By John Erardi
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Jody Conradt, one of the legendary coaches in women's college basketball, will bring her star power to Cincinnati this week when her No. 2-seeded University of Texas Longhorns take on Hampton.

"The good news is that we are a No. 2 seed," Conradt said. "The bad news is that we are in what I think is the toughest region (the West)."

Texas (25-5) is ranked fifth in the Associated Press poll.

ABOUT TEXAS

• Nickname: Longhorns • Location: Austin, Texas • Record: 25-5, 15-1 Big 12 Conference • Bid: Tournament champion • Coach: Jody Conradt (696-201, 27th year; 813-263, 34th overall) • Key players: Stacy Stephens (14.8 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 31 blocks), Heather Schreiber (13.5 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 46.1% 3-FG), Jamie Carey (10.7 ppg, 3.5 apg, 44.3% 3-FG) • Notable: When Conradt became Texas' coach in 1976, she also was named coach of the women's volleyball team.

ABOUT HAMPTON

• Nickname: Pirates • Location: Hampton, Va. • Record: 23-8, 17-1 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference • Bid: Tournament champion • Coach: Patricia Cage-Bibbs (110-69, sixth year; 354-193, 19th overall) • Key players: LaShondra Dixon (18.3 ppg, 105 assists, 84 steals, 55 3-FGs), Nicole Brathwaite (12.7 ppg, 7.2 rpg) • Notable: Hampton went 33-1 and won the 1998 Division II NCAA title; the program became Division I in 1995-96.

Conradt said she didn't know "anything" about Hampton as of Sunday night, but she knew about Arkansas and Cincinnati.

"I know that (Arkansas is) very, very good," she said. "I've been able to watch Cincinnati on TV a few times, as Conference USA has a Sunday TV slot. ... I'm not about to look past Hampton at this point."

Conradt had been lobbying for a No. 1 seed - the Longhorns beat fourth-ranked Tennessee in December and rallied to beat eighth-ranked Texas Tech 67-57 for the Big 12 Tournament championship - but she said she knew it was a long shot.

Texas was fortunate to beat Texas Tech. The Longhorns were trailing by nine points with 14 minutes to play when Heather Schreiber scored six straight points and power forward Stacy Stephens scored eight straight to put Texas up for good, 57-51.

"We're all tired, but still really excited about winning both the Big 12 regular-season and tournament championships," Stephens said. "It's been a long haul in the league this year. That's prepared us for anything and everything that we are about to face."

No. 15 seed Hampton (23-8) might have difficulty stopping Stephens, who's physical in the low post. She scored 13 of her 16 points in the second half and was named tournament MVP.

Hampton is led by LaShondra Dixon (18.3 points a game), who scored 25 points in the Pirates' 69-57 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament final over Delaware State.

Hampton doesn't figure to be awed. Five of its eight losses came to Duke, Arkansas, Old Dominion, Toledo and Kansas.

But Conradt, a head coach for 33 years, is indeed awe-inspiring. Four years ago, she was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. She is a six-time national coach of the year, and this is her 18th team NCAA tournament team at Texas, which she has led to two Final Fours and five Elite Eights. Her 1985-86 team went 34-0 and won the national title.

She wasn't pleased with the selectors who sent No. 1 seed LSU and No. 2 Texas into the West.

"We don't have the advantage of playing at home," she said. "I think the NCAA Committee must have looked at a group of teams and said, `Hey, we don't know what to do with them, so let's put them all together.' "