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D D D GQ DO Slnl B17® GCQ© CD f§ ®®1 DuDi© o Taurasi leads returning champions I that's one of the things that strikes me about this season "'Texas coach Jody Conradt said "It's a rerun but the outcome is not going to necessarily be the By Chuck Schoffner AP sports writer ' ' ridciy When it comes to women's basket-ball there's Connecticut and then v same' It all will be seitled in New Orleans there’s everybody else The Huskies keep winning no matter w here the women's Final Four returns for the First time since 1991 which w ho comes and goes And this season )l no one is gone just happens to he the first year that all its with UConn of Connecticut reached the Final Four returns players III’ If the Huskies get back they'd be after winning its second straight the first to make five straight trips to national championship and third in the Final Four four years headed by national player “We're still hungry’’ Taurasi said of the year Diana Taurasi If “ We don’t feel like we’ve really Connecticut makes it three straight coach Geiio Auriemma's program proved ourselves If anything we're ' would match a feat achieved only by going to come with a little more of an Tennessee edge" Taurasi and Beard are part of a senBut — and here's what could make Ihf this new' season so — seniorclass that has WNBA sational many interesting executives eagerly awaiting the draft of the teams that looked like threats to next April UCohn’s title hopes a year ago also “I think it's the best class that's ever rptum most of their top players 'come out of college basketball" last look' 20 at "If you year's top ’ 1 this said “This senior class Goestenkors 8 think' better probably they're year" Duke coach Gail Qoestenkors i has really taken women's college bast s remarkable That just ' ketball to another level”- v ’ Penn State’s Kelly Mazzante and doesn't happen" Kansas State's Nicole Ohlde join the Put Goestenkors' team at the top of " UConn and Duke stars as returning that list Duke returns four starters' from ' first-teaThat class a Final Four team including Alana Beard and gets guard : also has Nicole Powell of Stanford Shereka Wright of Purdue Lindsay Monique Currie back from a knee injury 'Whalen of Minnesota Stacy Stephens'Texas returns a strong team after V ' of Texas kiss’ Tillis of Duke and : reaching the Final Four and almost ’ ' in semifinals UConn the Chandj Jones of Houston beating Don't recognize that last name? Tennessee lost to Connecticut in the ' : Jones has received little national expo-Ka- ra championship game 'then lost seniors Lawson andGwen Jackson and- - sure but all she did was jead the nation in scoring last season with a longtime assistant Mickie DeMosS 1 now the head coach at Kentucky But 275 Average v ' 'V ' t And it’s Chandi not Candy w ho would ever count the Lady Vols :V:: call her because '“1 out of a title run? Candy always 'VS'yy she’s Sq sweet in terms of how she" LSU third in the filial poll last sea-so- n ' plays” said Northern Iowa coach Tony has'super sophomore Seimone " who saw Jonesget 30 points'-- ' Augustus and plenty of talent to go with her Kansas State Texas Tech and yl 2 rebounds and eight steals against yly ' Purdue also have Final Four potential' his team “She scores anytime she ' ' wants” “There weren't a lot of significant ' NoV 2iwill be a special night impactful graduations and I think' f Logan Utah where Utah State has basketball and ’ : brought back wbmen’s will play its first game in 17 years The sprat was dropped in 1987 because of I 1 VO(j I ( V o & - -- ' & i 9 I’uyeiff W a said-“Tha- m ' '” v '- - y ' s- -J (O ’j-- : - Connecticut's Diana Taurasi goes in for a shot came from Drake as did Iowa’s Lisa Bluder whose biggest rival during her days with the Bulldogs was Burnett Indiana's Kathi Bennett came from as Pepperdine’s Anna Lembke AP photo " (23) and : “Do I want to look down the bench ' and see- these coaches and have to coach against them?” Bumett said know the quality olf coaches It will be wonderfully challenging In other coaching moves Gary Blair state budget cuts Also in the Welcome Back left aTop 25 program at Arkansas for ' Texas A&M which has had seven' Department two prominent coaches have returned after being out fra a year' ' straight losing seasons Agnus Carol Ross who had nine NCAA tour- Berenato Went from Georgia Tech to n ament teams m 12 seasons at Florida Pittsburgh Keith Ciepliclu moved is now (he coach at Mississippi' where from Vermont to Syracuse and Jane ’ she starred as a player Albright who resigned at Wisconsin had after being denied a contract extension Final who Burnett two Cheryl is now at Wichita State v Four teams at Southwest Missouri State and coached Jackie Stiles is the' Louisville hired Tom Colleii the for- mer Colorado State coach who was at new coach at Michigan Burnett is one Vanderbilt for one day in 2002 then of four former Missouri Valley Conference coaches now leading Big ' quit after questions were raised about Ten schools his resume New Wisconsin coach Lisia Stone Blair joked that he was hoping to f - ' v : S' - AP photo Duke's Aliaria Beard (20) draws a foul as she drives to the basket last year rebuild A&M through a Big 12 sal draft Buthe was serious when he said it would be good for the sport to 'see someone other than Connecticut has won six national titles playing in the final’ disper-DiCec- - in-'-- : JV : ' ® - “if-' " (I : ‘’game--' - co : v ?' V “The game needs new national teams” Blair said “We didn't neces- sarily need the Yankees winning but all of the networks wanted Chicago 'arid Boston Well the people wanted ' Florida to win the pebple “And that’s where we are right now V We need new teams to win” Head on down to Bourbon Street in early April to see if that happens Or if it's just a UConn rerun “I don’t necessarily think it’s Connecticut and the rest of the world” said Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale whose team lost to UConn in the 2002 title game ‘‘Now somebody has got to prove' they can take the title Absolutely And that’s a fact” |