RICHMOND, Va. — “They are small, they have virtually no bench support and have only one senior, forward Katrina Hibbert, in the lineup.”
— The Connecticut Post on the LSU women’s basketball team.
“Maybe if the Huskies (33-1) are forbidden to toss the ball inside to their near-unstoppable trio of 6-foot-2 sophomore forwards, (Sue) Gunter just may be in line for her first Final Four appearance.”
—New Haven Register on LSU’s chanced against UConn.
After reaching the third Elite Eight in school history, the Lady Tigers haven’t been given much of a chance to beat the nation’s No. 1 team, the UConn Huskies, in Monday night’s 6 p.m. contest at the Siegel Center in Richmond, Va. But, that doesn’t mean Sue Gunter‘s team will simply roll over and die.
UConn (33-1), the top seed in the East Region, has beaten its first three NCAA Tournament opponents by an average of more than 43 points, while LSU struggled to beat 14th-seeded Liberty and 11th-seeded Stephen F. Austin before coming out on fire against Duke in the second half to win by 13 Saturday.
Although LSU (25-6) doesn’t match up well with the bigger, stronger and deeper Huskies, the Lady Tigers have beaten the best before (upsetting No. 1 Tennessee last season in Baton Rouge) and are coming off their first postseason victory away from Baton Rouge since 1989.
Gunter, who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in June, will attempt to reach the first Final Four in her 36-year coaching career against what she considers the one of the best teams she’s ever faced.
“I don’t know if anyone in the country is going to derail UConn,” said Gunter. “There are absolutely no weaknesses on that team. None. This is an outstanding Connecticut team.
“We have seen them play 20 times on TV, and this team is on a mission,” Gunter said. “I don’t know that I’ve seen a team possess the size, speed, inside, outside, bench play, tough schedule. I haven’t seen too many teams put this much together. And I’m too old to hype.”
But, despite the odds against them, Gunter and her Lady Tigers will take their best shot and try to knock UConn out of the tournament short of the Final Four for the second consecutive season. Last season, Iowa State stunned the Huskies in the Sweet 16.
Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CST Monday night on ESPN.