Midwest Regional champion Duke (35-1) returns to the Final Four for the second consecutive year and the third time in program history Sunday night in Atlanta, where it will square off with Mideast Regional champion Tennessee (32-4), which will also be making its second straight appearance in the Final Four and its 14th overall.
Although both teams lived up to their No. 1 seedings by winning their respective regions, Duke and Tennessee have taken very different paths in reaching college basketball's biggest stage.
The Lady Vols--who hosted the first four rounds on their home floor in Knoxville, Tenn.--enter the Georgia Dome on a tear. They have played their best basketball of the season during the NCAA Tournament, winning by an average of 33.5 points per game.
Though blowouts against Alabama State, Virginia and Penn State were not entirely unexpected, their 73-49 triumph over second-seeded Villanova--the team that recently snapped Connecticut's NCAA-record 70-game winning streak--in the Elite Eight suggests that the Lady Vols are peaking at the right time.
"This team is playing well and with a lot of confidence," Volunteer senior guard Kara Lawson said. "We have 11 players that honestly believe we can win every time we step on the floor."
Duke, on the other hand, has had to struggle through the early rounds to reach Atlanta.
The Blue Devils found themselves down early against No. 5 seed Georgia and No. 2 seed Texas Tech in the regional semifinals and finals, respectively, and had to make strong second-half runs to come away with the victories.
After averaging over 80 points per game during the regular season, Duke has yet to score above 66 in the tournament. Its offensive struggles have
"There is really nothing wrong with us," Goestenkors said. "Our goal is to just win every game, and I don't care if we win by one or 30 points. I'd prefer the latter, but the bottom line is survive and advance. We have been able to do that, so I am not caught up in scoring. I just want to score one more point than our opponent."
Given the two teams' play recently, Tennessee is widely considered the favorite, even though the No. 2 Blue Devils are ranked two spots ahead of the Lady Vols.
Duke is no stranger to the underdog role, however. The last time that the two teams met in the NCAA Tournament. In the Elite Eight in 1999, Tennessee was seeking its fourth straight national title.
The 10th-ranked Blue Devils shocked the second-ranked Lady Vols with a 69-63 upset in what was a watershed game for Duke's program.
"There is no question that was a game that took Duke to another level in terms of national exposure and in terms of recruiting," Tennessee head coach Pat Summit said. "You can just look at what they've been doing since and understand the impact of a win like that."
The two teams met again at the beginning of the 2002-2003 season at the Jimmy V Classic in Raleigh, with Duke winning 76-55 to even the overall series between the schools at 2-2.
In that November matchup, the Lady Vols struggled with their new motion offense but have had the rest of the season to become more comfortable with the changes.
"We didn't play very well offensively [in November]," Summit said. "I thought that we were never really in synch as a team. We were early in our new offense that we had implemented. Our shot selection was questionable and at times poor. We are a much different offensive team now."
In order to duplicate the success that it had in its first game with the Lady Vols and advance to the finals against the winner of the Connecticut-Texas game, Duke will have to win the rebounding battle, something that few teams have been able to do against Tennessee this year.
"Tennessee is a great rebounding team," Duke forward Iciss Tillis said. "They're tenacious on the boards offensively and defensively. I think the key to winning that game is going to be getting all the rebounds."
Forwards Gwen Jackson and Shyra Ely, who have combined for 32.5 points per game during the tournament, lead the Lady Vols' rebounding charge.
Duke counters the Jackson-Ely tandem with its own dynamic duo of All-Americans Alana Beard and Tillis. Beard, who has accounted for 34 percent of Duke's offense--86 of 254 points--in the tournament, will be the focus of Tennessee's man-to-man defense.
"[Beard] can beat you off the dribble and break down a defense," Summit said. "She is a hustle player. She has so many dimensions to her game. When they need her to take over, she has demonstrated that she will get the job done."
Now that Duke has reached the Final Four, Goestenkors hopes that her team will feel less pressure and return to the level of play that earned it a top seed.
"The toughest game to win is the regional final," Goestenkors said. "There was a lot of pressure in that game and leading up to that game. We feel like now we can just go out and play. There is no pressure on us. I think for the first time in a very long time we might be the underdog now because Tennessee is playing so well."
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