Pat Reusse is Minnesota's leading sports columnist -- on the Vikings, the Wolves, the Twins, and on women's basketball. In tomorrow's outstate edition of the Star-Tribune (sent to press before the game's conclusion), he has a column on the state of the game.

He says that women's basketball has progressed to the point where we should drop the talk of equality, womanhood, and role-modeling.

The greatest stride made for women's basketball this season came in the Big Ten tournament final, when McCarville went 1-for-17 and took some heat for it in the media and in calls to local sports talk shows.

She was unquestionably the reason the Gophers lost 55-49 to Michigan State. The fact people were willing to say that almost as loudly as if Vincent Grier had gone 1-for-17 for the men's team has to be considered progress....

These are athletes, not role models. You win, everyone celebrates. You lose, and everyone wants to know why. There's your equality.

In the city edition, written after the game, he goes after Baylor coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson:

Was it possible that Mulkey could shut up for a few seconds?

Not really.