Pressure defense and quick hands helped Connecticut steal an early and insurmountable lead over Tennessee and claim a 71-52 victory in the Division I Women's Basketball Championship April 2 in Philadelphia.

The Huskies built a 15-point lead a little more than 12 minutes into the first half, and Tennessee could never recover. The Lady Vols, who had been averaging 80 points per game, took 13 minutes to reach 10 points in the national title game.

"I thought if we could play 40 minutes of really solid basketball, we'd be all right," Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma said. "We did. Our defense was just spectacular tonight."

Connecticut, which tallied 12 steals and 11 blocks in the game, led by as many as 27 points and only a late rush saved Tennessee from a season-low point total. The Huskies were led by the Final Four's most outstanding player, Shea Ralph, who set the tone for her team defensively with six steals and added 15 points and seven assists to the victory.

"We worked hard," Ralph said. "We came out with a vengeance. We deserve it."

National player of the year Tamika Catchings, who led Tennessee with 16 points, was stifled early, getting only one shot off in the first 11 minutes, and it was blocked.

"Our guards were not strong enough to handle the pressure defense they applied," Tennessee head coach Pat Summitt said. "Offensively, they just schooled us -- even some of our veteran players."

Connecticut earned its second national title five years to the day after its first championship win in 1995. The Huskies finished the season with a 36-1 record and avenged their only loss of the season at the hands of the Lady Vols. Connecticut advanced to the title game by defeating Penn State, 89-67.

Tennessee, which was looking for its seventh national title, advanced to the championship game with a 64-54 win over Rutgers. The Lady Vols finished the season 33-4.

Ralph was joined on the all-tournament team by teammates Sue Bird, Svetlana Abrosimova and Asjha Jones. Catchings also was honored.

Regionals: East region -- Connecticut 102, Oklahoma 80; LSU 79, Duke 66; Connecticut 86, LSU 71.

Midwest region -- Louisiana Tech 86, Old Dominion 74, Penn St. 66, Iowa St. 65; Penn St. 86, Louisiana Tech 65.

Mideast region -- Tennessee 77, Virginia 56, Texas Tech 69, Notre Dame 65;

Tennessee 57, Texas Tech 44.

West region -- Georgia 83, North Carolina 57; Rutgers 60, UAB 45; Rutgers 59, Georgia 51.

SEMIFINALS

Tennessee 64, Rutgers 54

Rutgers: Usha Gilmore 3-8, 0-0, 3, 6; Jennifer Clemente 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Karlita Washington 1-4, 0-0, 1, 3; Kourtney Walton 1-4, 0-0, 3, 3; Shawnetta Stewart 5-15, 1-2, 8, 11; Linda Miles 4-7, 3-4, 6, 11; Tasha Pointer 5-12, 1-1, 4, 11; Davalyn Cunningham 2-2, 0-1, 2, 4; Tammy Sutton-Brown 2-10, 1-2, 7, 5. TOTALS: 23-62, 6-10, 36, 54.

Tennessee: Michelle Snow 4-6, 2-4, 4, 10; Niya Butts 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Kyra Elzy 1-3, 1-2, 1, 3; April McDivitt 0-2, 0-0, 0, 0; Gwen Jackson 0-3, 2-2, 4, 2; Kara Lawson 5-15, 8-8, 3, 19; Semeka Randall 1-6, 7-10, 7, 9; Tamika Catchings 5-9, 2-2, 12, 13; Kristen Clement 3-5, 0-1, 0, 8; Shalon Pillow 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0. TOTALS: 19-49, 22-29, 36, 64.

Half time: Tennessee 28, Rutgers 26. Three-point field goals: Rutgers 2-8 (Washington 1-1, Walton 1-2, Stewart 0-4, Pointer 0-1), Tennessee 4-12 (McDivitt 0-1, Lawson 1-6, Catchings 1-2, Clement 2-3). Disqualifications: Stewart. Officials: Scott Yarbrough, Ron Dessander, Carla Fujimoto. Attendance: 20,060.

Connecticut 89, Penn St. 67

Penn St.: Katrena Carr 4-9, 0-1, 3, 9; Lisa Shepherd 6-12, 1-3, 0, 15; Marissa Graby 1-1, 0-0, 0, 2; Nicole Anaejionu 1-1, 0-0, 1, 2; Chrissy Falcone 1-5, 0-0, 0, 3; Helen Darling 0-6, 0-0, 4, 0; Rashana Barnes 4-8, 0-0, 6, 8; Andrea Garner 7-16, 4-4, 6, 19; Ashley Luke 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Maren Walseth 4-6, 1-1, 2, 9. TOTALS: 28-65, 6-9, 30, 67.

Connecticut: Sue Bird 6-13, 2-2, 3, 19; Kelly Schumacher 3-4, 0-0, 7, 6; Marci Czel 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Asjha Jones 7-12, 2-2, 7, 16; Stacey Hansmeyer 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Kennitra Johnson 2-4, 2-2, 3, 6; Svetlana Abrosimova 4-12, 6-6, 10, 14; Swintayla Cash 4-7, 1-4, 0, 9; Shea Ralph 2-5, 4-4, 4, 9; Tamika Williams 4-7, 2-2, 6, 10; Paige Sauer 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Christine Rigby 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. TOTALS: 32-65, 19-22, 42, 89.

Half time: Connecticut 37, Penn St. 28. Three-point field goals: Penn St. 5-15 (Carr 1-2, Shepherd 2-5, Falcone 1-5, Darling 0-1, Garner 1-1, Luke 0-1), Connecticut 6-12 (Bird 5-7, Johnson 0-1, Abrosimova 0-3, Ralph 1-1). Disqualifications: none. Officials: Bob Trammell, Wes Dean, Lisa Mattingly. Attendance: 20,060.

CHAMPIONSHIP

Connecticut 71, Tennessee 52

Tennessee: Michelle Snow 2-9, 1-2, 4, 5; Niya Butts 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Kyra Elzy 3-5, 2-2, 5, 8; April McDivitt 1-2, 2-2, 0, 5; Gwen Jackson 2-4, 0-0, 7, 4; Kara Lawson 3-13, 0-0, 6, 6; Semeka Randall 1-11. 4-6, 8, 6; Tamika Catchings 4-6, 5-10, 4, 16; Shalon Pillow 0-1, 2-2, 2, 2. TOTALS: 16-51, 16-24, 39, 52.

Connecticut: Sue Bird 2-8, 0-0, 3, 4; Kelly Schumacher 3-4, 0-0, 6, 6; Marci Czel 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Asjha Jones 5-14, 2-3, 8, 12; Stacy Hansmeyer 0-1, 0-2, 0, 0; Kennitra Johnson 1-3, 1-2, 1, 3; Svetlana Abrosimova 5-9, 3-4, 5, 14; Swintayla Cash 4-8, 1-2, 3, 9; Shea Ralph 7-8, 1-2, 3, 15; Tamika Williams 3-4, 0-0, 2, 6; Paige Sauer 1-1, 0-0, 1, 2; Christine Rigby 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0. TOTALS: 31-61, 8-15, 34, 71.

Half time: Connecticut 32, Tennessee 20. Three-point field goals: Tennessee 4-7 (McDivitt 1-2, Lawson 0-2, Catchings 3-3), Connecticut 1-9 (Bird 0-3, Hansmeyer 0-1, Johson 0-2, Abrosimova 1-3). Disqualifications: none. Officials: Sally Bell, Art Bomengen, Dennis DeMayo. Attendance: 20,060 .