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Alberta Auguste has put herself in this position. So she will stay put.

That sums up Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt's thinking about the senior guard and her new role. Auguste's hustle earned her a rare start in the SEC tournament championship game against LSU and she played a key part in a 61-55 victory.

The revised starting lineup will carry over to the next tournament, when Tennessee (30-2) opens NCAA play against Oral Roberts (19-13) in a Midwest Regional first-round game at approximately 9:30 p.m. Sunday (TV: ESPN2) in West Lafayette, Ind.

No. 8 seed Utah and No. 9 Purdue play at 7. The winners meet Tuesday for a trip to the regional semifinals.

Auguste replaced freshman Angie Bjorklund for the opening tip against the Lady Tigers in Nashville earlier this month and scored six of her eight points in the first half. Her three baskets amounted to nearly one-fourth of UT's 25 points at the break.

"I really liked how she started in that game against LSU,'' Summitt said

LSU coach Van Chancellor didn't and said as much in complimenting the switch after the game.

"As Van said to me afterward, 'that was the worst thing that could've happened to us,' " Summitt said.

The Lady Vols coaches didn't want the move to be the worst thing to happen to them, not at this time of the season. Bjorklund had started 30 games this season. The only other time she was yanked was when Auguste started on senior night. Furthermore, Summitt always has liked having an athletic perimeter player like Auguste as a spark off the bench.

The coaches reviewed the decision and concluded that the switch was best for the team's play and that the parties involved wouldn't have a problem with it.

Bjorklund could've told them that. She signed off on the move even before it was reconfirmed this week.

"When it comes down it, it's all about the team,'' she said. "If she's (Auguste) playing well, she needs to start. That's just how it goes. Me coming off the bench, I'm just going to give all I have for the team."

Auguste said what matters most to her is playing hard. Rather than recite the usual survive-and-advance tournament motto, she's saying, "Life is on the line."

"I don't think about starting; I don't think about coming off the bench,'' she said. "I just think about when I'm out there to set that tempo on defense, get the team going and take it from there. It really doesn't matter to me."

Tennessee has some history with postseason lineup changes. In 2002, the Lady Vols' starting five was in flux until their final game at the Women's Final Four. But that season's lineup was an unsolved mystery from start to finish.

"Oh gosh, I was sitting at home flipping a coin on that one,'' Summitt said.

Conversely, Shyra Ely became a starter for the first NCAA game of 2003 and she helped energize a team that had lapsed into a stupor at the SEC tournament.

"I contemplated that for a long time before I pulled the trigger,'' Summitt said. "We had a set lineup. I hesitate to change sometimes. You don't know how it will affect the chemistry of your team."

This latest move apparently isn't creating any waves. Still, Auguste and Bjorklund must make it work.

For Auguste, it's a matter of maximizing her rebounds and steals and minimizing her turnovers. Her nickname is "Bird." An upgrade to "big-game Bird" has been suggested. It's up to Auguste to make it fly.

"This is my last year,'' she said. "I feel like I have something to prove. I've tried to fit in. This year I'm fitting in but I need to show more of that I can play at this level and play at the next level. When I'm out there on the floor, I have to give everything I have."

Bjorklund, meanwhile, favors a church-supper style of motivation. After Monday night's selection show, Summitt repeated a thought from tournaments past, telling the team that they were going to proceed in potluck fashion.

"Whether it's coming off the bench or starting, I need to bring my best dish,'' Bjorklund said. "Bring what I do best and give it my all.''

Bjorklund's best is her shooting, which was off target (2 for 10) in Nashville. As a result, a sharpshooter turned into a point guard, racking up 10 assists in three games.

The Lady Vols coaches don't seem overly concerned about Bjorklund's confidence or her shot. They definitely don't want her to worry.

"One thing you don't want Angie to do is become overanalytical,'' assistant coach Dean Lockwood said. "When you come right down to it, we're not talking about a Swiss watch. We're talking about a jump shot."

Just heat and serve.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.