit, a 26-13 third quarter was a beatdown I did not foresee.

The fourth quarter started with ND up 52-46. A six point game with 10 minutes to play is tight with two powerhouses.

Notre Dame stayed strong in the fourth quarter, again outscoring Stanford, this time 32-22, to win the game 84-68. Notre Dame celebrated their win professionally, knowing they had not won it all yet, but the ND fans were not as reserved. The noise level was deafening.

I felt exhausted from the fantastic game I saw. I wasn't rooting for any of the four teams (which was also a new concept for me), so I was able to sit back and simply enjoy great basketball.

Notre Dame now goes to the Final Four, where they will definitely be a contender for the title, but they will face the always dangerous Connecticut. The inner there faces the winner of Baylor versus Oregon. I'm going to pick Notre Dame and Oregon, with ND taking the championship.

I have purposely left out statistics and the like. You can get those at NCAA.com and other news sites. My goal was to walk you through my wonderful experience following and covering women's collegiate basketball. This season has been a thrill ride from start to finish and I hope to be back “On the Beat” next season.

While I have glossed over most of the stats, I must list a few notables.

The All-Tournament team was announced.
Arike Ogunbowale-ND
Jessica Shepard-ND
Alanna Smith-Stanford
Kiana Williams-Stanford
Chennedy Carter-Texas A&M

Ogunbowale was also named the Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament.

Thank you to DePaul Assistant Director of Athletic Communications Bob Sakamoto for his time, consideration and patience in facilitating my coverage. I also thank DePaul University and Marquette University for the hospitality all season. Thank you to the NCAA, as well. It has been a real pleasure and an honor and I feel privileged to have been able to do this.

This weekend, I will go to the Village Inn, my local sports bar, to watch the Final Four games. I will order a big pizza, while I watch the last bits of women's basketball action. It will be bittersweet as the season ends, but I had a tremendous time and I look forward to next season already.