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Lobos enjoy uncharted NIT waters

Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times, published March 28, 2001

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- It's a game New Mexico coach Don Flanagan has been chasing for six years.

New Mexico versus Ohio State for the Women's NIT title at Albuquerque tonight is a golden opportunity for Flanagan's program to gain national recognition.

"It's big," Flanagan said after the Lobos' 68-43 quarterfinal win over Hawaii on Saturday. "We'll talk about how big it is if we win Wednesday."

A victory over the Buckeyes (21-11) would give New Mexico (22-12) its first national tournament title in basketball. The New Mexico men's program lost to Bradley in the final of the 1964 NIT in New York and made seven trips to the NCAA Tournament in the '90s but never made it past the second round.

Flanagan, who has led New Mexico to one NCAA Tournament and the past three WNITs, has strived not only to win, but to upgrade the Lobos' schedule each year. This season the Lobos played five Top 20 teams -- UCLA, LSU, Mississippi State, Texas Tech and Florida. The Lobos beat only UCLA, but as sophomore guard Chelsea Grear noted after the win against Hawaii, the losses did some good, too.

"Those were stepping stones to get us prepared for the situation we're in right now," Grear said. "Those close losses built us up to know that . . . we could play with anyone."

"Our seniors deserve this," Flanagan said. "They've been leaders throughout. They've been consistently positive even when we had things to be negative about. They've wanted this post-season to continue. For them, I'd like to see us complete this."

HOT TICKET: Even though the NCAA Final Four has been sold out since summer, fans still are trying to nudge inside St. Louis' Savvis Center.

"Since we moved into the Final Four headquarters last Thursday, I'd say every other phone call I've gotten is from someone asking for tickets," tournament executive director Missy Slay told the St. Louis Post Dispatch. "It's as if all of a sudden people realize there's a tournament coming to town."

All 19,600 tickets are gone: 7,300 went to the general public, the rest to NCAA institutions and schools. Monday night's winning teams each got 800 tickets to the Final Four "to be distributed at the school's discretion," Slay said. If the schools don't use their allotment, returned tickets will be divided among the other teams. No tickets will be made available to the general public.

INDIANA STATE: Jim Wiedie, 8-8 as interim coach this season, will coach the Sycamores next season. Wiedie, an assistant for three seasons, took over when Cheryl Reeve resigned with the team 1-5.

Late Monday

SW MISSOURI ST. 104, WASHINGTON 87: Jackie Stiles sat out 41/2 minutes early in the second half of the West Region final because of foul problems and fouled out with 3:25 left. Thanks to Tara Mitchem and Erika Rante, it didn't matter, and the Bears advanced to the Final Four.

Mitchem scored 23 points and Rante had 16 points and 11 rebounds to help keep the Bears in control.

"It's just amazing," Mitchem said. "It couldn't get any better than this. Well, we could win two more games and it would be better."

Loree Payne scored 17 for Washington.

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