Traditionally in women's college basketball, there is a lack of parity due to a large talent gap between very few upper-echelon teams and the rest of the field. Duke head coach Gail Goestenkors said this year is different.
"I think it's an exciting time for women's basketball because we truly do have parity," Goestenkors said. "We don't have any undefeated teams. We don't have any teams with one loss. We all have three or more losses, which just really shows the depth and quality around the country."
A product of the field's depth, there are several legitimate candidates able to make deep tournament runs this year that do not have a one or two seed. Houston, Louisiana Tech and Stanford are all potential sleepers that have the talent to reach the Elite Eight or even the Final Four.
Houston has one of the most talented players in the entire NCAA Tournament in Chandi Jones. The senior shooting guard averaged 22 points during the regular season, leading the Cougars to the Conference USA regular season title. Although No. 3 seed Houston does not play great defense, the Cougars are one of the highest scoring teams in the country.
Another team with a very productive offense is fifth-seed Louisiana Tech. The Lady Techsters score 84 points per contest, but the most telling start is the 14 steals per game Louisiana Tech generates. With a team full of athletes, the Lady Techsters use an intimidating full-court press which creates easy baskets in transition. The biggest problem for Louisiana Tech is that its second round opponent will likely be Texas Tech, and then Duke will likely await the winner of that battle in the Elite Eight.
When the brackets were released, it was a surprise to many that Pac-10 champion Stanford dropped all the way to a six seed. And while the Cardinal had a poor 7-and-5 road record, the team is coached by hall of famer Tara VanDerveer, who will likely have her team well prepared for the tournament. Stanford is led by star forward Nicole Powell, who averages 20 points and 11 rebounds per game. If the Cardinal plays to its potential, there is no reason it cannot beat Vanderbilt and obtain a spot in the Elite Eight.
There are also two other teams that could possibly make it further than people expect in the tournament. Boston College beat UConn earlier this season, and LSU has a very young, talented, yet erratic team. This could be the year where women's college basketball finds its Cinderella team.
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