College women's basketball: Gophers ready to dance

MINNEAPOLIS - In the first team meeting in early September, first-year Minnesota Gophers women’s basketball coach Marlene Stollings had her players stare up at the banners in Williams Arena.
It was quiet. The lights were off.
But the NCAA tournament goal was clear from Day 1.
“We wanted to do it this year,” Stollings said. “Just an amazing run by these young ladies. And here we are.”
The NCAA tournament drought is finally over.
Members of the team and about 200 fans celebrated Monday evening at the Barn as it was announced that they would return to the site of the program’s last trip to the Big Dance in 2009.
Minnesota (23-9) received the No. 8 seed and will play No. 9 seed DePaul (26-7) at 4 p.m. Friday in South Bend, Ind. The winner plays Sunday against the winner of No. 1 seed Notre Dame and No. 16 seed Montana.
Players sprayed Stollings with cans of aerosol string and bounced around together on the raised floor as the NCAA selection show aired on the lowered video screen.
“I was so excited, I stopped listening,” said sophomore center Amanda Zahui B., the Big Ten’s player of the year. “I had to ask ‘Who are we playing?’ Because I just saw our name pop up and started celebrating.”
Stollings, who went 11-7 in the conference without injured Big Ten preseason player of the year Rachel Banham, laughed with her team, enjoying the moment.
But she realizes this is only the first step for her program.
“It’s thrilling,” Stollings said. “I’m just happy for our kids because no one sitting there has had an opportunity to go to the Big Dance. It’s just a credit and testament to their resilience all year long. We feel like we’re just scratching the surface of where we want to be for this program. We want to be nationally recognized. We want to be a team that’s vying for a No. 1 seed.
The highest seed the Gophers ever had was a No. 3 seed when they reached the Sweet 16 under Pam Borton in 2005. The previous season they were No. 7 during the Final Four run.
Six years ago, the Gophers were a No. 10 seed and upset No. 7 seed Notre Dame in South Bend in the first round before losing by 31 to Texas A&M.
Minnesota could play the No. 2-ranked Irish (31-2) in the second round this year if it can advance. But this is a team that has to get back to playing at the level it was a month ago - not lately.
The Gophers proved they were capable of beating top teams such as Iowa, Ohio State and Nebraska this season, but they have lost three of their last four games entering NCAA tournament play.
In the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals, Zahui B. had her third career triple-double with 25 points, 11 rebounds and 11 blocks. But Minnesota committed 23 turnovers and lost to Ohio State 83-71 in Hoffman Estates, Ill.
Stollings said the NCAA tournament could allow her 6-foot-5 Swedish center’s profile to expand beyond this country.
“I think it’s great for women’s basketball, not just in the states but internationally,” she said. “We talk about her having the potential to be a global phenom into next year. For the international audience to get to see her, I think is going to be very powerful for the women’s game.”
It’s a big moment for Zahui B., but Stollings is hoping the rest of the team also will rise to the challenge on a bigger stage.
“One of the things we took from the Big Ten tournament is I felt like we pressed a little bit, felt the pressure a little bit,” she said. “And we didn’t have to. That’s something that I think we’ll change up a little bit and help them with going into the NCAA tournament. To not feel the pressure of the moment and (realize) what a great opportunity it is.”
DePaul is one of the hottest teams in the Oklahoma City region, winning 13 of its last 14 games, including seven straight.
The Blue Demons, who defended their Big East conference tournament title, are making their 13th straight trip to the NCAA tournament, which includes a Sweet 16 appearance last year. The only other women’s programs with equal or longer NCAA tournament streaks are Connecticut, Duke, Georgia, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Stanford and Tennessee.
Senior All-American guard Brittany Hrynko could be a tough matchup for Minnesota. The Big East player of the year averaged a conference-best 20.3 points, which included four 30-point performances.