For the third time in 20 years, San Antonio will be the epicenter for NCAA Division I women’s basketball.
Unlike in 2002 and 2010, when the city hosted the Final Four, the entire tournament will be in the Alamo City.

Games will be played at the Alamodome, University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), St. Mary’s University, the University of Texas in Austin and Texas State University in San Marcos.

With first-round games scheduled to start on Sunday, here are key storylines to follow during the three-week event:

Huskies’ trifecta
Nearly a decade ago, Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma was holding court about all things women’s college basketball.

The legendary coach was speaking with the Hartford Courant about ways to improve the game, including lowering the basket to help improve shooting efficiency, shortening the shot clock and introducing an eight-second backcourt violation.

Perhaps the most newsworthy aspect of the interview — at least for the Alamo City — was Auriemma’s sentiments about the sport’s grandest event.

“I’d hold the women’s Final Four (every year) in San Antonio,” Auriemma said. “Omaha does it for baseball. Oklahoma City does it for softball. Why? Because people in those cities embrace the event, feel like it is theirs. Let me know the next time the lacrosse Final Four is played in San Diego, instead of Baltimore … They don’t move all over the country just to make people happy.”

It’s safe to say Auriemma was giving high marks for the job the local organization committee does, the city’s hospitality, culinary scene and the proximity of downtown hotels to the Alamodome, River Walk and other historic landmarks.

But Auriemma’s affinity for San Antonio might be much simpler than taking photos in front of the Alamo or sampling the city’s Mexican cuisine. In the previous two occasions that San Antonio has hosted the Final Four, the Huskies won national championships.

In 2002, with the women’s Final Four played for the first time in a domed venue, Connecticut defeated Oklahoma 82-70 before a record crowd of 29,619. With a roster that featured Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Swin Cash, Asjha Jones and Tamika Williams, the Huskies finished 39-0 and won by an average of 35.4 points, an NCAA record for scoring margin. The team’s closest game was a 10-point win over Virginia Tech.

Cash, now vice president of basketball operations and team development for the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans, scored 20 points and 13 rebounds in the final and was named the most outstanding player. Oklahoma was led by Stacey Dales, who had 18 points. Dales is a reporter for the NFL Network.

In 2010, the Huskies outlasted Stanford 53-47, using a 32-9 run in the second half to overcome a low-scoring first half. The teams combined for more turnovers (14) than made field goals (13) in the opening 20 minutes as Stanford led 20-12 at halftime.

Maya Moore led Connecticut with 23 points and 11 rebounds and Tina Charles added nine points and 11 rebounds as the Huskies secured their 78 straight win and become the first team in NCAA history to claim back-to-back undefeated national championships.

Kayla Pedersen led Stanford with 15 points and 17 rebounds and Nneka Ogwumike and Jeanette Pohlen led Stanford with 11 points. All-American center Jayne Appel, who was hobbled by a sprained right ankle and a stress fracture in her right foot, went scoreless after missing all 12 of her attempts. Starting point guard Rosalyn Gold-Onwude is an NBA reporter for ESPN.

If the Huskies are to make it 3 for 3 in San Antonio, they will have to get past the first two rounds without Auriemma and assistant Shea Ralph, who both aren’t in San Antonio because of COVID-19 protocol, and with one of their most inexperienced roster.

Connecticut has seven freshmen, including guard Paige Bueckers, who led the team in scoring (19.7 points), assists (6.1), rebounds (4.5) and steals (2.3). But the Huskies have shown their mettle in big showdowns this season, defeating South Carolina 63-59 in overtime on Feb. 8 and Tennessee 67-61 with a fourth-quarter surge. Their lone setback was a 90-87 decision at Arkansas.

Winners of 11 national titles, the Huskies have lost in the national semifinals in each of the last three tournaments. They lost to Notre Dame in 2018 and 2019 and Mississippi State in 2017.

No place like home
San Antonio Veterans girls basketball coach Christina Camacho attended her first women’s basketball Final Four in 1999 in San Jose, Calif. Three years later, she was at the event when it was held at the Alamodome.

Camacho went again in 2010 (San Antonio), and 2013 (New Orleans), and 2017 (Dallas) and 2019 (Tampa). She was planning to go to the Final Four a year ago in New Orleans until it was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
With the entire NCAA tournament in the San Antonio area this year, Camacho wouldn’t miss attending. The fact that three of her former players are on teams in the field only added to the significance.

Stanford guard Kiana Williams and Arkansas guard Amber Ramirez played for Camacho at Wagner. Texas A&M forward Sahara Jones played for Camacho at Veterans Memorial. Camacho will be among the many volunteers working at the tournament.

