Another inequity: COVID-19 testing
Add COVID-19 testing to the differences between the women’s and men’s tournaments that has coaches and players unhappy in Texas about what they say is a growing list of inequities.
The NCAA has run 8,015 tests through Sunday with only one confirmed positive at the women’s tournament using daily antigen testing. The men are using daily PCR tests, considered more accurate. A few false positives at the women’s tournament have been quickly retested using the PCR test.
Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer and Setsuko Ishiyama, the Cardinal’s director of women’s basketball, issued a statement Saturday night upset at “evidence of blatant sexism” that is “purposeful and hurtful” leaving them feeling betrayed by the NCAA.
“Women athletes and coaches are done waiting, not just for upgrades of a weight room, but for equity in every facet of life,” according to the statement. “Seeing men’s health valued at a higher level than that of women, as evidenced by different testing protocols at both tournaments, is disheartening.”
NCAA basketball administrators apologized Friday for the differences between the tournaments and vowed to do better after photos went viral highlighting the contrast between the women’s weight room and the men.
But Stanford asked university presidents and conference commissioners for accountability.
“This cannot continue to be business as usual,” Stanford said in a statement on social media.
The NCAA followed recommendations of its COVID-19 medical advisory group, collaborated with the CDC and local medical authorities at each location for testing requirements. The NCAA advisory group said either daily PCR or daily antigen testing were “equally effective models for basketball championships.”
The NCAA noted both men and women required either the daily antigen or PCR testing for seven straight days before arriving in Indianapolis or San Antonio.
“It’s mind-blowing,” UConn guard Christyn Williams.
Staley gets milestone win: South Carolina coach Dawn Staley got her 500th career victory when Aliyah Boston and the top-seeded Gamecocks beat No. 16 seed Mercer 79-53 in the first round Sunday in San Antonio.
Boston had 20 points and 18 rebounds for South Carolina (23-4), which grabbed the lead for good when it closed the first half with a 16-5 run.
The Gamecocks were national champs in 2017, when the Final Four was last played in Texas. They finished 32-1 last season, spent the final 10 weeks at No. 1 and Staley was the AP coach of the year, but didn’t get a chance to win another title because the tournament was canceled because of the pandemic.
Layups: Moon Ursin scored a career-high 24 points, All-American NaLyssa Smith had a double-double (18 points, 10 boards) and No. 2 seed Baylor had no problem in its opener, cruising to a 101-52 win over No. 15 seed Jackson State in San Antonio. The Bears won their third national title in 2019, the last time the tournament was played . ... Jada Boyd scored 15 of her 18 points in the second half to help top-seeded NC State overcome a slow start and coast to a 79-58 win over 16 seed NC A&T in San Marcos, Texas. ... Lorela Cubaj recovered from a scary fall to score 14 points, including the go-ahead free throws in OT, and No. 5 seed Georgia Tech came back from a 17-point halftime deficit to turn back No. 12 seed Stephen F. Austin 54-52 in San Antonio. It was the first opening-round win for Georgia Tech (16-8) since 2012.