Category: 2017 NCAA Women’s Basketball Final Four

I was extremely grateful for the opportunity to cover Stanford and South Carolina in the Women’s Final Four. My first priority was learning how to report on a sporting event of that magnitude and producing competent and interesting content for NCAA.com and the Sports Capital Journalism Program site. My second priority was taking advantage of …

When I created my brackets before March Madness began, I knew the men’s tournament was really a toss-up. But the women were a different story. I put UConn as champions without a second thought. Then, I picked the other Final Four teams and eventual runner-up with a little more consideration. UConn seemed invincible. The Huskies …

I’ve spent the last two semesters balancing work-school-internship-life responsibilities. I developed a system of creating a series of lists and goals for each day and overarching expectations for the week. So far, it had worked out fairly well – I was meeting my deadlines, enjoying occasional evenings out with friends, and only sacrificing sleep for …

by Rebecca Harris [originally posted on ncaa.com] DALLAS — When Mississippi State’s Teaira McCowan walks into a room, you notice two things. First, the 6-foot-7 center, the tallest player on the team, has to stoop to enter. The second is the wry smile and slight shake of her head every time she does this. McCowan played …

by Jessica Hunt [originally posted on ncaa.com] DALLAS — South Carolina was down nine points at the half during Friday’s Final Four matchup with Stanford, and was shooting just better than 25 percent, including 2-of-14 from beyond the arc. Coach Dawn Staley knew her team would have to overcome the deficit and poor shooting by executing …

by Jessica Hunt [originally posted on ncaa.com] DALLAS–South Carolina coach Dawn Staley had yet to win against her former Olympic coach and competitor, Tara VanDerveer. Staley’s Gamecocks delivered that long sought-after win Friday night in the first semifinal game of the Final Four, defeating Stanford 62-53. As VanDerveer had anticipated, Staley’s team would be prepared. …

by Rebecca Harris [originally posted on ncaa.com] Finally, Mississippi State has the country’s and the basketball world’s attention. A 66-64 overtime victory over top-ranked UConn tends to do that. UConn held an NCAA-record winning streak of 111 games coming into last night’s national semifinals. Coach Geno Auriemma held the record for most tournament wins by …

by Rebecca Harris [originally posted on ncaa.com] When Mississippi State lost to Connecticut in the 2016 Sweet 16 by 60 points, MSU head coach Vic Schaefer said there were just two words to describe it. “Embarrassing,” he said. “It was humbling and embarrassing.” He was supposed to give a talk at the WBCA convention about …

by Jessica Hunt [originally posted on ncaa.com] South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley notes she is “o-fer” in games against Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer. Staley lost twice to VanDerveer’s teams as a point guard at Virginia in the 1990 and 1992 Final Fours and five times as a coach. “I’m part of the 1,000 wins …

by Jessica Hunt [originally posted on ncaa.com] As a freshman, Stanford guard Karlie Samuelson had the opportunity to play on a team with older sister, Bonnie. With one more victory, she has the chance compete against her younger sister, UConn star Katie Lou Samuelson. The journey for these sisters began years ago in countless pickup …