UW Women's Hoops Notebook: Daugherty wants to know what LSU serves up

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Washington coach June Daugherty has an unusual scouting request for Tennessee coach Pat Summitt regarding redshirt freshman Candace Parker.

"We need to find out what she had for her pregame meal and make sure [Louisiana State center Sylvia] Fowles doesn't get that," Daugherty said.

The Vols' 6-foot-4 Parker on Sunday became the first woman to dunk in an NCAA tournament game, prompting Daugherty to discuss the possibility of a slam happening against Washington. Fowles, who is 6-6, regularly performs an array of dunks in practice — including a one-handed reverse, a two-handed drop step, and a one-handed drive from the free-throw line.

"They are all powerful dunks," said guard Seimone Augustus as her coach nodded her head. "She can make the rim shake like a man would. It's amazing."

Fowles, a sophomore, hasn't performed the feats in a game, but her teammates have urged her to dunk. She said Parker's performance doesn't change her attitude. If it happens, it happens.

Daugherty and her team want to be sure it doesn't happen.

"I don't plan on being dunked on at all," said forward Andrea Plouffe, who'll defend Fowles. "That's about it."

Daugherty remembers she was in the beginning of her coaching career as an assistant at Kent State in 1984 when West Virginia's Georgeann Wells became the first woman to dunk in a collegiate game. Charlotte Smith (North Carolina) followed in 1994 and Michelle Snow, who plays for the WNBA's Houston Comets, dunked three times at Tennessee from 2001 to 2002.

"I'm not real excited about the dunk as far as the dunk goes, but if that opens the door for more fans to walk through, then so be it," Daugherty said. "We're seeing it more and more [on the AAU circuit], believe it or not. It's nice to see the kids have become that athletic and be that good with the ball above the rim."

Coup de glass

Louisiana State coach Pokey Chatman had another late night watching film Saturday, only this game tape almost gave her nightmares. She saw Washington's impressive rebounding, collecting 23 offensive boards to buoy a four-point win against Minnesota.

The Huskies have grabbed 517 offensive rebounds this season to LSU's 392.

"It's amazing, the mentality to go after the rebound," said Chatman.

Note

• Confused by the configuration of Memorial Gymnasium, where the court is raised and the benches are along the baselines, some players mistakenly checked in at the ESPN broadcast table where broadcaster Ann Meyers was seated. "That was not Washington," Daugherty quipped.