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NEW ORLEANS - The big center took the feed at the foul line, went up and knocked down the jumper. "Thatta way, Shaq," a teammate said during practice Saturday at New Orleans Arena.

The Lakers aren't in town, so this wasn't Shaquille O'Neal. It's the Minnesota Golden Gophers who are in town for the NCAA Women's Final Four, and this player nicknamed "Shaq" was Janel McCarville.

McCarville, newly crowned to the Kodak/WBCA All-America team, has been an unstoppable force in the postseason. The 6-foot-2 center has delivered four straight double-doubles, averaging 19.8 points and 17 rebounds in the Tournament to power 25-8 Minnesota to its first-ever Final Four ticket - the third-lowest seed to make it this far.

At around 9:30 p.m. today, McCarville will try to help power Minnesota past Connecticut and into Tuesday night's final against the winner of the 7 p.m. semifinal between six-time champ Tennessee and first-time Final Four participant LSU.

"Janel McCarville may be one of the strongest kids I've ever seen," said UConn coach Geno Auriemma, whose team is shooting for its third straight national title

Tennessee leads all schools in national championships (six) and Final Four appearances (14).

But the matchup between Tennessee and LSU seems a bit less like David vs. Goliath because the two are Southeastern Conference rivals.

"I don't think we should feel like an underdog," said LSU guard Temeka Johnson.

Women's Tourney

 Tennessee (30-3) vs. Louisiana State (27-7), 7 p.m.

 Connecticut (27-4) vs. Minnesota (25-8), 9:30 p.m. (approx.)

TV: ESPN.