When Oklahoma State and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga take the floor Saturday in Tempe, Ariz., it will be the third NCAA women’s basketball tournament appearance in the last four seasons for both teams.
But neither is loaded with players who have NCAA tournament experience.
In fact, Saturday’s 8:11 p.m. EDT game at Arizona State’s Wells Fargo Arena will be the first NCAA game for all but two available players on each team.
“We’ve had some kids that have been through it a little bit, and maybe they can help some in the intricacies of it,” UTC coach Wes Moore said. “We’re counting on freshmen, so hopefully they’re not experienced enough to realize how big a deal it is, and maybe they’ll just go out there loose and play basketball.”
OSU’s fourth-seeded Cowgirls (23-10) and the 13 seed Lady Mocs (24-8) left for Tempe on Thursday and will practice at the arena today.
Shanara Hollinquest and Jenaya Wade-Fray were sophomore starters when the Lady Mocs lost to Kansas State in the first round of the 2008 tournament. As freshmen the previous season, they played big minutes off the bench against Baylor in the first round.
“You still get nervous, but it’s definitely good to have that experience of our freshman and sophomore years, knowing that we’ve been there and know what it takes to win,” Wade-Fray said. “It’s always good to have that.”
Senior Tagan Hatchett also played against Baylor, but she’s out for the season with a knee injury.
Of the players Oklahoma State has available Saturday, only Megan Byford and Ally Clardy have played in the tournament. The Cowgirls’ other tournament veteran, star point guard Andrea Riley, is suspended for Saturday’s game because of a punch she threw in the 2008 Sweet 16.
How the NCAA newcomers handle their nerves early in the game could play a big role in the outcome. Lady Mocs freshman guard Kayla Christopher said she expects to be a little nervous, but no more than she was in the Southern Conference tournament, which UTC had to win to get this opportunity.
“I was kind of nervous going into the conference tournament — not a bad nervous, but I think an anxious nervousness,” Christopher said. “We’ve got to go out there and just play — that’s the main thing. I think we have a really good opportunity to win the game and do something special. I think it’s really important for us.
“This is why I came to Chattanooga, to win the conference tournament to make it to the NCAA tournament and try to make something happen.”