Meet the Lady Bulldogs, the Bulldogs and the Musketeers

Here is how the teams that will play the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight in Sacramento match up:

	Stanford	Georgia	Gonzaga	Xavier
Points per game	77.7	63.3	80.7	72.4
Scoring margin	+23.6	+8.2	+22.1	+14.9
Field goal %	47.6	38.8	47.7	44.8
3-pointers per game	6.4	5.0	4.9	6.0
3-point %	34.8	29.1	32.8	35.5
Free throw %	73.5	66.4	73.7	67.3
Rebounds per game	44.7	40.7	41.5	44.2
Rebounding margin	+12.1	+2.7	+4.6	+11.2
Assists per game	17.9	12.0	19.3	15.8
Turnovers per game	14.2	16.4	15.7	16.4
Assist/turnover ratio	1.27	0.73	1.23	0.96
Steals per game	5.5	8.4	11.1	7.6
Blocks per game	4.4	5.5	4.7	5.3

Georgia Lady Bulldogs

The Lady Bulldogs are 25-8 overall, 10-8 conference (SEC). They are ranked 23/31 in the polls, and their RPI is 25. They qualified for the tournament as a #5 seed with an at-large bid. They reached the Sweet Sixteen by defeating:

• #12 Tulane, 64-59 (game report)
• #4 Oklahoma State, 74-71 in overtime (game story, game report)

Stanford is 6-3 against Georgia. Georgia has ended Stanford's season twice – in the 1996 semi-final, in the 2000 second round. Stanford has ended Georgia's season three times – in the 1991 sweet-16, in the 1993 sweet-16, in the 1997 elite-8.

They both played Rutgers and Tennessee this season. Stanford defeated Rutgers 81-66; Georgia defeated Rutgers 49-48. Stanford defeated Tennessee 67-52; Georgia defeated Tennessee 53-50.

Georgia thrives on blocks and steals and has a reputation for stingy defense. They have allowed their opponents just 55.2 ppg (16th best in the nation) and a 34.4 field goal percentage (5th best in the nation). See this article by Jake Curtis for an overview of Georgia's capabilities.

Their probable starters are:

#1: 5'6" senior guard Ashley Houts is Georgia's star. She leads her team in scoring (12.6 ppg at 40.5% ), free throw accuracy (81.8%), steals (2.0 per game), and assists (3.8 per game, 1.62 ATO). She is second in 3-pointers (1.2 per game at 30.7%).

#10: 5'9": freshman guard Jasmine James is second in scoring (11.7 ppg at 31.5%), steals (1.8 per game), and assists (3.1 per game, 0.93 ATO). She is the leading 3-point shooter (1.4 per game at 26.5%). She scored a career-high 27 points in Georgia's second round game against Oklahoma State, 12 of them in overtime, and she made eight of eight free throws in the overtime.

#21: 6'2" junior forward Porsha Phillips leads her team in rebounding ( 8.3 rpg). She has the second-most blocks (1.5 per game). She averages 8.7 points per game, but seldom shoots from beyond the arc.

#11: 6'1" sophomore guard Meredith Mitchell averages 8.6 points, 1.0 3-pointers, 5.4 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game.

#33: 6'5" senior forward Angel Robinson is the second-best rebounder (7.7 rpg) and has the most blocks (2.0 per game). She averages 7.9 points per game and has had only 19 assists all season. She came up big In Georgia's second-round game against Oklahoma State with 16 points and 15 rebounds.

Coming off the bench for about 14 minutes per game are 6'2" freshman forward Jasmine Hassell (6.3 ppg) and 6'3" freshman guard Anne Marie Armstrong (5.1 ppg).

Here are Georgia's 2009-2010 statistics and roster.

Gonzaga Bulldogs

The Zags are 29-4 overall, 14-0 conference (WCC). They are ranked 18/14 in the polls, and their RPI is 30. They qualified for the tournament as a #7 seed by winning the WCC tournament. They reached the Sweet Sixteen by defeating:

• #10 North Carolina, 82-76 (game report)
• #3 Texas A&M, 72-71 (game story, game report)

Gonzaga is 1-0 against Xavier, who they defeated in the first round of the NCAA tournament last season.

Gonzaga is 0-1 against Stanford, to whom they lost 74-105 earlier this season. Since then, they have won 25 games, losing only to Baylor and to Texas A&M.

Stanford and Gonzaga have both played Pepperdine, Washington and USC this season. Stanford defeated Pepperdine 99-50; Gonzaga defeated Pepperdine three times – 107-64, 87-45 and 76-48. Stanford defeated Washington twice – 66-51 and 58-36; Gonzaga defeated Washington 81-52. Stanford defeated USC twice – 82-62 and 77-39; Gonzaga defeated USC 70-58.

