Spring Break
Women CAA Tourney
James Mason
Issue date: 3/14/08 Section: Sports
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This year, the CAA is back to being underrated, as no team has received much notoriety besides nationally-ranked Old Dominion. However, the conference has been competitive from top to bottom. While the Lady Monarchs are the clear cut favorite as always, the top five teams in the conference all have a legitimate shot of making a run at the title.
The Favorite
The No. 14-ranked Old Dominion Lady Monarchs finished 17-1 in conference and are 26-4 overall. Three of their losses came to No. 1 Tennessee, No. 2 Connecticut, and No. 4 Stanford. With a resume like that, it's easy to say this team is a contender to reach the Final Four, let alone win the conference tournament.
However, ODU's fourth loss gives everyone in the conference some hope. March 2, it lost 63-76 at James Madison. The Dukes held the Lady Monarchs to a paltry 29 percent from the field and outrebounded Old Dominion 49-39.
That game can be looked at as a blue print to defeating Old Dominion. Unfortunately for the rest of the league, none of Old Dominion's other conference games were really that close.
On offense, the Lady Monarch's balanced attack is led by All-CAA forward T.J. Jordan (13.2 ppg), the most prolific 3-point shooter in CAA history. Tiffany Green is a force on the inside, averaging 11 ppg along with a team leading 7.4 rpg. Jessica Canady is third in scoring with 10.9 ppg, despite not starting all season.
On defense, the Lady Monarchs hold their opponents to 37 percent shooting and block a conference-leading five shots per game.
They are coached by CAA Coach of the Year Wendy Larry, one of women's basketball's most recognizable faces. Rarely flustered, she aims to bring home ODU's 17th consecutive conference title. In fact, the Lady Monarchs are 47-0 all-time in CAA tournament play under Larry.
The Contenders
At the top of this list sits the James Madison Dukes. They finished second in conference with a 14-4 record and are 21-8 overall. They should be a lock for the WNIT, but they have higher hopes. As the only team to defeat ODU in conference, they should be very confident heading into this game.
The CAA's Player of the Year Tamera Young (19.6 ppg, 10.0 rpg) teamed up with All-CAA freshman guard Dawn Evans (12.6 ppg, 4.0 apg), to form one of the conference's best one-two punches.
The Dukes are the conference's second best scoring team, best rebounding team and are first in defensive field-goal percentage.
In third place sits the VCU Lady Rams, who finished the season with a school-record 23 wins and a 13-5 record in conference, despite losing star center Quanitra Hollingsworth to an Achilles' injury.
All-CAA forward Krystal Vaughn has picked up the slack, leading the team in points and rebounding since Hollingsworth went down. The Lady Rams are third in the conference in scoring and second in scoring defense. However, without Hollingsworth, they lack the firepower to make a deep run.
Behind the Lady Rams and our Drexel Dragons are the Towson Tigers (20-9, 12-6 CAA). After a 10-game winning streak early in the season, the Tigers slumped down the stretch finishing 6-6.
The Tigers are led by Holly Mahan (13.6 ppg, 7.3 rpg) and Shanae Baker-Brice (11.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 4.3 apg) who are streaky shooters. The up and down nature of Mahan and Baker-Brice make almost every Tigers' game a roller coaster.
Good Enough to Scare You
Northeastern, UNC-Wilmington and William & Mary finished the season with losing records in the CAA. Yet, each team is capable of winning a game or two in the tournament and each team had a couple of big wins in conference.
The sixth-seeded Northeastern Huskies finished the regular season winning seven of their last eight games. However, most of those wins came against the worst teams in the conference. Still, they can use that momentum to make a run as they seem to be peaking at the right time.
The Huskies also defeated the fourth-seeded Drexel Dragons 59-54 in a tough, defensive battle.
The UNC-Wilmington Seahawks (16-13, 7-11 CAA) finished the season on a four-game losing streak, which came on the heels of a five-game winning streak. They seem to be heading in the wrong direction. However, they did defeat VCU on Valentine's Day and played James Madison tough in the last game of the season.
The Tribe of William & Mary (13-17, 7-11 CAA) are one of this season's most disappointing teams. They have squandered another brilliant season from All-CAA senior forward Kyra Kaylor (14.3 ppg, 8.5 rpg) and lost six of their last eight games.
The bright spots of their season were wins at Drexel and Towson, although, both of those wins came over a month ago.
Bottom Dwellers?
Delaware, Georgia State, George Mason and Hofstra struggled this season. However, neither of these teams will be an easy out for their first round opponents.
The Fightin' Blue Hens struggled to replace Tyresa Smith for most of the season, but played tough toward the end of their 7-23 campaign. They should give UNC-Wilmington a tough first round game.
Georgia State's Lady Panthers (8-21, 5-13 CAA) also struggled with the loss of a star player, after the graduation of guard Kelcey Rogiers-Jensen. However, they defeated Towson and played better down the stretch.
The George Mason Patriots (9-20, 3-15 CAA) had a horrible season, but they are capable of winning at least one game. They provided Drexel with a huge scare on the Dragons' Senior Day, before succumbing 62-58 and gave their first round opponent Northeastern a scare on the last day of the regular season.
The Hofstra Pride (5-24, 3-15 CAA) could be looked at one of the worst teams in the country. While their season will likely end with few positives, they have a very young team that can take a lot from a season like this. If freshman guard Britne Rodgers gets hot, they could make Towson sweat in the first round.
Does Drexel have a chance?
In one word, yes. After starting 1-6, the Dragons have never looked back. They've had a nine-game winning streak this season and have won eight of their last 10 games. Sophomore All- CAA forward Gabriela Marginean (19.2 ppg, 6.9 rpg) might be the best player in the conference.
In the post-season you need to be able to play defense and make free throws, two things that Drexel excels at. The Dragons are first in the CAA in scoring defense, second in field goal percentage, and first in free throw percentage. In fact, Marginean leads the nation in free throw shooting percentage, hitting 91 percent from the charity stripe. Their stifling defense always keeps them in games, and they have the fire power to put teams away.
Unfortunately for Drexel, they finished fourth in the conference, due to losing a tiebreaker with VCU. This means they will face Old Dominion in the semifinals, if the are able to defeat the winner of the Towson/Hofstra game.
Yet the Dragons are unafraid. In fact, coach Denise Dillon likes their chances. With four close conference losses, the Dragons could have easily finished in second place in the conference. Last year, Drexel played ODU tough in the CAA quarterfinals as the ninth seed.
With a better team this year, Drexel can be confident that they have enough talent to defeat the CAA's Goliath. If they were to advance to the conference finals, they'd likely face either James Madison, a team they defeated already, or the VCU Lady Rams who has had Drexel's number this season.
However, if they were able to defeat the 16-time CAA champion Lady Monarchs, how could they lose? A win over ODU would give Drexel more than enough confidence to bring the CAA crown to Philadelphia for the first time since Drexel joined the conference.
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