HOT SPRINGS, Ark. -- Four of the teams in the Elite Eight of
the NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament are returning
from last year -- St. Cloud State from Minnesota, Shaw from Raleigh,
N.C., Charleston from West Virginia and Grand Valley State of
Allendale, Mich.
The four schools who didn't play in the quarterfinals of the
Division II tournament last year aren't necessarily novices,
though.
Arkansas' Henderson State, the host team from Arkadelphia, was
in the Elite Eight two years ago, American International from
Springfield, Mass., played in the quarterfinals in 2002, and
Emporia State from Kansas was part of the Elite Eight in 2000.
Only Cal State Chico from California is new to the final stages
of the tournament that will determine a national champion.
But the "Cinderella team" label isn't being applied to Cal
State Chico. Instead, American International and Shaw seem to be
vying for that tag.
"If America International is Cinderella, we're right behind
them," Shaw coach Jacques Curtis said at a joint news conference
Tuesday featuring all eight coaches.
American International coach Peter Cinella, however, isn't sure
that his team deserves the label, despite finishing third in its
conference and losing in the first round of the conference
tournament.
"We don't view ourselves as Cinderella because we were picked
first in our conference," Cinella said.
All four quarterfinal games will be played Wednesday at Summit
Arena, with action kicking off when St. Cloud (29-3) meets Shaw
(29-4) at 1 p.m. EST. At 3 p.m., American International (24-7)
takes on Emporia State (28-4). At 7 p.m., Henderson State (29-4)
meets Chico State (27-3), and at 9 p.m., Charleston (31-2) plays
Grand Valley State (30-3).
Both Shaw and St. Cloud lost in the quarterfinals last year, and
are looking for a longer stay this year.
Shaw returns only one starter, Natassia Boucicault, a 5-6 senior
guard, who averages 15.7 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. But they
like a fast pace, averaging 75 points per game and shooting
3-pointers -- hitting 31.3 percent of 800 attempts during the
season.
"I've seen tape of Shaw and they love to shoot the three. Their
three guards shoot the three more than we shot them as a team,"
St. Cloud coach Lori Ulferts said.
St. Cloud returns four starters, led by 6-2 junior post Erika
Quigley, who averages 22.5 points and 12.8 rebounds per game.
"We don't have anyone who can deal with Quigley," Curtis said.
"She averages 22 and 12 and we don't want her going off for 28 and
20 or 25 and 15."
Emporia State is coming off a win that ended defending champion
Washburn's 52-game home winning streak. American International
comes in as the only unranked team in the field.
"We're happy and excited to be here," American International's
Cinella said. "We feel our region prepared us for the tournament
and we'll have to play well against Emporia."
American International is led by 6-0 senior forward Sharmion
Selman, who averages 16.7 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. Emporia
has four players with scoring averages in double figures, led by
6-2 sophomore forward Michele Stueve at 23 points.
The game could be a contrast in styles, with Emporia averaging
82 points per game and American International averaging 64.
The Lady Reddies of Henderson State bring four players with
double-digit scoring averages, topped by 6-0 junior Rayna Hare with
a 15-point average.
HSU coach Jeff Caldwell is glad to be back in the national
tournament 45 minutes from his campus after missing it a year ago.
"Last year we were the host and we didn't have a lot to be
happy about because we weren't playing -- especially when we made
the Final Four the previous year," Caldwell said.
Chico State coach Lynne Roberts has some of the experience her
team lacks in the Elite Eight. She was an assistant at
Seattle-Pacific in 1998 when the Falcons lost 86-57 to Northern
Michigan.
Chico State is led by 5-10 sophomore post Amber Simmons,
averaging 18.9 points and 9.2 rebounds per game.
Roberts said she had made sure her young team -- with two
sophomores and two juniors as starters -- wasn't just satisfied to
be here, and was hungry to stay a while.
"When I was here the last time (with Seattle-Pacific), our goal
was to get to the Elite Eight -- and the game was over shortly after
it started," she recalled.
The final game of the day features two the two teams returning
the most experience. Charleston returned all five starters from
last year's squad, while Grand Valley has four starters back from
last season.
On a team with three players averaging in double figures,
Charleston's Lisa Lee, a 6-0 senior forward, averages 18.8 points
per game. For Grand Valley, Niki Reams, a 5-10 senior forward, has
a per-game average of 17.2 points.
Charleston coach Sherry Winn said her team's strength is playing
together.
"When one player is being stopped, we feel we have others who
can step up," she said.
Grand Valley coach Dawn Plitzuweit said her players' focus would
be defensive, "stopping teams five-on-five."