Sports

It will take a seriously dynamite team to upset Tennessee’s title

When the women’s NCAA basketball tournament commences on March 18, the Tennessee Lady Volunteers will be the team to beat. Organizers are going absolutely mad looking for squads capable of slowing them down, but know that what they’re searching for—hot shooting, cool heads, suffocating defenses—is hard to find. Locating a team that fulfills these criteria and isn’t hampered by nerve-rattling ESPN cameras everywhere will be even tougher. It will be a truly special bunch of young ladies that will pass 63 other teams to reach the Final Four in Boston and hoist the trophy aloft on April 4. Here are the job descriptions deemed essential in stopping the Lady Vols’ pursuit of a seventh championship, and the rim-rocking prospects who best qualify to fill the position.

Works well with others

Tennessee’s Alexis Hornbuckle is just a sophomore. Still, you wish your 401 K plan had this much potential. One reason the Vols leave most teams gasping for air is because of the hypnotic stop ‘n’ go tempo of Hornbuckle and teammate, Shanna Zolman. While many schools think they’re equipped to slow this speedy backcourt, North Carolina, Rutgers and Georgia have the strongest chances. Rutgers’ Scarlet Knights look especially well suited for the task, offering the tandem of Cappie Pondexter and Matee Ajavon, a pairing that few teams can match.

BEST FOR THE JOB: Rutgers

Gets their hands dirty

Guys are patted on the back for hustling, yet most of the time in the women’s ranks, elbow-to-elbow contact and floor flops are viewed as sloppy basketball. Talk about double standards. Without a strong physical presence opposing them, Lady Vols’ Candace Parker and Tye’sha Fluker will be like mischievous Sherwin-Williams employees—having their way in the paint. Mississippi and Duke have some of the physical play needed, but neither quite like Ohio State. The stingiest D in the land, Jessica Davenport’s Lady Buckeyes will assure Tennessee will have to earn its baskets.

BEST FOR THE JOB: Ohio State

Excels under pressure

The media coverage for the men’s title game in Indianapolis will dwarf that of the women’s version. That’s not to say the ladies won’t draw an audience. UT coach Pat Summitt’s team is annually followed like a rock band; she’ll have them prepared for all coming cameras and tape recorders. Sophia Young and Baylor, the 2005 national champs, know about the limelight. But if there are any squads capable of handling this year’s spotlight, it’s LSU and everyone’s player of the year, Seimone Augustus, or Connecticut and most people’s coach of the decade, Geno Auriemma.

BEST FOR THE JOB: LSU