By Chuck Schoffner
The Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS - With one final swat, Diana Taurasi secured Connecticut's place in another national championship game.

Connecticut fought off repeated comebacks by a gutsy Minnesota team and stayed on track to win a third straight NCAA title with a 67-58 victory in the semifinals Sunday night.

Taurasi scored 18 points, made the pass that led to one of the game's biggest baskets and then crushed Minnesota's final hopes by flicking away Shannon Schonrock's 3-point shot near the end.

The Huskies (30-4) recovered the ball and Taurasi dribbled out the final seconds, smiling when the buzzer sounded and slapping hands with teammate Ann Strother.

The Connecticut victory keeps alive the possibility of the first championship double for a school.

UConn will play Georgia Tech for the men's title Monday night. And look who's waiting for the women in Tuesday night's championship game - none other than Tennessee, winner of six national titles and UConn's main rival for supremacy in women's basketball.

Tennessee advanced to its 11th NCAA championship game with a 52-50 victory over LSU in the other semifinal. It will be the second straight year and fourth time since 1995 the two powers have played for the title.

Connecticut won the three previous times, including a 73-68 victory last year in Atlanta.

Tennessee is the only school with three straight national championships, winning from 1996-98.

Minnesota (25-9) made a remarkable tournament run after guard Lindsay Whalen returned from a broken right hand that sidelined her for the final seven regular-season games.

The Gophers earned their first Final Four trip as the No. 7 seed in the Mideast, knocking off the teams seeded first, second and third to get to New Orleans and giving hundreds of crimson and gold-clad fans an excuse to party on Bourbon Street.

But Connecticut plays at a different level in the NCAA tournament, and the Gophers fell short of what would have been their biggest upset. But they sure made it interesting.

Whalen, who plays like a windup toy that never runs down, and muscular center Janel McCarville kept the Gophers threatening. They'd cut the lead to two or three, only to see UConn pull away. Then they'd creep close again and Connecticut would open it back up.

Minnesota never did get the lead in the second half, but the Gophers had their chances after Kelly Roysland scored on a baseline drive to cut their deficit to three at 58-55 with 5:50 left.

Three times after that Minnesota had a chance to get closer or tie, but the shots wouldn't drop. Then Strother nailed a 3 from the left corner, enabling the Huskies' fans to breathe a little easier, and Taurasi came through with her third and final assist.

She faked a shot at the top of the key and whipped the ball to Willnett Crockett, who banked in a layup to make it 63-55 with 2:36 to play.

It was all but over after Taurasi and Ashley Battle each made two free throws in the final minute. Then Taurasi put an exclamation point on it with her block.

Maria Conlon added 10 points for Connecticut and helped frustrate Minnesota by tipping away passes and making herself a general pest on defense.

Five other UConn players scored from six to nine points and the Huskies came up with 12 offensive rebounds, which led to 17 points. In this game, they were valuable.

McCarville wasn't able to dominate the game the way she did in the Gophers' run to the Final Four, but she was still tough to handle, finishing with 18 points on 8-for-13 shooting. She also had seven rebounds, four steals and three assists.

Connecticut was able to limit Whalen's shots - she was 3-for-11 in scoring 11 points - but she had seven assists and forced defenders to chase her all over the floor. Jamie Broback scored 10 for the Gophers, who led only once.

That was when Whalen fed McCarville for a layup that made it 9-8, but the lead lasted just 29 seconds. Jessica Moore got a bucket on a pass from Barbara Turner and the Huskies were off on a 10-0 run that put them ahead to stay.

But, as it turned out, not out of danger.

McCarville muscled inside for a basket that drew the Gophers to 46-44 midway through the second half. Connecticut's answer: a 3 by Taurasi just nine seconds later.

The Huskies built the lead to nine, but back came Minnesota again, this time pulling to 53-51 on Broback's 3-pointer. Turner answered that basket, rising up in a crowd to rebound Conlon's missed 3, sticking the ball in the basket while being fouled and making the free throw to complete the three-point play.

There would be one more Minnesota run. But Connecticut had one more answer.