SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — There's a familiarity among the four teams playing in Sacramento Regional 2 as UCLA and Minnesota are Big Ten opponents while LSU and Duke faced off in December in the ACC-SEC Challenge.
“It’s an interesting thing. You’ve got a couple matchups that way," UCLA coach Cori Close of the March Madness rematches. “But I think if you’re really good at scouting, which I’m very thankful that I have a staff that is, I think we’re doing a deep dive and trying to leave no stone unturned.”
UCLA beat Minnesota by 18 points in the first meeting back on Jan. 14. LSU topped Duke by 16 a month earlier. All four teams have developed since those matchups from earlier in the season.
“We’re both a lot different than we were the first time, and that’s normal," Duke coach Kara Lawson said. “I mean, we’re coming off a similar situation where we played Baylor in the second round and we played them the first game of the season, and then we’re playing them again in the tournament. ... They’re one of the top teams in the country. Have some of the top players in the country. It’s a challenge to play against them.”
Duke won 23 of its 25 games after that loss to LSU, which had the Blue Devils 3-6 on the season. LSU has been nearly unstoppable on offense, scoring more than 100 points in an NCAA-record 16 games this season.
“They are better today then they were in that game,' LSU coach Kim Mulkey said. ”We looked at (the film) and looked at things they did well and things we did well and what we didn’t do well. ... They are so much better today then they were then. I think we are too."
While the other three teams all reached the Sweet 16 the past few seasons, getting this far is new for Minnesota, which last reached the regional semifinals in 2005. The Gophers credit a run to the WBIT championship last year as helping prepare them for this year.
“I think it just gives you more experience in a tournament-type atmosphere, kind of having that win-or-go home feel. And I think that was a big step for us,” said Gophers player Grace Grocholski. “Obviously our goal was to make it to March Madness last year. We didn’t reach that. So we went into the WBIT saying we’re here, we’re going to win this thing. So it was a great way to just learn how it feels like to be in the tournament.”
Cheering from afar
Minnesota coach Dawn Plitzuweit will have her eyes on the Division II Final Four Thursday night as her daughter Lexi plays for Grand Valley State, which is facing University of Alabama Huntsville.
Coach Plitzuweit had her first head coaching job at Grand Valley State from 2002-07. She was pregnant with Lexi in her first year at the school.
“Eighteen years later she decided to go back to Grand Valley and play for a dear friend in Mike Williams, who was just named national coach of the year,” Plitzuweit said.
Plitzuweit said she went to Pittsburgh the other day to see her daughter then came back to Minnesota for practice and then came to Sacramento.
“I’ll have a chance to watch her today so I packed my Grand Valley clothes to sit in my room by myself and not be around anyone else and be a mom and watch the game," Plitzuweit said. "I’m really excited about that.”
Back in Sacramento
Kara Lawson has fond memories of her time in Sacramento while playing for the Monarchs, who drafted her with the fifth pick in 2003. She helped the franchise win a championship two years later.
“Spent many years here playing and winning a championship here,” Lawson said. “A chance to see a lot of old friends and visit with them. It’s a special city. One of the great basketball towns we have in the country. How much they love the game. ... I think the banner is here in the arena bowl.”
She might have played her whole career in the California city had the team not folded after the 2009 season.
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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
