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Women's NCAA Basketball Championship Game Is Set For Tuesday

TOM GOLDMAN, BYLINE: And this is Tom Goldman in New Orleans where the Louisville women's team continued its surprising run through the tournament. It followed up stunners over Baylor and Tennessee with a 64 to 57 come-from-behind semi-final win over California last night. Louisville guard Antonita Slaughter made six out of 10 three-point shots and head coach Jeff Walz was left to explain, again, how the Cards are doing it.

JEFF WALZ: And we're figuring out a way to pull them out and win and play well at the right time.

GOLDMAN: The cheers from Connecticut fans at the end of the second semi-final were a longtime coming. UConn had lost seven of its past eight games against Big East rival Notre Dame, including three times this season. The fourth was the charm, though, as the Huskies ran away with an 83 to 65 win. UConn freshman forward Breanna Stewart had a star-is-born performance. Twenty-nine points, five rebounds, four blocked shots and one kooky answer. When asked why she's been playing so well, building confidence and practice, she said:

BREANNA STEWART: And I think Coach had a little bit to do with it. Wait. What was the second half part of the question?

(LAUGHTER)

GOLDMAN: Wise guy head coach Geno Auriemma seems to have met his match in Stewart, but Auriemma did get serious when asked to put Stewart's performance in context.

GENO AURIEMMA: I don't remember a player having a better game in this environment and certainly I've never seen a freshman have a game like this in this environment.

GOLDMAN: Tomorrow, UConn will try to win its record-tying eighth championship. Louisville, its first. Tom Goldman, NPR News, New Orleans. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Tom Goldman is NPR's sports correspondent. His reports can be heard throughout NPR's news programming, including Morning Edition and All Things Considered, and on NPR.org.