Women set to begin first-ever run at national championship

Adam F. Jarrold Arizona Daily Wildcat Lisa Griffith (3) looks to pass around California's Patrycja Czepiec. The seventh-seeded UA women's team is starting its first NCAA Tournament against 10th-seeded Western Kentucky today at the Stegeman Coliseum at the University of Georgia in Athens.

The excitement of being selected to the NCAA Tournament for the first time is enough in itself to keep the Arizona women's basketball team pumped for as long as they are at the first round in Athens, Ga.

Making sure that her young team doesn't get overwhelmed is UA head coach Joan Bonvicini's primary concern.

"The toughest game to win is the first one," said Bonvicini, who is making her 13th NCAA appearance. "The intensity and the emotions involved and how you handle that will determine your success. Every team will have a lot of butterflies going in. We can't turn into a crazy team."

Seventh-seeded Arizona plays 10th-seed Western Kentucky today at 4:06 p.m. at Stegeman Coliseum at the University of Georgia.

When the NCAA selection committee rewarded the Wildcats with the seven seed, however, expectations were added. Although the Wildcats are favored in today's game, Bonvicini is staying low-key.

"I feel in a lot of ways the pressure is more off of us now," she said. "Our big thing was to get there and once we are there, we feel that we can prove ourselves."

Western Kentucky (22-8) has been to the tournament before, 11-straight times, in fact, before last season's NIT appearance, where they were defeated by the Wildcats in the first round.

"If we can keep our focus, we can be successful," UA forward Adia Barnes said. "We know there is going to be distractions, but we have to stay focused."

The travel, the press and the bright lights are all a bonus, but Bonvicini said understanding what they are there for is the most important factor.

"We are happy we are in , but our thing is to win," she said. "We are not here to just show up. Western Kentucky, although we were fortunate to win last season, is a much improved team."

The Lady Toppers' newest standout is freshman Jaime Walz, a former Gatorade high school player of the year. She's was playing on her Kentucky high school varsity team when she was in the seventh grade.

Besides Walz, whom Bonvicini describes as "definitely not afraid to shoot," the Toppers' inside game is led by Danielle McCulley (6-3) and Purdue transfer Leslie Johnson (6-foot-1). Their height doesn't seem all that imposing, but in UA assistant coach Tr aci Waites' words, they are "very big girls."

"We are going to show a lot of looks," Bonvicini said. "We are going to press, they have size advantage inside, so we want to get them running."

WKU starters Laurie Townsend and Shea Lunsford played in last year's game. Townsend scored 13 points on 3 of 12 shooting and Lunsford missed all seven of her shots to finish with only four points.

"Arizona plays good defense, we can't shoot as bad as we did last time," Townsend said.

WKU head coach Paul Sanderford, who has been at Western Kentucky for 15 years, doesn't want a repeat of last season.

"We are going to set from the tip," he said. "We don't want another first round loss again. This team is capable of going well into the tournament."

With shooting guard Monika Crank out for the game while recovering from a concussion, freshman Lisa Griffith is now Arizona's long range threat, which is how the point guard likes it. Her 85 three-point shots leads the team.

"I am nervous, but I am excited too," she said. "I am going to try to do everything that I have done this season, and not try to change because we have been successful with it so far."

Although the Wildcats don't start a senior, it hasn't stopped them from setting numerous school records, including wins, scoring and earning their first trip to the NCAA Tournament.

"What is really important from the experience that I have is that you don't prepare any differently," Bonvicini said. "Not that you treat this the same, because it's not the same. But, I think that it is important that the slates are wiped clean for every body right now, and the records going in really don't mean a whole lot."