NEW ORLEANS — No matter what time of year a major event comes to the Crescent City, there’s never a shortage of purple and gold. The 2004 NCAA Women’s Final Four is no Mardi Gras, however the LSU Lady Tigers’ first appearance has made a colorful splash in what has long been a predominantly Tennessee orange or UConn blue event.
After a long day that included an awards banquet, countless press events and an autograph session, LSU (27-7, 10-4 SEC) found time for a one-hour practice before its long-awaited Final Four debut against Southeastern Conference Champion and rival Tennessee (30-3, 14-0 SEC).
LSU advanced by virtue of a 62-60 victory over Georgia on March 29 in Seattle, in which they trailed by seven points late in the game only to mount an 8-1 run in the final four minutes to eek out a victory.
Although head coach Sue Gunter came to New Orleans for the event, the 22-year leader of the LSU women’s basketball program will not attend Sunday evening’s 6 p.m. contest.
“Sweet,” acting head coach Pokey Chatman said when asked about returning to the Final Four in New Orleans after being named a Kodak All-American here in 1991. “It really is. That’s the first word that comes to my mind. Not that it replaces the disappointment of ’91, it just gives you a sense of enjoyment from a different perspective. It ranks up there with the best.
“It just speaks volumes for where our program has come.”
Chatman, an All-SEC and All-America point guard at LSU in 1991, led her team to a SEC Tournament victory over eventual national champion Tennessee before the Lady Tigers lost at Lamar in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. LSU would have played host to that game, however, a conflict with “Sesame Street Live” forced the Lady Tigers to give up the home court advantage and travel to Houston.
Gunter, who became the third women’s collegiate coach to pick up a 700th career victory on Feb. 12 against Arkansas, has taken a leave of absence from her on-the-court role due to acute bronchitis. Chatman has posted a 14-4 record in the 18 games that Gunter missed in 2003-04.
Kodak All-American Seimone Augustus, who leads the NCAA Tournament in scoring at 26.3 points per contest, has scored 29 points in consecutive games to boost the Lady Tigers into the national spotlight. The 6-1 sophomore guard has shot 65.8 percent (48 of 73) from the field in the past four games.
“I’ve had nice looks and I knocked them down,” Augustus said. “It’s all about my teammates. They have made great screens and I’ve just made great cuts. But none of the points have been plays called only for me. It’s just within our offense that my points came.”
With 105 points in four games, Augustus needs only 11 points to break into the NCAA’s Top 10 single-series point scorers. The all-time tournament scoring record is held by Sheryl Swoopes of Texas Tech (177 in 1993).
LSU point guard Temeka Johnson, a New Orleans native, comes home to play in front of countless friends and family in the 18,211-seat New Orleans Arena. Johnson, too, leads the field in assists per game in tournament play at 10.5 per game.
“(The Final Four) is special because it is in our backyard,” Johnson said. “But when we were in Seattle, my main focus was Texas, and the after Texas it was Georgia. And once the buzzer went off, as you can see, as I tackled Coach Chatman, that when New Orleans hit for me.”
The shortest player in the Final Four at 5-3, Johnson needs only six dimes to break the tournament record set by LaQuan Stallworth of Louisiana Tech in 1998. Johnson stands in a tie for third place in single-tournament assists with 42.
Tennessee takes on LSU for the second time this season. In the regular-season finale on Feb. 29, the second-ranked Lady Vols defeated then-No. 15 LSU, 85-62, in Knoxville.
Four Lady Tigers scored in double figures in the loss, however, the team shot only 36 percent from the field and were outrebounded 44-28. Tennessee sophomore forward Shyra Ely was 12-of-16 from the field to score 25 points and grab nine rebounds.
“They dominated us on the boards the last game we played,” LSU senior guard Doneeka Hodges said. “I think rebounding is going to be a very key factor in the game. We have to try to come out and fight on the boards as hard as we can.”
Should LSU advance to the National Championship game, the Lady Tigers would take on the winner of Connecticut and Minnesota on Tuesday evening at 7:30.