Atlanta ? Her right ankle was aching, her back was sore, her game was off.

Diana Taurasi wasn’t about to let those annoyances stand in the way of another trip to the women’s national championship game.

Taurasi made big baskets down the stretch and a key defensive stop at the end to give Connecticut a 71-69 victory Sunday night over Texas.

“I say it over and over again,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “We have Dee, and they don’t. That’s probably the biggest reason we won.”

Taurasi, the national player of the year, scored 26 points to bring the Huskies back from a nine-point deficit in the second half. Now, they’ll get a chance to play for their third championship in four years.

The title game is Tuesday night. The opponent is longtime rival Tennessee.

“There’s just something about this team,” Taurasi said. “We just don’t want to go home.”

It helps to have the country’s best player. Taurasi’s three-pointer from well behind the arc gave the Huskies the lead for good, 67-66, with 2:07 remaining.

Texas still had a chance, but Taurasi knocked the ball away from Alisha Sare as the little-used Texas player raced down the court trying to set up a buzzer-beating shot.

Taurasi grabbed the loose ball and held up her right index finger as the horn sounded.

“The biggest thing you can say about her is she’s not afraid,” said Auriemma, who picked up his 500th career victory. “She wants the ball in the crucial situations.”

Connecticut guard Diana Taurasi, left, gets tangled with Texas guard Kala Bowers in the second half of their semifinal game. The Huskies won, 71-69, Sunday at the NCAA Women's Final Four in Atlanta.

Earlier, Tennessee beat Duke, 66-56, in the other semifinal to advance to a seemingly inevitable showdown.

“I know that’s the game everyone’s been waiting for,” Auriemma said. “Now that it’s here, let’s enjoy it.”

UConn (36-1) closed the semifinals with an 11-3 run to send home the Longhorns (29-6), who were in the Final Four for the first time since 1987.

“I was worried about just what happened,” Texas coach Jody Conradt said. “You know when you’re playing against a great team and a great player like Diana, you leave yourself open.”

Taurasi, who had not practiced since the regional final in an attempt to heal, appeared a bit tentative and pulled off few of the flashy moves she’s known for.

“She’s the player of the year for a reason,” Texas’ Stacy Stephens said. “At the end of the game, she took over.”

The Longhorns went nearly three minutes without scoring, finally breaking the drought on Jamie Carey’s three-pointer with 28 seconds left. That was the last basket of the game.

Crockett gave Texas a chance by missing two free throws with 8.2 seconds left. Sare raced up the court and tried to set up a pass to Carey in the corner. But the ball slipped away.