March full of moments for HBCU women’s basketball

NORFOLK STATE ATHLETICS

Norfolk State lost to Maryland in the first round of the NCAA women's basketball tournament as a 13 seed but not without leading fourth seed Maryland at halftime.

It was the last weekend of Women’s History Month, and while I normally don’t get caught up in month of this or month of that, there are some ladies who deserve special recognition as the season draws to a close.

WNIT

The Women’s NIT may be considered “second tier” now that the NCAA-sponsored Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament is in effect – according to N.C. A&T Sports Information Director Brian Holloway – but it was a boon for HBCUs.

Because the WBIT takes the first four women’s seeds left out of the NCAA Tournament and regular season conference champions, it opened more spaces in the WNIT. The Aggies opted to go with the WBIT and lost in the first round to No. 1-seed Virginia Tech.

For the MEAC and SWAC, however, opportunity arose to get two teams in the WNIT from each conference. Add in the NCAA Tournament automatic bids and six – count ‘em SIX teams – had postseason appearances.

The MEAC took full advantage of its opportunities. Both Howard and Coppin State won their first-round matchups.  The Bison had never won a WNIT game, and the Eagles’ last victory was in 2007 against Saint Joseph’s.

Howard lost big to College of Charleston in the second round, but Coppin held a nine-point lead against Cleveland State in the fourth quarter before losing by two in overtime. (The officiating helped.)

Over in the SWAC, Texas Southern defeated Saint Mary’s College for its first WNIT victory in program history. And who didn’t love TSU coach Vernette Skeete’s comments afterwards: “We got to get this money. We are there; we have to perform. There is no running now…we got to get this money.”

TSU lost to Louisiana Tech in the second round.

If Alabama A&M had hit two more 3-pointers instead of going 1-for-13 in the game, the teams would have been 4-0 in the first round. Still, first-year coach Dawn Thornton’s success caused several pink slips and “retirements.”

NCAA

Southern got the party started by defeating UC San Diego in the NCAA First Four on UCLA’s campus. Being on the West Coast, the crowd was decidedly partisan in San Diego’s favor, but it didn’t stop the Jaguars who led by as many as 20 points. It was SU’s and the SWAC’s first-ever NCAA Women’s Tournament win. The Jaguars lost to No. 1 seed UCLA.

The sweethearts of the MEAC didn’t win their first-round game, but what a season it was. Norfolk State’s 30 wins are the most in the program’s Division I era.

The Spartans beat William & Mary, Longwood, Missouri, Radford, UNC Wilmington, Wyoming, Saint Louis, Drexel and Auburn. Their only blowout loss was at North Carolina.

Watching Diamond Johnson and Kierra Wheeler play together in harmony was such a joy. Wheeler is the epitome of a team player. Johnson’s arrival from North Carolina State meant she sometimes had to take a backseat on the team. She did so without hesitation.

The result was a third straight MEAC championship, a No. 13 seed in the tourney and an impressive performance against Maryland – NSU led at the half – that people are still talking about. No doubt it solidified Auburn’s decision that Larry Vickers was its man.

The steady progression of the DI women’s teams made March Madness extra special.

Bonitta Best is sports editor at The Triangle Tribune in Durham.

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