KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Kara Lawson will pack plenty of experience for a final trip to a Final Four.

Two previous excursions afford Tennessee's senior guard that luxury.

No amount of experience, though, can guarantee the amount of optimism that Lawson will bring. And she'll be lugging a good supply of good feelings.

"We're playing better defense, we're rebounding better ... ." said Lawson, compiling a list after Monday's 73-49 Mideast Regional final victory over Villanova. "We have such a strong belief in each other, not that those (other) teams didn't, but we're on a higher level than all of those teams."

	Tennessee's Kara Lawson is making her third trip to the Final Four. This time, she doesn't want to leave empty-handed.

The Lady Vols play Duke in the national semifinals Sunday night at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

"There's an air of confidence right now," Tennessee assistant coach Mickie DeMoss said. "We don't seem to get rattled too easily. I have to believe we're a little more seasoned."

The Lady Vols established a competitive pace in the regional that was both useful and effective. A union of skill and effort linked fast starts to big finishes.

These Lady Vols seem to be developing a healthy appreciation for the traditional tools of Tennessee's trade in March and now April.

"We've always said, 'The teams that win championships buy into the system.'" junior forward Courtney McDaniel said. "That's what we're trying to do."

It's most evident in Tennessee's rebounding. The margin in the NCAA tournament is an impressive 16.2 per game (46.5-30.3). Part of the disparity is competition driven. Penn State wasn't big enough to challenge UT on the boards. Villanova was neither capable nor inclined.

Virginia also didn't seem particularly threatening. Yet, the Cavaliers outrebounded the Lady Vols in a second-round game. Virginia might have done a huge service for UT with that small 42-41 edge.

In previewing Sunday's game, Duke forward Iciss Tillis said, "I think the key to winning that game is going to be getting all the rebounds."

Tennessee's defense is quantified by the opposition's 31.4 percent shooting from the floor (77-for-245) in the tournament and 50.2 points-per-game average.

The collective effort is only as good as the individuals involved. A case in point is guard Loree Moore, who took it upon herself to help transform Villanova guard Courtney Mix from a 6-for-7 marksman at halftime Monday night into someone who scored just four second-half points.

"I had a bad first half; I wasn't very intense," she said. "Coach told me at halftime I gave Mix too many open layups. I wasn't in her face. In the second half, I thought I did a good job of crowding her and making her play faster."

It was a prudent adjustment on her part.

Likewise, Tennessee's 83.8 points-per-game scoring average reflects a high-percentage move. The Lady Vols have built a better scoring foundation on some of the best shot selection of the season.

Forwards Gwen Jackson and Shyra Ely collectively are scoring 32.5 points per game. Most of their points have come from close range.

It's no coincidence that the Lady Vols have started the past two tournament games by shooting 50 percent or better from the floor well into the first half. The shooting percentages correspond with the type of shots the Lady Vols are taking.

Saturday against Penn State, 43 of Tennessee's 71 shots (60.6 percent) came from the foul-lane area. Against Villanova, 32 of 56 shots (57.1 percent) came from the same area.

To do otherwise risks the chance of more misses and a greater likelihood, as DeMoss said, of "the rim getting smaller and smaller."

The rim must look pretty big right now. That's the optimistic view.