ATHENS, Ga. - Of nine women's college basketball programs with four or more Final Four appearances, only three are still looking for their first championship.
Two of those, Duke and Georgia, will face each other at 6:30 tonight at Stegeman Coliseum in the second round of the NCAA tournament for a chance to move closer to the elusive title.
Georgia coach Joni Taylor gives direction from the bench during the first half of a first-round game against Mercer in the NCAA women's college basketball tournament in Athens, Ga., Saturday, March. 17, 2018. (AP Photo/Joshua L. Jones)
Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie yells out from the bench during the first half of a first-round game against Belmont in the NCAA women's college basketball tournament in Athens, Ga., Saturday, March. 17, 2018. (AP Photo/Joshua L. Jones)Duke (23-8), which is the Albany Region's No. 5 seed and is playing in the tournament for the 24th time, has made four Final Four appearances. All of them were under former longtime coach Gail Goestenkors, with the most recent one 12 years ago. Georgia (26-6), a No. 4 seed this season, has played in five Final Fours. All of them were under former longtime coach Andy Landers, with the most recent trip in 1999.
LSU, with five Final Four appearances, also has not won a championship.
Joni Taylor, a former assistant under Landers, is trying to take Georgia back to the elite level in her third season as head coach.
"I'm happy for our players and the opportunity to survive and advance," Taylor said. "That's what March is about."
This is Georgia's 33rd NCAA tourney appearance, a total second only to Tennessee's 37.
For two programs to have so much NCAA experience, it's no surprise some of that history is shared. Duke is 3-0 against the Lady Bulldogs in the tournament, including a win in the 1999 Final Four. The Blue Devils also beat Georgia in the 2003 and 2005 tournaments.
Georgia showed off its strong inside game when it beat in-state opponent Mercer 68-63 in the first round Saturday for Taylor's first NCAA tourney win. Caliya Robinson, a 6-foot-3 junior forward, had 23 points and 16 rebounds, while 6-2 senior forward Mackenzie Engram added 21 points and 10 rebounds.
"We knew we had a size advantage," Taylor said. " That was our advantage, and we made sure we did that all night long."
Duke played strong defense, especially in the second half, to beat Belmont 72-58 in the first round. Senior guard Lexie Brown, who had two steals, helped lead the perimeter defense that stifled the Bruins' 3-point shooting in the second half. Belmont made eight 3-pointers in the first half but only three after halftime.
"We knew that coming into the game that they depend a lot on the 3 ball," Brown said. "We weren't taking it super serious in the first half, but in the second half we locked down and tried to run them off the line."
Brown's backcourt leadership on offense was another key. She had five assists and one turnover as the Blue Devils finished with eight turnovers to set up the matchup with host Georgia.
"When I think of Lexie, how much she's got a hand on the ball and all of the pressure that's on the ball, to only have eight turnovers as a team is absolutely fantastic," said Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie, who's in her 11th season with the program. "Lexie did such a great job working with her teammates, because it was tough and there was a lot of pressure on the ball."
Leaonna Odom led the Blue Devils with a career-high 25 points. Odom's only other college game with at least 20 points also came in the NCAA tournament as she scored 23 in the Blue Devils' first-round win over Hampton last year.
It was an encouraging start to the tournament for Duke.
"We got better today," McCallie said Saturday afternoon, "and we're looking forward to getting a little bit better on Monday night."