SAN ANTONIO (AP) – Georgia did it first. Duke followed. Then came Oklahoma, Texas, Connecticut and Michigan State, one apiece the last four years.
On Monday night, LSU will try to join that list of programs which have landed their men’s and women’s teams into the Final Four in the same year.
“It’d be nice and a big thing for our state,” Lady Tigers forward Ashley Thomas said Sunday.
LSU came close to making the list back in ’86, three years after Georgia. The men clinched their most recent trip – before Saturday, that is – in the afternoon, then a few hours later the women held a late lead against Tennessee, but couldn’t hold on.
The Lady Tigers ended up not making it to their first Final Four until 2004. Now they’re trying to make it three in a row.
“I think they’re trying to keep up with us,” star Seimone Augustus said of the men’s team, laughing. “We’re very, very proud of them. A lot of people didn’t even have them on the radar to contend. They’ve proven a lot of people wrong.
“They give us motivation because we see how hard they fight every night. They’re underdogs and they play like they’re a top seed. We feed off their energy.”
Top-seeded LSU (30-3) will meet third-seeded Stanford (26-7) in the finals of the San Antonio Regional. It’ll be the second meeting ever between the schools, the first since 1981.
Still, they’re not strangers.
“Thanks to film exchange and DirecTV you become very familiar with an opponent,” Lady Tigers coach Pokey Chatman said. “You look at Stanford in November, December and January and they keep getting better and better and better.”
Stanford is trying to get to its seventh Final Four, but first since 1997. The Cardinal have won two titles, both under coach Tara VanDerveer, yet the most recent was in 1992.
Stanford came to San Antonio with its bags packed for a two-week road trip, but it was more about logistics than confidence. It wouldn’t make sense to fly back to Northern California on Tuesday, then a couple days later take an even longer flight to Boston.
Still, the Cardinal are confident and more prepared than they were this time last year, when a late-night victory over Connecticut in the regional semifinals left them physically and mentally drained going into a regional final against Michigan State.
“I feel much more rested and ready than I did last year on this day,” VanDerveer said. “Whether or not we can get the job done, that’ll be seen. But I feel we will be ready, moreso than last year.”
This time, Stanford advanced with an impressive wire-to-wire victory over Oklahoma. Kristen Newlin anchored a rotation of double-teams against Sooners star Courtney Paris and Brooke Smith led the offense by hitting 14 of 16 shots.
The Cardinal’s challenge Monday night will be stopping another standout center, Sylvia Fowles, while also trying to slow Augustus, the nation’s scoring leader and reigning national player of the year.
“It’s all about going out and being as competitive as you can and wanting to win,” said Candice Wiggins, the Cardinal’s sparkplug guard.
Smith has a little insight on Augustus and Fowles – she was their teammate last summer on a U.S. squad coached by Chatman. They won the gold medal at the World University Games.
“They’re a great 1-2 punch,” Smith said. “Sylvia is very dominant inside and Seimone is great on the perimeter. You kind of have to pick your poison a little bit. Both are very good at what they do and they play well with each other.”
The LSU men’s and women’s teams get along pretty good, too.
On Saturday, the Lady Tigers went straight from beating DePaul to watching the men beat Texas. On Monday night, the men likely will take a break from their game-planning to watch the women.
The support is typical. Players often go to each other’s games. At one women’s game this year, Glen “Big Baby” Davis and Tyrus Thomas even took part in a dance contest.
“Some other kid won,” said Ashley Thomas, no relation to Tyrus.
Augustus is from the same Baton Rouge neighborhood as Big Baby, Tyrus Thomas and several other players. She and Davis were on an AAU team together for several years in middle school – back before he had his nickname.
“I really don’t understand how a men’s and women’s program wouldn’t get along,” Augustus said. “It’s like brotherhood and sisterhood with us.”