tara mitchem practices prior ncaa women basketball tourney game 2001

navigate by keyword : 2001 active athlete basketball bears blonde blow clothing clutch conference court critical crucial dependable desire expression face fame final game hair hairstyle hall head healthy important intense intriguing jackie lady legendary missouri mitchem muscular ncaa ohio phenomenal physique played player points practices prepares prior purdue reliable resourceful rockets role rutgers scoring season sleeveless solid southwest spectacular sports star state stiles strong sweaty tara team teammate toledo tough tourney transfer uniform university upset valley victory

Tara Mitchem Practices Prior to NCAA D-1 Women's Basketball Tourney Game in NJ in 2001

Tara Mitchem prepares for her NCAA Women's Basketball Tourney game in New Jersey in 2001. Her Southwest Missouri State University Lady Bears were going to take on the Toledo Rockets. As usual, the team expected their legendary Hall of Fame star, Jackie Stiles, to lead the way. But Stiles had a tough time and spent critical second half time on the bench following a strong blow to the head. At this crucial juncture, Mitchem, an Ohio State transfer and a solid, all-Missouri Valley Conference player in her own right, picked up the slack, scoring a spectacular 40 points, leading her team to victory. A couple of nights later, March 19, 2001, Stiles returned with a clear head and the Lady Bears upset Rutgers University on their own court, 60-53. They followed up with 3 additional upsets before falling to Purdue in the final 4. Mitchem played an important role in the team's phenomenal 29-6 season.