A View from the Top

By Mark Simon

DANBURY, Conn. -- The resemblance is striking in some ways, more subtle in others.

There's the short cropped hair and the twang -- Midwestern, not southern. Her team is well disciplined, yet clearly enjoys just being on the court.

And her teams win and win and win.

Washington University of St. Louis head coach Nancy Fahey might not necessarily compare to University of Tennessee head coach Pat Summit, but the similarities are there.

Fahey's team has earned a reputation as the Tennessee of Division III. That's what happens when you win back-to-back national titles, make three Final Four appearances in the decade and win nine conference titles under Fahey, who now has a career record of 294-61.

There is definitely a mystique about this squad, whether it comes from the coach, 1998 Team of the Year center Alia Fischer and dominating forward Tasha Rodgers, or from the supporting cast. Just ask any of the victims in the 38-game winning streak. During the regular season NYU held a 12-0 lead that was forgotten by game's end. Wisconsin-Oshkosh met a similar fate with its early double-digit edge in the NCAA quarterfinals.

Semifinal foe Scranton admitted that it played scared throughout the first half, which made the difference in its 74-65 defeat. Washington wasn't daunted by anything, not even the several hundred Scranton fans sitting behind the basket who made their presence felt every time their opponent was setting up its offense.

"We heard they were the defending champs and saw the kind of confidence they had," said Scranton's Kelly Halpin after the game. "We came in feeling like we were the underdog instead of (realizing) that there are only four teams in the final four, and we were one of them. We were really scared and we panicked"

The Bears are one team against whom you don't want that to happen. Washington pounces on opponents weaknesses and exploits most frontcourts with the dribble-penetration by Rodgers and the remarkable low post moves from Fischer, whose arsenal includes an incredibly accurate turnaround hook that she can shoot with either hand.

If you forget about the rest of the team -- something that's easy when watching those two, you'll get burned. Just ask championship foe St. Benedict, which fell victim to a lead-erasing 10-0 second half run keyed by 3-pointers from Beth Ruether and Kjersten Kramer. Washington would control the contest the rest of the way in a 74-65 win.

"That's the strength of our team," said Fischer. "We have so many people who can score and do things. We know we can come back with an answer."

It starts at the top with the coach, who teases her players by turning into interrogator at the post game press conference.

"How did we play?" Fahey asked Rodgers, who wasn't paying attention when the question was posed to the coach.

The coach set the tone for the season right at the start. With three new starters to complement Fischer and Emily Nolan, thoughts of last seasons run were soon forgotten.

"We knew people would be coming after (us)," Fahey said. "As a team, you try to establish that last year was last year. This year we didn't win (yet). I don't think any team doesn't have the goal of winning a national championship. You can't start the season with less than that. I wouldn't ever go into as season without that goal."

The attitude was there game after game, night after night, right through all 40 minutes of the championship contest. The Bears fans chanted "Three-Peat" and afterwards St. Benedict coach Mike Durbin talked of how wonderful the view was from the top of the mountain. Even if it was a glance that was ever so brief.

Well this Washington team and its coach are now alone at the summit. They show no signs of stepping down any time soon.

"Let's soak this up first," said Fahey, when asked if her team was capable of winning the crown for a third consecutive season. "Am I glad it's over? Yeah. We won. But I would have gone on forever with this group."

Best fans
Scranton may have had the most fans at the semifinal game, but St. Benedict had the most dedicated group -- an entourage of about 75 people who made the 26-hour bus ride from St. Joseph, Minn. Chief among them was a rather loud group known as "Noise Control."

"They are the best," said St. Benedict coach Mike Durbin. "I get tired just from riding the bus from St. Joseph to the Twin Cities. Twenty-six hours -- and they're still all friends. Wow. They gave us a great send-off at the hotel. We heard them when they came through the door (of the Feldman Arena) and that pumped us up. They were behind us all season."

Best stat
St. Benedict junior guard Molly Mark, who had five blocked shots all season, was credited with three in the semifinal win against Salem State. She also had 14 points, five assists and four steals. All were team highs.

Best friends?
Washington U. center Alia Fischer, a native of Rochester, Minn., was familiar with the St. Benedict squad. She played on a high school all-star team with Mark and played AAU basketball with several other Blazers players.

Seats still available
The championship game crowd of 1,990 was not a sellout. There were many empty seats in the bleachers behind each basket, as well as in the corners. The two ends of the court provided a sharp contrast. On one end were fans from both teams. On the other was a quiet group of spectators, most likely area residents who wanted to see what the excitement was about.

Washington forward Tasha Rodgers made it a point to say how much she enjoyed playing at a neutral site.

"With a neutral site, no one team is shooting on 'their goal.' It makes it equal. No one has a home court advantage."

Built to last
St. Benedict and Washington were ranked 1-2 in both the Columbus Multimedia preseason power ratings and in the Women's Division III News Top 10. Scranton was ranked third by Columbus and fifth by Women's DIII News.

The funniest reactions came from Scranton coach Mike Strong and St. Benedict coach Mike Durbin.

"How many years does (Washington U. Team of the Year center) Alia Fischer have left?" asked Strong. When told that she was presently a junior, Strong grabbed his head, pointed it down towards the table and let out a huge sigh.

Similarly, when Durbin learned that Washington forward Tasha Rodgers was a sophomore he laughed. When he got up to leave the press conference, he made sure to tell Rodgers that he would be happy to get her into summer school so that she could graduate sooner.