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  Saturday, Mar. 25 12:00pm ET
Cavs can't keep up with Tennessee
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- A year of waiting for a chance at redemption finally is over for the Tennessee Lady Vols.

April McDivitt
Virginia forward Svetlana Volnaya forces Tennessee guard April McDivitt to find another passing lane.

Tamika Catchings scored 28 points as top-seeded Tennessee beat Virginia 77-56 Saturday in the Mideast Regional semifinals of the NCAA women's tournament. Now the Lady Vols hope to erase the disappointment of last year's East championship loss to Duke, which cost them a chance at a fourth straight national title.

"We've tried for a year to be playing on Monday night to get to a Final Four," Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said.

"They've worked hard. The freshmen may not understand how much we wanted to be in that game. We don't care who we play. We just want to bring our game."

Tennessee (31-3) reached its sixth straight regional championship and 16th in 19 years with its 18th straight victory. The Lady Vols will play third-seeded Texas Tech Monday night. The Red Raiders beat Notre Dame, 69-65, in the other semifinal.

"I hope we'll come out and put all the things that we've learned to use," Catchings said.

That includes rebounding and not easing up when grabbing the lead. Catchings scored the first six points, and Tennessee quickly built its lead to 18 as Virginia, which averaged 17.3 turnovers a game, had 17 in the first half.

The Lady Vols had their lead trimmed to three in the second half and had to scramble to put away Virginia.

"The defensive intensity, we have to put it up for 40 minutes," Catchings said. "We had some lapses. If we can put that together and put it together with our rebounding, we'll be all right."

Saturday, March 25
Although a defensive lapse did allow Virginia to get back into the game in the second half, Tennessee's defense was one of the keys to this game.

Virginia averages just 17 turnovers, but committed 27 against the Lady Vols. It's very, very tough to win a ballgame with 27 turnovers.

The other key was Virginia freshman Schuye LaRue getting her fourth foul when Virginia was starting to get back in the game. She ended up with 10 points, but wasn't an effective presence in the paint.

The last thing Virginia (25-9) wanted was to run with the quicker Lady Vols, but the Cavaliers found themselves sprinting from the outset.

"The first five minutes were like a nightmare," Virginia coach Debbie Ryan said. "I knew that would be the case, but I felt we were prepared. I thought we would be able to weather the storm."

The Lady Vols' pressure defense made the Cavaliers look nervous and forced them into numerous turnovers.

Virginia finished with a season-high 27 turnovers compared to 13 for Tennessee, which also outrebounded the Cavaliers 42-31. Virginia got only six offensive rebounds.

"It was very difficult to get a second shot with them," Ryan said. "We've not been a strong rebounding team all year. That's the one thing we'll take away from this game. I think our team learned a lesson today about playing on this level."

Semeka Randall added 19 points for Tennessee, which has beaten Virginia 10 times in their 11-game series. Michelle Snow added 11 points and nine rebounds, and April McDivitt had 13 points.

Virginia, trying to reach its first regional final since 1996, finally settled down in front of the pro-Tennessee crowd. The Cavaliers outplayed Tennessee over the first eight minutes of the second half and got within 45-42, the smallest margin since the opening minute, on an 11-0 run keyed by two Lisa Hosac 3-pointers.

Tennessee responded with a 20-3 run. The Lady Vols took their biggest lead of the game at 22 twice, the last at 18:21 on a McDivitt jumper at the top of the key.

Svetlana Volnaya led Virginia with 18 points. Schuye LaRue had 10 points and nine turnovers. 		 


ALSO SEE
Womens College Basketball Scoreboard

Virginia NCAA Team Report

Tennessee NCAA Team Report


AUDIO/VIDEO
video
 Tamika Catchings works the give-and-go with Ace Clement.
avi: 534 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1

 Semeka Randall penetrates for the pull-up jumper.
avi: 747 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1

 With the shot clock running down, Catchings drains the jumper.
avi: 430 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1