By Berry Tramel
NEW ORLEANS — With 10:45 left in the game,
Oklahoma State's
Danielle Green fired a pass inside that did the darndest thing.
The ball avoided the tentacles of Wonder Woman. Cowgirl
Megan Byford caught the dart, turned and made a layup.
Celebration was in order. Almost three quarters into the game,
OSU finally had a basket with
Sylvia Fowles on the prowl.
Fowles is 6-foot-6, strong-legged and arms that seem to stretch from popcorn stand to luxury suite.
"How many girls in
America look like her?” asked Cowgirl coach
Kurt Budke, after sixth-ranked LSU whipped O-State 67-52 Saturday in the
NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 at
New Orleans Arena.
The answer is none, this side of a
Mad Max movie.
In a weird matchup of superstars,
Fowles and
OSU point guard
Andrea Riley, LSU won because its all-American disarmed
Riley's teammates.
Riley scored 26 points and single-handedly tried to keep her team in the game.
Fowles, pushed and shoved and rendered largely irrelevant offensively, remained the game's dominant force.
Think of
Fowles as the
Courtney Paris of defense.
Fowles had five blocked shots and it seemed like 15. Time after time,
OSU's drivers went into the paint only to find themselves devoured in
Fowles' petrified forest. Step aside,
Dale Earnhardt. What athlete is more worthy than
Fowles of your Intimidator tag?
The numbers were ugly.
OSU made just five of its first 47 shots, and
Riley made all five baskets. None of that is a misprint.
Kristin Hernandez's layup with 14:14 left in the game was the first Cowgirl field goal not scored by
Riley.
Worse yet, until
Byford's basket, every
OSU field goal came on a
Riley 3-pointer (four) or a fast-break layup off an LSU turnover (four), when
Fowles was unable to set up shop in the paint.
"We did a good job of getting into the lane all year long,” Budke said. "But it changes when she's standing there waiting on you.”
Riley's penetrations evaporated. She's 5-foot-3; no way she's getting up a shot over
Fowles.
Drivers Shaunte' Smith and Green were repeatedly rebuffed.
OSU's offense sank into launching deep prayers, and in case no one has noticed, LSU's other defenders are piranhas, too.
"She's a great player,” Green said of
Fowles. "She's long and feisty. She can alter your shot.”
Eventually, the Cowgirls found some cracks. They made 14 of their last 22 shots and scored 29 points in the final 11:30 of the game, and the final score was not total embarrassment. But the verdict long was sealed, and
OSU's magical run ended.
"I'm very proud of the fact we're going to fight for 40 minutes, and that's never going to change with my program,” Budke said.
"No way in the world will I let this take away from what we've done this year. We've had an incredible year. A program-changing year. We're headed in the right direction.”
Agreed. Next year, the Cowgirls will be better equipped for this stage.
For one thing, they won't just be happy to be here. These Cowgirls were living out a rags-to-riches story and were heavy underdogs against a program seeking its fifth straight Final Four.
That can lead to contentment. Which is a problem. Teams have to play with desperation this deep into March.
These Cowgirls didn't seem crushed by the defeat, and no reason they should be. Budke is right. This was a landmark year for Cowgirl basketball. But LSU would have been crushed by defeat and played with a desperation; that's how you have to play in the Sweet 16. You can't settle. For another,
OSU's superstar will be more mature.
Riley is just a sophomore; a special, special sophomore, but still capable of silly stuff. Like trying to do
too much, not that you could blame her Saturday.
And the physical shenanigans —
Riley popped LSU's
Erica White during a scrap — have got to stop. That's the second time in the post-season
Riley has made news with an altercation. These are big-time games; the television cameras will find you out. Cut out the nonsense,
Otherwise,
Riley was superb. She took a lot of shots, but exactly who was she supposed to pass to? Craziest stat of the day:
Riley somehow had four assists, though when she fouled out with 2:22 left, she had all but seven of
OSU's baskets.
The future is very, very bright, thanks to Little
Miss Magic and her coach, who has brought the Cowgirls very far very quickly.
Better yet, the future will not include an
NCAA Tournament showdown against
Sylvia Fowles.
