After a tension-packed practice Sunday afternoon that didn’t go as smoothly as anticipated, the uncharacteristically nervous St. Peter’s College women’s basketball team headed to the Pavonia Room on campus to find out where they should make travel plans for this weekend.
No one knows why there was any nervousness, because the Peahens had already clinched their place in the upcoming NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, marking the third time in four years that the Peahens were headed to play in the Grand Dance of the elite 64 teams.
Perhaps it was the nervous anticipation of finally knowing their destiny that got the best of the team on Sunday, awaiting the final word.
Around 5:30 p.m. or so, they all received their fate – that they were headed to South Carolina to face the University of Cincinnati in the first round.
Veteran coach Mike Granelli, who has sat through six of these prior nervous sessions, was elated for several reasons. For one, his team was not thrown to the wolves for the first time. In years past, the Peahens received a lower seed, like a 12 or 13, and were sent to face national powerhouses, like Connecticut, Louisiana Tech and Virginia Tech, on their home court.
This time, the Peahens (25-5), seeded 11th in the East Region, will face No. 6 seed Cincinnati (26-4) on a neutral floor, on the campus of the University of South Carolina.
“I’m definitely happy that it’s on a neutral floor,” Granelli said. “It gives us a shot to win the game. We won’t have the home crowd to contend with. Maybe the people in South Carolina will actually root for us, because we’re the underdog from the small school. Plus, the girls will be going to a nice place, not a desolate place. So we’re excited and the kids are very excited.”
Granelli admitted that he didn’t know much about Cincinnati, which won the Conference USA championship and enters the contest this weekend with a 13-game winning streak.
“They’re a good team, ranked No. 20 in the country, so we have our hands full,” said Granelli, who has won 573 games over the last 30 years at SPC. “But we were No. 38 in the RPI and that’s the highest we’ve ever been. I think it’s a pretty honest seed that we received.”
The two teams are similar in that neither has ever won a game in the NCAA Tournament. This is Cincinnati’s third appearance, the last coming in 1999. The Peahens are making their seventh appearance in the Grand Dance.
“But the key is not being on the other team’s home floor,” Granelli said. “Your chances of winning a game on the other team’s floor are very poor. Nearly 92 percent of games in the tournament are won on the home floor. We’re just happy to get a chance to be playing who we’re playing.”
The Bearcats will pose a problem for the Peahens. They are one of the best scoring teams in the nation, averaging nearly 80 points per game. They have some talented scorers spearheaded by 5-10 sophomore guard Valerie King, who averages 19.9 points per contest and shoots 45 percent from 3-point range.
Freshman 6-3 center Debbie Merrill is Cincinnati’s second leading scorer, averaging 14.8 points and grabs 7.7 rebounds per contest.
The Peahens are led by senior forward Felicia Harris (16.4 ppg, 6.9 rpg.), who was the Most Valuable Player of the recent MAAC Tournament in Albany. The 5-10 Harris is one of only three SPC players to rank among the league leaders in scoring and rebounding.
Freshman forward Tyiana Sears contributes 11.7 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Junior center Tanesha Seaton, a transfer from the University of Kentucky, adds 11.1 points and a team-high 9.1 rebounds. Both Sears and Seaton are 6-2.
“It should be a good challenge for us,” Granelli said. “I know we’ll be ready.”
As the Peahens are going to Carolina, not only in their mind, but for real. Hopefully, they’ll come home with a souvenir – namely an NCAA Tourney victory. – Jim Hague
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