By BRIAN HEYMAN
The (Westchester, N.Y.) Journal News

Tennessee head coach Pat Summitt yells to her players in the closing moments of the Lady Vols' 66-56 win over Duke Sunday. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

ATLANTA - The NCAA tournament had been an absolute survival test for Duke with all those shots crashing off the rim. Defense and Alana Beard took the Blue Devils to their second straight Final Four. That combo also took them past Tennessee by 21 points back in November.

Tennessee, on the other hand, had been playing championship ball at both ends in this tournament. The six-time champion Lady Vols cruised to their second straight Final Four, third in four years and 14th overall.

But this win-or-else semifinal rematch at the Georgia Dome Sunday night became a survival test for both teams, an airtight struggle for most of the way. Tennessee managed to pull away in the last minute to take this one that really counted, 66-56.

Senior forward Gwen Jackson did much of the pulling, scoring 13 of her 25 points in the final 6:08, and she grabbed 15 rebounds. And that helped the Lady Vols survive a 29-point outburst by Beard, the All-American junior guard.

Now the Lady Vols will try to claim their first title since 1998, playing here Tuesday night against the winner of Sunday night's late semifinal between Connecticut and Texas.

So Tennessee's two seniors, Jackson and Kara Lawson, will have a third chance to finally leave with first prize.

"This is my last chance," Jackson said, looking ahead to the Final Four tipoff. "I'm hungry."

Duke (35-2), No. 1 ranked in the ESPN/USA TODAY coaches' poll and No. 2 ranked by AP after averaging 81.6 points during the regular season, fell off to 63.5 in its first four tournament games. This group kept moving forward by holding the other teams back, allowing an average of just 54 points.

"I think it takes mental toughness for a team that's been playing as poorly as we've been playing and come out with wins," junior forward Iciss Tillis had said.

Tennessee (33-4), on the other hand, looked sharp, but it didn't hurt that it got to play all four of its games at home in Knoxville thanks to the predetermined site system for the second two games. The Lady Vols' 4-0 run made them 44-0 at home all-time in the tournament.

Here on neutral ground, even though there were more fans wearing their orange than Duke blue, they had a sweat.

Beard tied the game at 49-49 with a three-point play at the 4:22-to-go mark. But Jackson drilled a 3 from the head of the circle, and after Tillis missed inside, Tennessee's Brittany Jackson hit a layup. It was 54-49 with 3:10 left.

Loree Moore stole a pass from Wynter Whitley, and that led to two free throws by Gwen Jackson, and it was a seven-point game.

Beard got it down to 56-51 with a drive through the lane for two at the 1:22 mark, and then the Blue Devils had to foul. Jackson hit one of two to make it a seven-point game, but Beard drove the lane on the way to a three-point play - 57-54 with 1:12 showing on the game clock.

Moore made a free throw one second later for a four-point lead, and then Beard missed the front end of a one-and-one. Gwen Jackson nailed two free throws, but Beard drove to cut it to 60-56.

The Lady Vols broke the press, and Shyra Ely laid the ball in for a six-point edge. Beard hit the iron with a short jumper, Lawson got the ball and hit two from the line. It was 64-56, 33.8 ticks showing, and Duke was done.

Early on, Gwen Jackson didn't look hungry, she looked famished, working hard at both ends. The Lady Vols shot in front 15-8 after eight minutes, and Jackson had nine of the points and six of the rebounds. The Blue Devils just weren't looking crisp on offense again.

Jackson, though, quickly cooled, and Duke got warm in a hurry. Beard hit two from the line and drove for two to kick off an 8-0 run, good for a 16-15 edge.

There were eight lead changes and a tie from that point until the buzzer went off for halftime. Right before that sound echoed through the Dome, Beard swished a 3 from the right wing to give her 13 points and the Blue Devils a 29-27 advantage.

"I think the level of confidence is so different from last year," Tennessee junior guard Tasha Butts said. "Last year we got here and didn't know what to expect."

Now they know. They can expect one more win-or-else game.

TENNESSEE (35-2) - G.Jackson 7-13 10-12 25, Ely 3-7 0-0 6, Butts 1-6 0-0 2, Lawson 3-12 2-2 8, Moore 5-9 1-2 11, Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Zolman 0-1 2-2 2, B.Jackson 3-4 1-2 7, Robinson 2-5 1-1 5. Totals 24-57 17-21 66.

DUKE (33-4) - Beard 12-24 4-5 29, Tillis 4-11 0-0 9, Matyasovsky 0-1 0-0 0, Harding 3-8 0-0 6, Krapohl 0-1 0-0 0, Bass 1-3 0-0 2, Mosch 4-9 1-1 10, Foley 0-2 0-0 0, Whitley 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 24-61 5-6 56.

Halftime-Duke 29-27. 3-Point Goals-Tennessee 1-9 (G.Jackson 1-3, Moore 0-1, Zolman 0-1, Butts 0-2, Lawson 0-2), Duke 3-9 (Beard 1-2, Mosch 1-2, Tillis 1-2, Foley 0-1, Harding 0-1, Krapohl 0-1). Fouled out-Harding. Rebounds-Tennessee 41 (G.Jackson 15), Duke 30 (Beard 6). '