NEW ORLEANS -- Temeka Johnson showed no sign of the bubbly personality that has made her such a fan favorite.

Johnson's crashing fall and turnover in the final seconds in LSU's 52-50 loss to Tennessee on Sunday night in the NCAA semifinals left the 5-foot-3 dynamo and her teammates stunned.

"I lost the ball," Johnson whispered. "That was the only thing that was going through my mind. It was a turnover on my part."

LSU was making its first Final Four appearance, with Pokey Chatman directing the team in place of Hall of Fame coach Sue Gunter. Gunter, who went on medical leave in February because of respiratory problems, watched the game from the team's hotel.

LSU got the ball with 6 seconds left after Tasha Butts, the hero of Tennessee's last two games, missed a layup.

But Tennessee trapped Johnson, forcing the turnover. Tennessee's Shyra Ely came up with the ball and fed LaToya Davis for an uncontested layup with 1.6 seconds left.

"The play was designed to get the ball in," Johnson said. "If we get in trouble, then come back to the ball. But it didn't work. We didn't execute it."

Johnson had one final attempt, a long heave as the buzzer sounded that bounced off the backboard.

"Temeka didn't lose the game for us," said LSU star Seimone Augustus, held to 16 points. "There were a lot of things we could have done to win it and we didn't do it. It wasn't her."

Johnson finished with nine points and had eight assists to break the tournament record with 50 in six games. She played through the pain of a first-half hip injury that left her limping the rest of the game.

"It took away the pressure that I could put on my leg for my first step, my jumping ability," she said. "Other than that, it wasn't major."

LSU loses only one player, guard Doneeka Hodges.

"We have to put this game in the past," Augustus said. "It's over and done with, but we can motivate ourselves from this loss."

Chatman also looked ahead to next season.

"They need to enjoy this experience," she said. "I don't think these kids were happy just to be here. They expected to win. I hope it stays with them long enough to get back again."