Irish can't seem to solve Vols

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Muffet McGraw has a national championship and more than 500 career wins to her credit. She's a former national coach of the year and has at least 1 victory over nearly every team she's faced in 21 seasons at Notre Dame.

But not Tennessee.

The one glaring line that she'd like to delete from her resume reads this way: 0-15 against the Lady Vols. She'll get another chance tonight when the fifth-seeded Irish (25-8) face the defending national champions in the semifinals of the Oklahoma City regional.

"I feel like it's sort of printed on my forehead '0-for-Tennessee,' " McGraw said Friday.

Pat Summitt's Tennessee squads have won by an average of 23 points. Earlier this season, the Lady Vols won 87-63 at Notre Dame.

In that game, Tennessee's Angie Bjorklund had a career-high seven 3-pointers as the Irish appeared to be concentrating their defense on All-American Candace Parker, although she still scored 20 points.

"I think the first time we played them, we worried too much about her, she still got 20 points and everybody else beat us as well," McGraw said. "So I think we need a new plan."

Only two of the teams' 19 meetings have come in the NCAA Tournament. Tennessee (32-2) beat the Irish 80-66 in the 1997 Final Four and then knocked off the defending champions in an 89-50 rout in the second round of the 2002 tournament. Only one of the contests has been decided by single digits.

None of that matters to the Lady Vols.

"This is for a championship. You win or go home," Tennessee forward Nicky Anosike said. "That's motivation right there."