Era ends at LSU as cast of seniors depart having made 5 straight Final Fours

4/8/2008 4:14 AM

By BRETT MARTEL
AP Sports Writer

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -Technically, LSU has a chance to become the first team to reach a sixth straight Final Four next season.

Just don't hold your breath.

What has been an extraordinary run probably ended Sunday night when eight seniors, including 6-foot-6 center Sylvia Fowles, walked off the court in Tampa after a heartbreaking, last-second 47-46 loss to Tennessee in the national semifinals.

``We've had an awesome career here,'' senior guard Erica White said. ``For any team to make it to the Final Four one time, I don't care what anyone says, is an accomplishment. For us to get here every year is definitely something that no one can discredit. We have done some amazing things.''

Connecticut was the only other program to reach the Final Four five seasons in a row before LSU this season.

The one thing LSU never did, however, was get past the national semifinals, where LSU is now 0-5. The Lady Tigers' best two chances to make it to the championship game came in their first and most recent Final Fours, both times against familiar Southeastern Conference nemesis Tennessee.

LSU's seniors were either incoming recruits or redshirt freshmen for a loss to Tennessee, 52-50, in 2004 at the New Orleans Arena. And if they thought they'd come in and keep getting LSU back to the Final Four every season of their careers, well, they were right.

If they thought it would be a smooth ride, they were wrong.

Hall-of-Fame coach Sue Gunter was still in charge when the 2003-04 season began. She left the team because of an illness in midseason and died the following year. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita destroyed communities all across Louisiana's coast early in the 2005 fall semester. Coach Pokey Chatman resigned shortly before the 2007 NCAA tournament after an assistant coach told LSU officials that Chatman had an improper relationship with a former player.

Another assistant, Bob Starkey, took over on an interim basis during the 2007 tournament before Van Chancellor became LSU's fourth coach in five seasons last summer.

Through it all, LSU won SEC crowns in the three of the last four seasons, including this season, when the Lady Tigers went 14-0 in the conference. Fowles was named the SEC's player of the year and Chancellor coach of the year, while White and senior shooting guard Quianna Chaney both were named to the All-SEC squad.

LSU was dominant at home, where this year's seniors finished their careers with a 54-3 record after NCAA tournament wins on campus in the first and second rounds.

Fowles became the only player in school history with at least 2,000 points, 1,500 rebounds and 300 blocks. Her 1,570 career rebounds are the most ever by an SEC player. She also holds the record for double-doubles by an SEC player with 86, including a 24-point, 20-rebound performance in Sunday's Final Four loss to Tennessee.

Marian Whitfield and Khalila Mitchell became the only players in the history of the NCAA men's or women's tournaments to go to five Final Fours, although they were injured and sat on the bench in street clothes for the first.

Then there were senior starters Ashely Thomas and RaShonta LeBlanc, a pair of role players who carried LSU when the stars struggled, and senior reserve Mesha Williams, who backed up Fowles at center and sometimes played alongside her when Chancellor wanted a big frontcourt lineup.

``We accomplished a lot of things that haven't been done here before,'' Thomas said. ``We just need to be proud of all the things we have done for this program while we were here.''

They also got Chancellor, their Hall-of-Fame coach, his first Final Four appearance. But Chancellor, who won Olympic and WNBA titles, hoped he could be the coach to get LSU's seniors at least to the national championship game, if not win it all.

``I really feel for our seniors,'' Chancellor said. ``They have done everything I've asked them to do since I was appointed LSU coach. And they've done so much and overcome so much and I'm really proud of them graduating. ... I am sorry I couldn't help them win.''

Now Chancellor virtually starts over from scratch. Sophomore guard Allison Hightower is the only player with significant playing time who'll be back next season. Other returning players are junior forward Kristen Morris and freshman forwards Katherine Graham and Latear Eason.

LSU also has eight new players signed for next season, including 6-3 forward Ayana Dunning of Columbus, Ohio, and 5-10 guard Destini Hughes of Fort Worth, Texas, who were both McDonald's All-Americans.