Tennessee Streak Continues

It’s as close as it comes to a basketball guarantee: Play four seasons at Tennessee and you’ll reach the women’s Final Four at least once.

The eight sophomores and freshmen on this season’s team already are penciled in to join that long list of Lady Vols.

Tennessee’s 68-63 victory over Vanderbilt on Monday for the Midwest Regional title advanced Coach Pat Summitt’s squad to San Antonio for Tennessee’s 13th Final Four appearance.

The Lady Vols, who have won six titles, will play top-seeded Connecticut on Friday.

Before this season, Summitt had coached 125 players since 1974, when women’s basketball was still played under the Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women. Every player on that list who completed her eligibility at Tennessee--103 in all--reached the national semifinals or better, some more than once.

“It’s so exciting to come in my first year and make it to the Final Four,� freshman forward Brittany Jackson said.

Summitt surpassed John Wooden with the most Final Four trips of any men’s or women’s college coach. She and the former UCLA coach had been tied at 12.

“It’s a dream come true for them. I never once doubted this group [Monday night],� Summitt said. “They’ve earned it, they’ve worked for it and never quit believing.�

On this season’s team, only the seniors and juniors have experienced a Final Four.

Michelle Snow was a sophomore, and Kara Lawson, Gwen Jackson and April McDivitt were freshmen on Tennessee’s most recent Final Four team, which lost to Connecticut, 71-52, in the 2000 championship.

“Everyone looks, I know a lot of fans, too, to culminate the season with a UConn-Tennessee matchup. It’s happening a little bit earlier this year, but the stakes are just as high,� Lawson said.

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Boise State hired Jen Warden as women’s coach. A former assistant at Colorado, she replaces Trisha Stevens, who resigned March 8 after six seasons.... Tickets for the Final Four are available for purchase at the Alamodome box office. Packages are priced at $120 and $90.