Mid-Major connections to women’s Final Four
From Dawn Staley at Temple to Vic Schaefer at Sam Houston State
KINGSTON, RI - JANUARY 06: Temple Owls head coach Dawn Staley coaches during a timeout in a women's college basketball game between the Temple Owls and the Rhode Island Rams on January 6, 2002, at the Thomas M. Ryan Center in Kingston, RI. (Photo by Joseph Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images There hasn’t been a mid-major team in the women’s NCAA Tournament since the first round.
But as the tournament has come down to the Final Four there are still several mid-major connections for the four teams in Phoenix – particularly among the coaching staffs. UConn None UCLA Tony Newnan – Associate Head Coach Newnan was on the staff at UC Santa Barbara from 1993-2000. He ended his tenure with the Gauchos as associate head coach.
UCSB claimed six Big West conference titles with him on staff. Tasha Brown – Assistant Coach Brown also coached at UC Santa Barbara but was there after Newman. She was on staff from 2001-05 and was with the Gauchos when they reached the Sweet 16 in 2004.
She also coached at Bradley and Dayton. James Clark – Assistant Coach Clark played at West Georgia before the Wolves made the jump to Division I for the last two seasons. Texas Lovisa Asbrink Hose – Sophomore Center The Swede played one season at Florida Atlantic before transferring to the Longhorns this season.