INDIANAPOLIS — A Michigan State-Baylor championship game probably is not what ESPN had in mind, but this is an indication that parity is arriving in women's college basketball.
''The two teams that are here for the first time are the two teams that will play for a national championship,'' said Pat Summitt, whose quest for a seventh title ended two victories short.
''We have talked about this for years, but now we're seeing it first-hand. And the women's game has changed tremendously in a good way when you talk about parity.''
Michigan State is a prime example of a program that has risen through the ranks and now finds itself in the championship game. Before this year, the Spartans had not made it to the Sweet 16.
''I think it just speaks to the fact that there's growth and exciting things happening in women's basketball,'' said Spartans Coach Joanne P. McCallie. ''Baylor is a terrific team. So is LSU. So is Tennessee.
''But it's just very exciting for people to learn more about other teams and how teams are just growing and parity is growing.''
Instead of getting caught up in a history lesson about Tennessee's success, Michigan State's players focused on the task at hand.
''It's a new year,'' said forward Liz Shimek. ''You can play tradition or you can play the team that's out there, and I think that's what we really did. We played us versus them and we really focused on that.''
Said guard Lindsay Bowen: ''We all have a lot of respect for Tennessee and Coach Summitt and all those players. But we've got a good coach and good players, too.''
Likewise, Tennessee freshman Alexis Hornbuckle suggested that the Women's Final Four was all about current events, not history.
''There isn't such a thing as a comfort level in the Final Four,'' said Hornbuckle, who had 16 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. ''We knew we had to keep fighting and we turned our heads. … I am not going to give up until I win a national championship.''
Michigan State benefited from the input of two people that had spent time in Knoxville and thus had some inside knowledge of Tennessee. Spartans assistants Al Brown and Semeka Randall coached and played for Summitt, respectively.
''At Tennessee, you go there to win a national championship,'' Randall said. ''It hasn't been done here. You're creating a legacy.''
After coming up empty on her fourth straight trip to the Women's Final Four, Summitt realizes securing her seventh national title is not going to be easy. The playing field might not be level, but the Tennessees and UConns of the world no longer dominate everyone else.
''I don't think that this is any fluke where it happened one year and that's it,'' Summitt said. ''I think every year you're probably going to see more upsets in first- and second-round play.''
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