SAN ANTONIO – Dawn Staley and Nell Fortner won Olympic gold medals together as a player and coach. Now they are fumbling on the way to the women’s Final Four.
It is not the first time that they have faced each other from outside, but Sunday’s clash between Staley’s main head in South Carolina and Fortner’s 5th position at Georgia Tech on the NCAA Tournament Hemisfair Region’s Sweet 16 will be the biggest stage that they’ve shared together since the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
At that time, Fortner was training a team led by Staley, an ardent and intense point guard. They were also together for the 1996 Olympic gold medal team, when Fortner was an assistant.
Fortner still calls Staley one of the best team leaders she has ever coached, and even she was a little overwhelmed by the player Staley at the time.
After the first game in Sydney, Fortner was sitting on the team bus when Staley climbed up, patted her on the back and said ‘good job’. That simple moment of star player validation for a star team coach sent the message that everyone was on the same page for the same goal.
‘You don’t get a lot of sincere compliments from people you really value … Her saying that meant a lot to me. It still does, “said Fortner.
Olympic success has created a connection that will never be broken, said Staley.
“We will have a bond forever,” said Staley.
They chose different paths as a coach for the meeting in San Antonio.
Staley has built a powerhouse in South Carolina since taking charge in 2008, winning the national championship in 2017. After the Olympics, Fortner trained at WNBA and then landed at Auburn, where he struggled to develop the program beyond modest success. After several years in the broadcast booth, she returned to training with Georgia Tech in 2019.
This change rejuvenated the trainer and the program. Fortner has the Yellow Jackets on Sweet 16 for the first time.
“I missed teaching,” said Fortner. “I missed energizing the kids to help them achieve their goals.”
Staley and Fortner raised similar strong voices in the chorus of complaints about the NCAA and the disparities between men’s and women’s tournaments.
“They want to make sure they are developing the game for all women,” said Katie Smith, who played on the 2000 Olympic team with Fortner and Staley. ” It’s not just basketball. It’s bigger than that. It’s about equality … they, it matters. “
This summer, Staley will train the United States Olympic team in Tokyo, a year later than expected, as the games were postponed by the coronavirus pandemic.
Fortner’s advice: enjoy the ride and take home a gold medal.
‘In the US, we should win,’ Nothing but gold, baby! Don’t come home without him ‘!’ ”Said Fortner. ‘I have no doubt that she can handle this. She has dealt with it all her life. ‘
GEORGIA TECH-SOUTH CAROLINA
Gamecocks felt deprived of a potential title run last season, when they could have been the number one seed overall before the coronavirus pandemic hit. The start of this season’s tournament was not as beautiful as some would like, but it was effective, especially in defense and under the basket, where Gamecocks are muscular and aggressive.
The ankle injury of senior guard Lele Grissett forced some changes in the lineup, and that made Staley even bigger by inserting 1.80m tall Laeticia Amihere alongside strikers Victaria Saxton, 6-2 and Aliyah Boston, 6- 5.
The fifth Georgia Tech seed (17-8) is not going to shake easily. The Yellow Jackets recovered from a negative 17 points in the second half against Stephen F. Austin in the first round. It was one of the biggest twists in tournament history.
The X-Factor: Georgia Tech needs sniper Lotta-Maj Lahtinen to open the Gamecocks defense. After fighting in the first round, she found her touch with 17 points in the first half against West Virginia.
Players to watch: Boston is an All-American in the second year and was the defensive player of the year at the SEC, with a double-double average and 2.9 blocks. Lorela Cubaj, senior at Georgia Tech, from Terni, Italy, was the co-defensive player of the year at ACC. She had 21 points and 12 rebounds in the second round.
Time: 1 pm ET
TEXAS-MARYLAND
Turtles # 2 in are a tear.
Maryland (26-2) averaged 99 points in the first two games. And the score is deep. The Terps scored an overwhelming 46 points off the bench by scoring 100 against Alabama in the second round.
Texas (20-9) is on the rise under the command of first year coach Vic Schaefer. Guards Celeste Taylor, Kyra Lambert and Joanne Allen-Taylor took charge when striker Charli Collier, number one choice in the WNBA draft, gets into trouble. The Texas bank is limited. The three guards played 40 minutes in a second round victory over UCLA.
The X factor: Maryland’s aggressive physical defense is overlooked. Terps suffocate opponents with pressure that creates turnovers and transition baskets, quickly covers open pitchers and stresses each ball possession to handlers.
Players to watch: Terps transfers the guard Katie Benzan originally committed to Texas before moving to Maryland. She came to the tournament as the best 3-point shooter in the country, with 51 percent. Texas striker Lauren Ebo will be the key if Collier gets in trouble again. Ebo played 30 minutes with seven points and six rebounds against UCLA.
Opening hours: 21h00 ET.
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