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NCAA Women's Tournament Recap (Iowa St-Georgia)
Posted: Tues March 23, 1999 at 12:30 a.m EST CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- Georgia returned to the Final Four for the fifth time in school history and for the third time this decade with an 89-71 pounding of Iowa State in the Mideast Region final of the NCAA Women's Tournament Kelly Miller scored a career-high 33 points and the third-seeded Lady Bulldogs (27-6) built a 21-point second-half lead before holding on down the stretch to reach the Final Four after a three-year absence. The Lady Bulldogs also played in the Final Four in 1983, 1985, 1995 and 1996 but have yet to win the national championship. "I'm proud as heck of my basketball team and the way we handled the challenge of playing one of the best offensive teams in the country," Georgia coach Andy Landers said. "We congratulate Iowa State. They're a great basketball team and they'll be back." Georgia will face East Region champion Duke -- which stunned three-time defending champion Tennessee -- in the national semifinals Friday night in San Jose, California. Desiree Francis scored 19 points for Iowa State (25-8), which upset top-seeded Connecticut in the regional semifinals but fell one win shy of its first trip the Final Four. The Cyclones, who went 9-19 in both the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons, were making their third straight NCAA Tournament appearance. "We're disappointed that we didn't win, but we're not disappointed by what we accomplished," Cylcones coach Bill Fennelly said. "People keep asking us if we're just happy to be here. No one in that locker room is happy right now. The true disappointment I feel is I don't get to coach this team tomorrow in practice." Behind Miller, who was named the Region's Most Outstanding player, and twin sister Coco, who contributed 16 points, Georgia grabbed a 68-47 lead late in the second half. Iowa State rallied, using a 19-8 spurt to come within 76-66 with just over three minutes left. The Cyclones had a chance to creep even closer over the next few moments as Pam Irwin-Osbolt, Tawana McDonald and Angie Ball combined to go 2-of-6 from the foul line for Georgia. Stacy Frese's layup with 2:36 remaining cut Georgia's lead to 78-68, but Coco Miller made two free throws with 2:30 left and Kelly Miller scored in the lane nearly a minute later as the Lady Bulldogs held on. "I was shooting well and my teammates were getting me the ball," Kelly miller said. "We had good ball movement and I was getting a lot of good looks at the basket." "I was a lot more patient and looking for good shots," added Coco Miller, who was held scoreless by Clemson in the regional semifinals. Irwin-Osbolt netted 15 points and Ball contributed 11 for Georgia, which overcame a 49-29 rebounding disadvantage by shooting 52.5 percent (32-of-61) from the field and turning 24 Iowa State turnovers into 29 points. Tracy Gahan had 13 points and 14 rebounds and Frese scored 17 points but was just 5-of-19 from the field, including 2-of-10 from 3-point range, for Iowa State. The Cylcones shot 35 percent (23-of-65) and were 6-of-23 from beyond the arc. "They were making us rush our shots," Frese said. "They took us out of our offense. None of us gave up. We got beat by a better team. They're going to do well in the Final Four."© 2000 Sportsticker Enterprises, LP
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