As the Duke Blue Devils proved on Saturday, even an undefeated team becomes vulnerable in the postseason.
Refusing to be another victim of the No. 1 team in the country, No. 25 N.C. State pulled away with a 70-65 win in the ACC semifinals, ruining the Devils' chance of being the first undefeated team in women's basketball since the 2001-02 University of Connecticut squad went 39-0.
The Blue Devils, who have not lost since the national title game against Maryland last year, fell to a team who has won 10 of their last 11 since Wolfpack Hall of Fame coach Kay Yow returned from a two month leave of absence due to breast cancer. The win over Duke allowed N.C. State to advance to the final game of the ACC Tournament for the first time since 2001.
Duke jumped out to an early 14-2 lead, making 10 of its first 13 shots; however, after eight minutes of play, the Blue Devils turned cold and were unable to sink their last 11 shots of the half. Duke was plagued by poor shooting for the rest of the game, as their two all-conference studs, seniors Alison Bales and ACC Player of the Year Lindsey Harding, combined to shoot 7-for-26, with Harding turning in a lousy 3-for-13 performance.
Senior Ashley Key led the way for the Wolfpack, contributing 21 points and 14 rebounds to the winning cause. The win was N.C. State's first over a No. 1 team since 1978, when it beat Wayland Baptist.
Despite the big win, the Wolfpack did not fare quite as well in the championship game, falling to the UNC Tar Heels 60-54.
In addition to the No. 1 team in the nation losing its conference tournament, No. 2 Tennessee had similar problems, losing to No. 10 LSU in the SEC semifinals. Junior Sylvia Fowles led the Tigers with 19 points, 22 boards and three blocks. On top of her stellar numbers, Fowles also helped the Tigers win by silencing Tennessee star senior Candace Parker, who turned in a career-low four points in the game, miles below her 20.3 points per game average.
The loss snapped Tennessee's second 11-game winning streak this season, in addition to taking away their automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. LSU advanced to the title game of the SEC where it fell to No. 13 Vanderbilt 51-45.
Vanderbilt turned in an impressive tournament performance, upsetting No. 12 Georgia in the semifinal game before overtaking No. 10 LSU for the title. Sophomore Christina Wirth, who turned in a 21-point performance, led the way for the Commodores. The Lady Bulldogs seemed out of sorts early on, trailing 37-18 at the half and never having a lead throughout the game.
The Commodores played defense, holding the Bulldogs to a mere 32.8 percent shooting, while performing equally well offensively, making 57 percent of their shots. With the two top seeds (Tennessee and Georgia) out of the tournament, the Commodores only had to overcome LSU en route to their third conference championship in six years.
While the semifinal game was not even close for the Commodores, the final game came down to the wire as senior Dee Davis got the job done, turning in a 19-point performance and making a key breakaway basket with 23 seconds remaining on the clock.
Davis' performance proved a surprise to a team who has been led by three-point shooters Wirth and senior Caroline Williams all season and early in the tournament. LSU has lost the last three championship games, falling to Tennessee in both 2005 and 2006 by a combined nine points.
