PHILADELPHIA - As Tennessee freshman Nicky Anosike stepped to the foul line with 1.2 seconds to play, a homecoming celebration was building at mid-court Tuesday night.

UT's Shyra Ely and Shanna Zolman, a couple of Indiana natives, put their arms around each other and embraced the women's Final Four to come.

Anosike's two free throws then provided the final points in a 59-49 victory for the Philadelphia Regional championship. Finally, Rutgers was out of the way and the path was clear to Indianapolis and the Lady Vols' 16th Final Four.

But don't let the 10-point spread fool you. Nothing came easy for UT in a game that was long on effort and short on execution.

"This was a hard-fought game, and we knew it would go down to the end," UT point guard Loree Moore said. "We were getting mad at what they were doing to us, but we kept our composure."

UT's composure was tested with 10:31 to play when Moore drew her fourth foul. Rutgers, which trailed by six points at halftime, had pulled even at 35-all and clearly had the momentum.

UT coach Pat Summitt brought Moore to the bench and elected to go with a big lineup that included Anosike, Tye'sha Fluker and Ely.

"The reason I made that decision was for board play and for defense," Summitt said. "With Loree on the bench and Brittany (Jackson) not really playing as strong with the basketball, I decided to put the ball in Alexis' (Hornbuckle's) hands and let Shanna share some of that responsibility.

"I said tonight that we had to be a great rebounding team. I did not think either team would win this game on their first shots. And the boards would be the telling statistic."

She was right. UT made only 31 percent of its shots, compared to 36 percent for Rutgers. But the Lady Vols outrebounded the Scarlet Knights 38-28.

UT seemed confident and comfortable that it could win the game in that manner. No matter how it faltered offensively, it never lost its sense of purpose.

"When you struggle offensively, you have great concern that it will impact how you play defense," Summitt said. "Fortunately, this team has been in this situation and has learned to play through that."

Rebounding and defense weren't UT's only points of emphasis. Summitt challenged her team to get to the free-throw line, and it did from the get-go. Rutgers had 10 fouls before UT had one in the first half; overall, the Lady Vols made 29 of 35 free throws, compared to eight of 13 for Rutgers.

"I think a big difference was our ability to keep going inside and getting to the free-throw line, but that was by design," Summitt said. "We shot the ball from the outside a lot against them in the first game (which Rutgers won in December).

"Our inside game is better than it has been all year. And having three big players on the floor gave us a chance to work the glass hard."

Anosike epitomized UT's work on the boards and at the foul line. She had seven rebounds and made 10 of 12 free throws.

"Who would have ever thought it?" Summitt said, reflecting on Anosike's free-throw problems early in the season. "That's self-improvement."

UT improved as a team, too.

Don't forget that it lost two of its first six games, a dreadful start for a program as successful as this one. And don't forget that it lost by 14 points to Rutgers in December.

The Lady Vols overcame the slow start, withstood the loss of four players to injury, and then - with the Final Four only one victory away - wrested the momentum and game back from Rutgers.

Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com.