I think broadcaster Debbie Antonelli was there preparing for the next day’s quarterfinal broadcasts or maybe I only think that because it seems as if she is at virtually every game that’s played.
Anyway, Debbie — or someone who in my mind has turned into Debbie — and I exchanged raised-eyebrows looks at the news that the Huskies had fallen 52-48 to Villanova.
Not “Oh, my gosh, is the world coming to an end?” looks. Not “I am too stunned to speak!” looks.
The news produced more a “Wow!” and a “How about that?” look and kind of instantly made the Big 12 tournament a little more interesting. The Huskies, defending national champions and winners of an NCAA-record 70 games in a row, were indeed capable of losing. Their victory streak was over. So somebody else, perhaps even the Big 12 champion, might win it all in 2003.
The Huskies had been very good all that season, after losing four starters who were each first-round WNBA draft picks. But many women’s hoops observers kept thinking that a loss had to come. The Huskies couldn’t be perfect again, could they?
A team couldn’t lose Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Asjha Jones and Tamika Williams and then still do the same thing all over again the next season, could it? Well, that’s what we thought. I had said a couple of times that season, “This…
