<p>Sue Gunter does most of her coaching over the telephone these days. No problem for LSU, though, because top assistant Dana "Pokey" Chatman is on the other end.</p><p>Chatman has been acting coach of the Lady Tigers for much of the last two months, ever since Gunter _ in her 40th season as a head coach _ was slowed and eventually forced to step aside because of acute bronchitis.</p><p>The players hardly noticed a difference.</p><p>"There's really been no change for us," LSU's Temeka Johnson said Friday. "Coach Gunter and the rest of the coaching staff have been with each other for the longest time. They all think alike."</p><p>The fourth-seeded Lady Tigers (25-7) are in the West Regional semifinals, where they meet No. 1 Texas (30-4) on Saturday. The other matchup is No. 2 Purdue (29-3) against No. 3 Georgia (24-9).</p><p>The West was the only bracket where all top four seeds advanced.</p><p>"The committee absolutely nailed it," Georgia coach Andy Landers said. "And maybe again it was just that all four of us wanted to come to Seattle on a little road trip."</p><p>Even though Gunter isn't in the building, it doesn't mean the silver-haired Hall of Fame member is taking it easy.</p><p>She still attends practices and film sessions, and Gunter hasn't been reluctant to pick up the phone to call Chatman _ even while watching a game in her Baton Rouge living room.</p><p>"If she's watching a game from home on TV, she might see something from a different perspective," Chatman said. "And the closer to game day, the more the phone's going to ring."</p><p>Texas coach Jody Conradt bumped into Chatman after the teams arrived in Seattle.</p><p>"When you have a chance to talk to Coach Gunter, please tell her I send my good wishes," Conradt told Chatman.</p><p>"I'm thinking of turning off my phone because she's talking to me so much," Chatman joked.</p><p>Chatman, a standout point guard at LSU from 1987-91, picked up her nickname "as a chubby little kid."</p><p>"Probably some kids on the team don't even know my name is Dana," she said.</p><p>Chatman credited Gunter with being a big influence in her life. She's been an assistant at LSU for 13 years. Though she aspires to be a head coach one day, it still feels odd to be the one in charge.</p><p>"I'm forced to think about it the farther we go into the tournament," Chatman said. "Honestly, with the task at hand, I just look at myself as the associate coach, doing the job that is necessary.</p><p>The Lady Tigers are 5-2 since athletic director Skip Bertman announced Feb. 19 that Gunter wouldn't return this season. As with many coaching staffs, there's a shared vision at LSU that makes it seem Gunter isn't missing.</p><p>"It's the ultimate compliment to Coach Gunter that she prepared us for this," Chatman said. "It really hasn't changed for us, but I'm starting to understand that maybe it's not done that way at other places."</p><p>Conradt, one of the nation's most established and recognized coaches, doesn't think Chatman's inexperience as a head coach will have any impact on the matchup.</p><p>"I wouldn't want my administrators to hear this, but I think coaching is overrated at this time of the year," Conradt said. "It's about making free throws and getting rebounds."</p><p>Texas beat top-seeded LSU 78-60 in last season's West Regional finals, denying Gunter an opportunity to reach the Final Four.</p><p>"We have a different team with a different style of play," Johnson said. "We lost a lot of players from last year. We're excited to be playing Texas again, but only because we're both good teams."</p><p>The Bulldogs will be challenged to slow Purdue forward Shereka Wright, who averages 20.3 points and 6.2 rebounds a game. Purdue has a capable backcourt, too, in guards Beth Jones and Erika Valek.</p><p>"It's not about how many points I get," Valek said. "It's about my attitude, my energy. When we have fun, I think the team follows that."</p>
