Women's NCAA Tournament Daily Californian Oregon senior Natasha O'Brien, who scored 14 points in the Ducks' 80-57 victory over California on Saturday, shadows Bears’ guard Kenya Corley on the perimeter Women Continued from Page 11 three players break double-digits in scoring and three others record eight points. “I thought Shaq did a good job of not only looking for shots her self, but also looking to get the ball to other people,” Runge said. "Nicole and Lindsey were nice sparks off the bench.” California (12-15, 6-12), which won twice as many games this season as in either of its previous two seasons, was led by forward Courtney Johnson, who scored 13 points, and Jennie Leander, who finished with 12. Two other players tallied nine points apiece. Strong SEC flavors NCAA pairings By Chuck Schoffner The Associated Press Tennessee, Purdue, Louisiana Tech and Connecticut received the top seeds Sunday in the NCAA women’s basketball tour nament, which has a decided Southeastern Conference flavor. Eight SEC teams made the field of 64, a record for one conference. That contingent is headed by Ten nessee, the regular season and conference tournament champion and winner of the last three na tional championships. The second-ranked Lady Vols (28-2) were made the No. 1 seed in the East Regional. They’ll begin their quest for a fourth consecu tive title and eighth overall against Appalachian State (14 14), the Southern Conference rep resentative, at home on Saturday. Top-ranked Purdue (28-1) heads the bracket in the Midwest, third-ranked Louisiana Tech (26 2) is the top seed in the West and sixth-ranked Connecticut (27-4) is the No. 1 seed in the Mideast. The tournament begins at eight sites on Friday. The remaining first-round games are Saturday, also at eight sites. The other SEC teams named to the field were Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana State and Mississippi State. All are veterans of NCAA play except Mississippi State, which will be making its first ap pearance. “Eight teams from the SEC is a reflection of the parity from top to bottom,” Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said. “I think most folks would tell you that one through those top eight or nine ... you go into the arena knowing you have to play strong basketball to win.” Connecticut claimed a No. 1 seed after bouncing back from a rash of injuries at midseason, when the Huskies lost three of six games. They've won 12 of 13 since then, including an impres sive three-game run through the Big East tournament. Last year, a late-season injury to All-American Nykesha Sales kept Connecticut from becoming a No. 1 seed. The Huskies had been a top seed in each of the four pre ceding years. This year, a key injury cost Notre Dame, which had been ex pected to be among the top 16 seeds before losing point guard Niele Ivey to a season-ending knee injury in the Big East tourna ment. The eighth-ranked Irish, with their best record ever at 25 4, are the No. 5 seed in the West. “I would have to think (the in jury) did have to be a factor,” said Bernadette McGlade, who chairs the selection committee. "It oc curred in a semifinal game. In the championship game, Notre Dame had a little bit of a different look.” Notre Dame committed 24 turnovers in a 96-75 loss to Con necticut in the tournament finals. Connecticut meets St. Francis in the first round at home on Fri day, Louisiana Tech plays host to Central Florida on Friday and Purdue entertains Oral Roberts on Saturday. The brackets are arranged so that the Midwest Regional cham pion faces the West and the East winner meets the Mideast in the national semifinals in San Jose, Calif. That creates the possibility of a Tennessee-Louisiana Tech re match in the championship game. Tennessee beat Tech 93-75 in last year’s title game in Kansas City, Mo., to complete a 39-0 sea son. The SEC hit the NCAA jackpot after being ranked as the nation’s No. 1 conference all season. Four of the SEC teams in the field finished .500 or below in the league. Kentucky, Alabama and Mississippi State all went 7-7, while Florida was 6-8 — the first team with a losing conference record to get an at-large bid. Flori da is 19-13 overall. “Nineteen wins in the SEC is a pretty good season most teams in the country would take,’’ said McGlade, assistant commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference. In previous years, the SEC has had as many as seven teams. McGlade said she did not think the committee was setting a dan gerous precedent by picking so many teams from one league. “The committee felt strongly that teams that got in from the top three or four conferences in the country were all teams that defi nitely were one of the best 64 in the country,” she said. “That does not mean the SEC will forever get eight.” The Atlantic Coast Conference and Big 12 followed the SEC with five teams each in the NCAA field. The Big East, Big Ten, Con ference USA and Pac-10 all had four. ideas o, fitness information«... contraception resources nutrition support healthy choices ■:4WMy. Peer Health Counselors know the ms and outs of nutrition, substance abuse, and safer sex, just to name a few. And they’re coming from a student’s point of view, which make them people you can talk to for specific health 005703 information - or just help you sort things out. 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