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Who needs Dickie V?
Posted: Sunday March 28, 1999 04:14 PM
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The media hordes were loosed upon the Purdue locker room after the Boilermakers' 77-63 win over Louisiana Tech in the national semifinals in San Jose, as per tradition, but they were hardly necessary. When it came to documenting this historic win and its aftermath, the Boilers had it covered. Flashes were already popping, video cameras were already low on batteries. In a dead-on mockery of the press, two players hovered over freshman guard Kelly Komara and hung on her every word as she pondered their question, "How does it feel to be a freshman on a team that's about to play for the national championship?" "It's our first time," said Komara later, explaining her teammates' documentary frenzy. "I'm sure if it were Tennessee in here, they'd be chilling and cool." Purdue had left all its sangfroid on the court, where it dismantled the blazingly quick Lady Techsters with tough defense and brilliant execution, particularly on the part of point guard Ukari Figgs, who chalked up 24 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and the admiration of Tech coach Leon Barmore. "Figgs was the superstar tonight," he said. "She answered every call like an All-American." But it was Purdue the team that impressed Barmore the most. "Purdue is probably the best team I've seen this year," he said. "It's going to be a very interesting matchup with Duke, because the two best teams to get to San Jose are the ones that remain." Duke, the 81-69 winner over Georgia in the earlier semifinal, had taken apart the Bulldogs and their sophomore stars, identical twins Kelly and Coco Miller, with similar composure, even though Duke point guard Hilary Howard found herself guarding the wrong twin at one point. ("Oh well," said Howard, smiling.) Though No. 1 Purdue will be the favorite going into the title game, Barmore thinks Duke has "a very good shot. But [6'6" senior center Michele Van Gorp will have to play huge for them." No doubt Gorp, as she is sometimes called, will. After all, this isn't just the national title game, or her last game as a collegian. This is her one chance to face the school she and fellow Duke star Nicole Erickson transferred from three years ago. Stay tuned. Kelli Anderson is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated for Women and a frequent contributor to siforwomen.com.
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