Charismatic coaches meet with title at stake

ATLANTA -- Tennessee's Pat Summitt is the stern disciplinarian with an icy glare, yet her players consider her a surrogate mother.

Connecticut's Geno Auriemma is the ultimate agitator, a wisecracking needler who enjoys zinging friend and foe alike. Who else would call Summitt's program the "Evil Empire?"

Different personalities to be sure, but two intensely competitive coaches with the same goal. Their teams meet tonight to decide the national championship in women's basketball, the latest installment of the sport's hottest rivalry.

Tennessee (33-4) has six titles but none since 1998. Connecticut (36-1) has won two of the last three championships and three overall.

"Strictly from good theater, you couldn't ask for a better matchup," Auriemma said.

That theater extends to the coaching rivalry. Both insist they don't dislike each other. They even chatted for 15 minutes or so Monday when they crossed paths in the Georgia Dome.

But friends? Hardly. Summitt invited Villanova coach Harry Perretta and his team -- the only one to beat UConn this season -- to her house for a cookout before the Mideast Regional in Knoxville. The East Tennessee mountains would turn into flatland before Auriemma secured such an invite.

"We're not talking on the phone every week," Summitt said. "As a matter of fact, we don't talk on the phone. But I would just say that you have a great rivalry and certainly a coach that I respect tremendously."

Auriemma caused a stir when he needled Perretta, one of his good friends, over his relationship with Summitt, saying the Villanova coach had "dumped me for the Evil Empire."

Hey, Auriemma pleaded, lighten up. He was just having fun.

"I live in Connecticut and I'm a Red Sox fan," Auriemma said. "If you talk about Tennessee, they are the Yankees and Pat is George Steinbrenner. We make fun of it.

"There is nothing evil about them -- unless you live in Connecticut. Her program speaks for itself and her reputation certainly speaks for itself. Throwing snowballs is part of what you do in a tournament. We are just throwing a couple of snowballs at each other."

Summitt's reaction to how she was characterized?

"Well, I have been called a lot worse in my career," she said.

That's the thing about Auriemma. It's hard to tell sometimes when he's joking and when he's serious. Junior guard Morgan Valley said she didn't get it straight until her third season with the Huskies.

"He would say stuff and I would cry," Valley said. "That's the one thing you never want to do. You never want to let him see you cry. Then you get adjusted to him and realize he does it to everybody."

Added guard Maria Conlon: "You just have to take a lot of that lightly. When he's not digging you or not saying anything about you, that's when you should be worried."

This is the third NCAA title game between the coaches; UConn won the others, in 1995 and 2000. The Huskies beat Oklahoma last year and are 3-0 in national finals.

"The reason we're 3-0 is all three of those games I felt we had the best team," Auriemma said. "I don't know if we're going in tomorrow night with as much of a comfort level as we have in the past."

That's because the Huskies are young. Two freshmen and a sophomore start and another freshman is a key reserve. They do have national player of the year Diana Taurasi, though, and she has been the difference in the NCAA tournament.

Taurasi scored 26 points in UConn's 71-69 semifinal victory over Texas on Sunday, including a long 3-pointer that put the Huskies ahead to stay with 2:08 left. She's averaging 25.8 points in the tournament.

"She is fearless," Tennessee's Kara Lawson said. "I think she takes on a lot of responsibility, but she is confident that she can handle it. You saw that last night. When they needed a basket, when they were down, they went to her, and she has come through time and time again."

Tennessee has won 24 of 25 games since losing to Connecticut 63-62 in overtime Jan. 4. They Lady Vols are getting sensational play from senior Gwen Jackson, who had 25 points and 15 rebounds in Sunday's 66-56 win over Duke.

That she'll finish her career against a rival such as Connecticut might be a big deal to some. Not to Jackson.

"I don't care who we play. I just want to win," she said. "It's my last 40 minutes of college basketball. I'm just going to try to make the most of it."