“Just being a coach is a dream, but having the opportunity to coach these three was an extra blessing,” said Camacho, one of the area’s winningest coaches with more than 700 victories. “Having them come back to their hometown and playing in front of their former teammates, fans and family is special. Watching these athletes develop into mature, young, successful women is what any coach wants for their players. It is very exciting because now they are on one of the biggest stages of their life, and whatever the outcome for Amber, Kiana and Sahara is, they will always remain in my life.”

Ramirez, Williams and Jones are among seven players and one coach with ties to the San Antonio area that are participants. Baylor’s NaLyssa Smith (East Central) Brandeis’ Gabby Connally (Georgia), Texas’ Kyra Lambert (Clemens) and North Carolina’s Deja Kelly (played her freshman and sophomore seasons at Johnson before transferring to Duncanville) will all get to play in their hometown.

Georgia Tech coach Nell Fortner is a graduate of New Braunfels High School, where she was a two-sport standout. She led the Unicorns to a UIL Class 3A state runner-up finish in volleyball in 1976 and was a Parade All-American in basketball. She played at the University of Texas, where she helped the Longhorns win the AIAW national title in volleyball in 1981 and scored nearly 1,500 points in basketball.

Fortner, though, has made a name for herself in basketball. She coached Team USA to a gold medal at the 2000 Olympics in Australia. She previously coached at Purdue and Auburn, leading both to conference titles, and with the WNBA’s Indiana Fever.

Georgia Tech takes on Stephen F. Austin in the first round. Fortner was an assistant coach at SFA from 1986-90.

From way downtown
Women’s basketball, like so many levels of the sport, has grown from being post-dominant to perimeter-dependent.
More and more teams are finding success behind the 3-point line.

Florida Gulf Coast (26-2), winner of 25 straight, averaged nearly a dozen 3-pointers per game and is led by Atlantic Sun player of the year Kierstan Bell, who averaged 24.3 points and 10.8 rebounds. High Point tallied 10.2, Virginia Tech made 9.8, Arkansas nailed 9.6 and Stephen F. Austin drained 8.6.

In a game in late February, Maryland and Iowa combined for 32 treys. Maryland’s Katie Benzan made a school-record nine, sparking a team that is averaging 91.3 points per contest.

One of the nation’s most proficient 3-point shooters hails from the Alamo City. Arkansas guard Amber Ramirez, a Wagner graduate, is connecting on 44 percent from long range.

By the numbers
5: Number of area athletes — Jay’s Clarissa Davis, Roosevelt’s Michelle Thomas, Poth’s Gwen Gillingham, Cornerstone’s Sune Agbuke and East Central’s NaLyssa Smith — who have won NCAA Division I national championships.
Davis helped Texas become the first team to claim an undefeated crown, earning MVP of the Final Four after the Longhorns topped Southern California 97-81 in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1986. USC featured Cheryl Miller and Cynthia Cooper.

Thomas was a freshman when Texas Tech edged Ohio State 84-82 in Atlanta behind Sheryl Swoopes’ title-game record 47 points. Thomas died last August at age 47. In 1994, the 6-foot-7 Gillingham was a top reserve as the Tar Heels nipped Louisiana Tech 60-59 on Charlotte Smith’s 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Agbuke played but didn’t record any statistics as Baylor used a big second half to pull away and defeat Notre Dame 80-61 in the 2012 final in Denver. Brittney Griner recorded 26 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks for the Bears (40-0).
In 2012, Smith tallied 14 points in 17 minutes — eight in the final 11 minutes after Lauren Cox, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, suffered a knee injury — and helped propel Baylor past Notre Dame 82-81 in Tampa, Fla.

39: Consecutive NCAA berths for Tennessee, the only school to play in every NCAA tournament. The Lady Vols won eight national championships (1987, ’89, ’91, ’96, ’97, ’98, 2007 and 2008) under legendary coach Pat Summitt.

Kellie Harper, in her second season at the helm of her alma mater, was a key member of the ’96, ’97 and ’98 title-winning squads. In guiding the Lady Vols to the tournament this season, Harper became only the second coach to lead four different schools to the tournament. She also took Missouri State (2016, 2019), North Carolina State (2010) and Western Carolina (2005, 2009).

The Lady Vols play Middle Tennessee in the first round. Middle Tennessee is led by guard Anastasia Hayes, who averages 26.5 points per game. Hayes played for the Lady Vols as a freshman in 2017-18, before transferring to the Conference USA school.

terrence@terrencesports.com
Twitter: @sa_terrence1