SEC Tournament report

Nunnelly is familiar SEC voice

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/STATON BREIDENTHAL --3/6/15-- Announcer Susan Nunnelly works Friday during the Arkansas game at the SEC Women's tournament in North Little Rock.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/STATON BREIDENTHAL --3/6/15-- Announcer Susan Nunnelly works Friday during the Arkansas game at the SEC Women's tournament in North Little Rock.

The voice of the SEC Women's Tournament isn't used to being called Susan.

"Everybody calls me Nun. They don't even need to use Susan," said Susan Nunnelly, the public address announcer for the tournament.

The Nun has seen plenty at arguably the top women's college basketball conference tournament in the country.

Nunnelly, who received the Nun nickname as a student at Auburn in the mid-1960s, is working her 29th consecutive SEC Women's Tournament this week as the public address announcer. She has been the behind the microphone courtside at the SEC Tournament since 1987 and has called Auburn women's basketball and volleyball games since 1977.

Saturday's first semifinal game at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock featured LSU and South Carolina, coached by Nikki Caldwell and Dawn Staley, who starred at Tennessee and Virginia, respectively. Nunnelly recalled calling their names during tournaments when they both played.

"That's what makes it so enjoyable to do this tournament because I see so many of those players I had the opportunity of calling their names out on the PA when they played themselves," Nunnelly said. "They've gone on to be excellent coaches for our young women."

Nunnelly isn't just known for her voice, as she was the women's basketball coach at Auburn in 1973-76, going 43-20 in three seasons before stepping down to focus on her other on-campus duties. She was named Auburn's director of campus recreation in 1984, a post she held until retiring in 2008. Also, Nunnelly has worked as a faculty advisor for cheerleaders and as a physical education instructor.

When it came to her favorite SEC Tournament moment during her career, Nunnelly admitted to being biased. She called Auburn's 2007 tournament championship special, in which the ninth-seeded Tigers won four consecutive games in Chattanooga, Tenn.

But Nunnelly shows no favorites at the SEC Tournament.

"At the tournament, every team is the same as far as I'm concerned," Nunnelly said.

Nunnelly, 66, also has called several NCAA first- and second-round games, usually when they are hosted by Auburn or played in Birmingham, Ala. Her wish is to do a Final Four before she dies.

"But you know what? There's nothing better than the SEC Tournament," Nunnelly said. "I've called much better games sometimes than a Final Four game.

"I still enjoy the atmosphere and the kids who are playing this game."

Is that right?

The SEC Women's Tournament is being played at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock. But printed on one baseline of the court in big white letters is "Little Rock Ar" and the other is "Pulaski County."

What gives?

Wesley Holmes, assistant general manager of Verizon Arena, and Gretchen Hall, general manager of the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the explanation is simple.

This week's tournament, just like when it was played here in 2009, is being hosted by both Verizon Arena and the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau. The design and wording on the court is the SEC's call, Hall said, but a contract to host the tournament was signed by both the arena, which is run by a Pulaski County board of directors and the convention and visitors bureau.

The court used in the 2009 tournament had similar wording.

"We've had a couple of inquiries," Hall said of reaction to the wording. "But that's the reason why."

Another No. 1

South Carolina Coach Dawn Staley doesn't know if her team needs to win today's SEC Tournament final to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season.

Staley knows this: If her Gamecocks earned one last year, this group should get a top seed no matter what happens in today's 2:30 p.m. final at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock.

South Carolina beat LSU 74-54 on Saturday to advance to the SEC Tournament final for the first time in program history. Last year, the Gamecocks lost to Kentucky in the semifinal and still earned a No. 1 seed. Tennessee, which played Kentucky in the other semifinal late Saturday night, also was a No. 1 seed last year.

"Maybe some of the predictors think tomorrow is for a No. 1 seed," Staley said. "But I need to remind people that we play in the best conference in the country, and both Tennessee and our program, we've done better than we did last year when we both got No. 1 seeds.

"If you look at what we were able to do last year, for us to get in the championship, we did a little bit more than we did last year."

Sports on 03/08/2015

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