In the final AIAW championship, Rutgers stopped Texas' 32-game winning streak. Texas freshman Annette Smith scored 30 points but Rutgers neutralized that with a 10-2 run late in the second half. Meanwhile, in the first NCAA title game, Janice Lawrence (20 points) helped Louisiana Tech end Cheyney State's 23-game winning streak.

AIAW Tournament MVP: Patty Coyle, Rutgers
NCAA Tournament MVP: Janice Lawrence, Louisiana Tech

They Said It: "I'll settle for a cheesesteak," Coyle said after being told Rutgers coach Theresa Grentz secretly put aside $500 for a special dinner if the team won the AIAW tourney.

Interesting Facts: With two major tournaments for the first and only time, schools had to declare their allegiances. The potential for greater financial reward lured many programs to the NCAA tournament and sounded the death knell for the AIAW. Only three Top 20 teams -- Texas, Rutgers and Villanova -- appeared in the AIAW tournament.

SI's Take: "With the NCAA staging women's championships this year for the first time, the AIAW, the 11-year-old organization that put women's college sports on the map, finds itself barely clinging to life. So many of its members have fled to the NCAA that the AIAW's only realistic hope for survival is its pending antitrust suit against the NCAA in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C."

On the Tube: CBS broadcast the NCAA championship game, gleaning a stellar 7.3 rating -- it would be the best in the first 10 years of NCAA tournament play.

NCAA All-Tournament Team: Janice Lawrence, Louisiana Tech; Pam Kelly, Louisiana Tech; Valerie Walker, Cheyney State; Kim Mulkey, Louisiana Tech; Yolanda Laney, Cheyney State.

Copyright © 2000 CNN/Sports Illustrated An AOL Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Read our privacy guidelines.