Xavier is making waves in the NCAA women's basketball tournament by relying on all of its players. Southwest Missouri State is relying on one.
And Washington? Few thought the Huskies had much of anything to rely on.
All three have been postseason surprises. None is seeded higher than fourth, yet here they are, one victory from going to the Final Four.
"That's our team. They're resilient. They bounce back," Washington coach June Daugherty said. "They're great about learning things and putting them behind them and not dwelling on the negatives."
There have been plenty of negatives in Washington's past, all right. Like last season's 8-22 record. Or that 46-point loss to Connecticut in the home opener. Or the losses in the final two regular-season games that cost Washington the Pac-10 title outright.
Somehow the sixth-seeded Huskies got through it. They'll face fifth-seeded Southwest Missouri State and the scoring machine known as Jackie Stiles in the West Regional final at Spokane, Wash., on Monday night.
"These girls are so amazing," Washington's Megan Franza said.
Washington (22-9) advanced by beating second-seeded Oklahoma 84-67 late Saturday. That came after Southwest Missouri State (28-5) stunned top-seeded Duke 81-71 behind Stiles' 41 points.
Duke became the second No. 1 seed eliminated from the tournament. Xavier ousted the other, beating Tennessee 80-65 in the Mideast Regional at Birmingham, Ala. The fourth-seeded Musketeers (31-2) play third-seeded Purdue (29-6), the 1999 national champion, on Monday night.
The two other regionals are left with more traditional names.
Defending national champion Connecticut (31-2), the No. 1 seed, plays third-seeded Louisiana Tech (31-4) in the East Regional final at Pittsburgh. It will be the 16th regional final for Tech and the seventh in 11 years for UConn.
Top-seeded Notre Dame (31-2) plays third-seeded Vanderbilt (24-9) for the Midwest title at Denver. Both have one Final Four appearance.
Xavier will take a 21-game winning streak, the nation's longest, and tremendous balance against Purdue. Four players have double-figure scoring averages, led by center Taru Tuukkanen at 18.9, and five had at least 10 points against Tennessee.
And the Musketeers aren't just squeaking by. They dominated Tennessee over the last 10 minutes and have won their three tournament games by an average of 29 points.
"We're a confident team and have five seniors who aren't ready to be done yet," Xavier's Nicole Levandusky said. "Hopefully, we'll start getting some national respect."
They certainly have Purdue's.
"They are very, very good," Purdue coach Kristy Curry said. "They do a nice job of playing within themselves and getting the ball to the right people."
Curry will have to find someone new to get the ball to her players. Point guard Erika Valek tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee late in Saturday's victory over Texas Tech.
Southwest Missouri State is Xavier's opposite. The Lady Bears don't have balance, nor do they strive for it. They give the ball to Stiles and let the amazing 5-foot-8 senior work her magic.
Stiles broke the NCAA career scoring record on March 1 and topped the season record against Duke. The knock on her has been that she put up her numbers in a weak conference, the Missouri Valley. But she scored 32 in a second-round win at Rutgers and made 15-of-22 shots against Duke.
"I'm just trying to get the most out of my God-given talents and abilities every day," Stiles said. "I don't want to look back on my career and say 'What if?' I just want to go for it with everything I have."
Despite their strong traditions, Connecticut and Louisiana Tech have never met in the NCAA tournament. It's a match between two of the game's premier coaches — Louisiana Tech's Leon Barmore with 551 victories, UConn's Geno Auriemma with 424.