Ace's presence would have made game better
By Mechelle Voepel
Special to ESPN.com
PHILADELPHIA -- Shea Ralph turned in a great performance, Ace Clement turned her ankle. And the NCAA title game turned into a rout.
|  | | After twisting an ankle earlier in the day, Kristen "Ace" Clement was forced to watch Sunday's title game from the bench. |
Truth is, it could have been that way even if neither of those things had happened. Both Tennessee coach Pat Summitt and Clement said after UConn's dominant 71-52 victory in the NCAA women's championship game Sunday that it may not have been any different had Clement been able to play.
I don't think the winner would have been different -- UConn was clearly the best team in the country this season -- but perhaps it wouldn't have been over quite as early as it was or the score been quite so lopsided.
"The Huskies just outhustled us. UConn just took us out of our game as far as the tempo," said Clement, who suffered a sprained right ankle after coming down from a layup on teammate Michelle Snow's foot during a light practice Sunday morning. "We didn't play with a lot of confidence or maturity.
"At one point, coach turned to me on the sideline and asked me, 'Do you have any suggestions?' I just told her, 'You can't teach heart. That's something you have to have coming in.' "
UConn had it on Sunday, and Tennessee seemed lacking. Clement may not be the scoring threat everyone probably thought she'd be in college, but she brings a great deal of energy and vitality to the game. Tennessee obviously missed her.
Not to mention it missed a lot of shots. As in going 5 of 27 from the field in the first half. Meanwhile, UConn's Kelly Schumacher proved that Boyz II Men should have belted out "O' Canada" as well as their terrific version of the Star-Spangled Banner.
She would have loved that. Schumacher (she lists two hometowns: Quoyon, Canada, and Cincinnati, Ohio) looked about as excited as anybody upon seeing the quartet perform at First Union Center before the game.
Then the swattin' Schumacher gave the rejection slip to six Tennessee shots in the first half. It was insane. It was like she was 9 feet tall with six arms. She was all over the place. And whatever Tennessee shots she wasn't blocking were hitting the front of the rim or the back of the rim or not even touching the rim.
"My mom was in the stands, and it was the first game she's been to all year," Schumacher said afterward. "So that was extra motivation."
As it turned out, the best move for Tennessee all night came from Smokey the mascot, who was shaking a fake Shea Ralph ponytail in great vaudevillian fashion. Friday, Smokey was dressed in a parody of a Scarlet Knight. Smokey came to play in this Final Four.
But Tennessee seemed like it did not on Sunday. Why?
Now, when I was a little kid, I remember my big sister was really sick one day and had to miss school. So my mom said she'd give her a note to take to the teacher the next day so she would be excused.
I kept saying, "But it's not an excuse. It's a reason. Excuse is like when you're making it up."
They didn't pay any attention, of course, but I was all upset about this. Brat linguist that I was, it bugged me that something that was a good reason -- my sister was throwing up all over the place -- would get called an "excuse."
OK, so the point of this detour is that it's not making excuses to say Tennessee didn't play as well without Clement. It's just the truth.
From the beginning, it looked like the offense was out of sync. Defensively, Tennessee didn't look much better. You can't take out someone who has started every game of the season and expect things are going to go along OK without her.
All that said, Clement's presence wouldn't have changed the final outcome. Connecticut was an incredible team this season. Look at the Huskies' ninth and 10th players off the bench -- they'd be playing almost anyplace else. Only a team this good turns Stacy Hansmeyer into "Rudy."
And no matter whom you root for, isn't it good to see someone who was devastated by not one but two ACL injuries in her career come back to win the Final Four MVP honor?
Ralph's game Sunday was a microcosm of her season: 7-for-8 from the field, seven assists, six steals.
Maybe it wasn't the Tennessee team we expected to see on Sunday, but it was the UConn team we anticipated.
Actually, it was even better.
Mechelle Voepel of the Kansas City Star is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. She can be reached via e-mail at mvoepel@kcstar.com. |
Familiar faces meet again as UConn and Tennessee play for the championship.