What happened Monday night at UGA’s Stegeman Training Facility was old hat for Andy Landers. But that doesn’t mean it gets old for him.
For the 30th time in the 32 years that the NCAA has conducted a women’s basketball tournament, Landers’ Georgia team received an invitation to participate. The Lady Bulldogs (25-6) were selected to be the No. 4 seed in the Spokane, Wash., regional. They will open play on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. (EDT) against Montana (23-7) at the McCarthy Athletic Center.
Before, during and after the announcement, the 60-year-old Landers was laugh-out-loud happy.
“I’ve talked to our players a lot the last three days about not taking things for granted, not thinking it’s a birthright,” said Landers, who has won 902 games in 38 seasons. “What it is, is a byproduct of being surrounded by good people and doing things the right way and having a level of commitment. … It’s not easy to do.”
The top seeds in this year’s tournament went to some of the usual suspects. Connecticut (Bridgeport, Conn.), Baylor (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Notre Dame (Norfolk, Va.) and Stanford (Spokane, Wash.) were on the top line for the four regionals.
As usual, the SEC was well-represented in the field. Seven teams are in, including SEC tournament champion Texas A&M, South Carolina, Tennessee, LSU, Kentucky and Vanderbilt.
Georgia received the news in the same manner it usually does. The team held a viewing party — complete with a dessert bar — for the booster club, family and friends in the Richard B. Taylor Georgia Room in the training facility and watched their fate unfold on the Selection Show.
And the Bulldogs didn’t have to wait long. Their announcement came within the first five minutes. Fortunately for them the satellite feed that had been knocked out by a thunderstorm earlier was restored three minutes before the broadcast began.
With Monday’s announcement, Georgia has now received bids to last 19 NCAA tournaments. That represents the fourth longest active streak in the nation.
Overall, Georgia has compiled a 52-29 (.642) record in NCAA play and advanced to 19 Sweet 16s, 10 Elite Eights and five Final Fours. The Lady Dogs played in the 1985 and 1996 title games but have yet to chase down a national championship.
“It’s something that you do take for granted,” said guard Jasmine James, one of four seniors making their fourth NCAA appearance. “Once you come to Georgia, it’s something that’s just expected. It’s part of the tradition of being here. It’s what you do.”
Georgia’s last NCAA appearance was not very memorable. The Lady Dogs were also a No. 4 seed last year but were bounced by Marist 76-70 in the first round.
Georgia also will have to regroup from its last outing. The Lady Bulldogs came unhinged in the second half of its 60-38 loss to Kentucky in an SEC tournament semifinal game in Duluth. After leading 24-19 at halftime, they were outscored 41-14 the rest of the way.
“We’re not going to think about it,” Landers said. “And I’m going to do my part to see that it doesn’t happen again.”
The Lady Bulldogs will be carrying the torch for the state in this year’s tournament as no other teams received an invitation.
Georgia Tech came up short in its pursuit for a seventh consecutive bid under coach MaChelle Joseph. The Yellow Jackets (14-16), who have made eight appearances, reached the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history last year before bowing out to eventual national champion Baylor. They lost five seniors from that team, brought in six freshmen this season and the transition was too great to overcome.
“The thing that keeps it in perspective for me is there are roughly 300 teams not going,” Landers said. “People say, ‘Sixty-four, that’s a big number. So what if they got in.’ Well, 300 didn’t and those guys are sitting around wishing they were, wondering what they could’ve done different, wishing they’d done more in the summer. That makes this special.”
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