TEMPE, Ariz. — The biggest story out of the Tempe site of the NCAA women’s tournament is who is not playing and why.
An ill-advised slap to the back of an opponent’s head two years ago has become a major pain in the neck for the 20th-ranked Oklahoma State Cowgirls.
Coach Kurt Budke’s team, seeded fourth in the Sacramento Region, is preparing to play without the nation’s third-leading scorer Andrea Riley against No. 13 seed Chattanooga on Saturday night, a situation he believes is unfair.
Fifth-seeded Georgia, in its 16th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance, plays No. 12 seed Tulane in Saturday’s second game at Wells Fargo Arena on the Arizona State campus.
“This is the oddest thing I ever had to deal with,” Budke said at his team’s pre-tournament news conference on Friday. “I don’t think there is any history of this and this kind of penalty.”
Riley, who averages 26.6 points per game, is suspended for the opener for the slap to the head of LSU’s Erica White in the 2008 NCAA tournament. The NCAA delayed the suspension until Oklahoma State made it back to the tournament after missing out last season. Budke complained that Riley, a senior, is a far different person than she was two years ago.
“My wife said the other day it’s like having a 14-year-old make a mistake and telling them they can’t drive a car when they turn 16 because of that two-year-old mistake,” Budke said. “This kid has developed so much. She has come so far, it’s incredible what she’s done.”