Gonzaga ranks as one of the best offensive teams in the nation. They are ranked 5th in scoring (80.7), 3rd in scoring margin (+22.1), 4th in field goal percentage (47.7), 2nd in assists (19.3 per game) and 4th in assist/turnover ratio (1.23). These impressive statistics are partly due to their playing in one of the weaker conferences – the West Coast Conference. Nonetheless, their strength is in their offense.

All of Gonzaga's primary players (the eight named below) are very careful at the charity stripe. Their free-throw percentages range from 68.7 to 79.8 and average 74.1. They're all sticky-fingered. Courtney Vandersloot averages 3.5 steals per game, which is sixth-best in the nation. The other seven each steal about once per game.

The probable starters are:

#21: 5'8" junior guard Courtney Vandersloot is Gonzaga's star. She is only their second-best scorer (14.3 ppg), but her forté is providing scoring opportunities for her teammates. She averages 9.4 assists per game – the most in the nation. Her assist/turnover ratio is 2.23 – 12th best in the nation. She was named the WCC Player of the Year and the WCC Tournament MVP. She is one of the 12 finalists for the Wade Trophy.

#30: 6'2" senior forward Heather Bowman is the leading scorer (15.2 ppg) and the second-best rebounder (5.5 rpg).

#12: 6'0" senior forward Vivian Frieson is the best rebounder (7.5 rpg), second-best "assistant" (2.1 per game) and third-best scorer (12.6 ppg). She was the star of Gonzaga's second-round game against Texas A&M with 23 points, nine rebounds, five assists, four blocked shots, three steals and the winning basket with just 21 seconds left to play.

#34: 5'10" senior guard Tiffanie Shives is the only Zag who averages more than one 3-pointer per game. She averages 1.8 3-pointers at a rate of 41.2%. She averages 8.4 ppg.

#11: 6'0" junior guard/forward Janelle Bekkering averages 4.9 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.

Not starting, but playing for more than 20 minutes per game is:

#23: 6'1" sophomore forward Katelan Redmon averages 11.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. Incidentally, Redmon is one of the players who transferred from the University of Washington after June Daugherty was fired.

Also coming off the bench for about 16 minutes per game are 6'2" sophomore forward Kayla Standish (8.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game) and 6'0" sophomore forward Kelly Bowen (3.7 points and 3.5 rebounds per game).

Here are Gonzaga's 2009-2010 statistics and roster.

Xavier Musketeers

The Musketeers are 29-3 overall, 14-0 conference (Atlantic 10). They are ranked 5/5 in the polls, and their RPI is 11. They qualified for the tournament as a #3 seed by winning the Atlantic 10 Tournament. They reached the Sweet Sixteen by defeating:

• #14 East Tennessee State, 94-82 (game report)
• #6 Vanderbilt, 63-62(game story, game report)

Xavier is 1-0 against Gonzaga, who defeated them in the first round of the NCAA tournament last season.

Xavier and Stanford have never played each other. They both played USC and Arizona State this season. Xavier defeated USC 81-71 in overtime; Stanford defeated USC twice – 82-62 and 77-39. Xavier defeated Arizona State 59-46; Stanford defeated Arizona State twice – 71-48 and 62-43.

Xavier is noted for its "twin towers", Amber Harris and Ta'Shia Phillips, who provide much of what Xavier does best – rebound and score inside. Xavier averages 11.2 more rebounds than its opponents – the 4th best rebounding margin in the nation.

The probable starters are:

#11: 6'5" junior forward Amber Harris is the leading scorer (16.1 ppg at a rate of 56.3%) and second-best rebounder (8.9 rpg). She also averages 2.0 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.3 steals per game. She was named the MVP of the Atlantic 10 Tournament and is a finalist for the 2010 Wooden Award.

#53: 6'6" junior center Ta' Shia Phillips is the leading rebounder (11.8 rpg) – the 4th best in the nation. She is the second-best scorer (14.0 ppg). She has had 20 double-doubles this season. Her field goal percentage is 61.7 – the 6th best in the nation. She also averages 1.2 assists and 2.1 blocks per game. She is a finalist for the 2010 Wooden Award.

#42: 6'0" senior forward April Phillips averages 8.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game.

#1: 5'6" junior guard Special Jennings averages 8.4 points, 2.1 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. Her assist/turnover ratio is 1.64.

#0: 5'9" sophomore guard Tyeasha Moss averages 8.3 points. 2.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.

Coming off the bench for about 20 minutes per game are:

#40: 5'8" freshman guard Katie Rutan is Xavier's best 3-point shooter with 2.5 per game at a rate of 41.1% and third-best scorer (8.9 ppg).

#4: 6'0" senior guard Dee Dee Jernigan averages 4.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.

Here are Xavier's 2009-2010 statistics and roster.