New Orleans ? With one final swat, Diana Taurasi secured Connecticut’s place in another national championship game.

Connecticut fought off repeated comebacks by a gutsy Minnesota team and stayed on track to win a third straight NCAA title with a 67-58 victory in the semifinals Sunday night.

Taurasi scored 18 points, made the pass that led to one of the game’s biggest baskets and then crushed Minnesota’s final hopes by flicking away Shannon Schonrock’s three-point shot near the end.

The Huskies (30-4) recovered the ball, and Taurasi dribbled out the final seconds, smiling when the buzzer sounded and slapping hands with teammate Ann Strother.

That smile might have been one of relief.

“They weren’t going to give up,” Taurasi said. “They made it this far, and they were going to fight and claw until the last seconds. And they kept making big plays, big shots, and fortunately we had the response every single time.”

The UConn victory keeps alive the possibility of the first championship double for a school.

UConn will play Georgia Tech for the men’s title tonight. And look who’s waiting for the women in Tuesday night’s championship game — none other than Tennessee, winner of six national titles and UConn’s main rival for supremacy in women’s basketball.

Tennessee advanced to its 11th NCAA championship game with a 52-50 victory over LSU in the other semifinal. It will be the second straight year and fourth time since 1995 the two powers have played for the title.

Connecticut won the three previous times, including a 73-68 victory last year in Atlanta.

Tennessee is the only school with three straight national championships, from 1996-98.

Minnesota (25-9) made a remarkable tournament run after guard Lindsay Whalen returned from a broken right hand that sidelined her for the final seven regular-season games.

Connecticut's Ashley Battle, left, drives against Minnesota's Lindsay Whalen in the Huskies' 67-58 victory. With the win Sunday in New Orleans, UConn earned a trip to Tuesday night's national-championship game against Tennessee.

The Gophers earned their first Final Four trip as the No. 7 seed in the Mideast, knocking off the teams seeded first, second and third to get to New Orleans and giving hundreds of crimson and gold-clad fans an excuse to party on Bourbon Street.

But Connecticut plays at a different level in the NCAA Tournament, and the Gophers fell short of what would have been their biggest victory. But they sure made it interesting.

Whalen, who plays like a windup toy that never runs down, and muscular center Janel McCarville kept the Gophers threatening. They’d cut the lead to two or three, only to see UConn pull away. Then they’d creep close again, and Connecticut would open it back up.

“Lindsay Whalen is as good a player as I’ve had the pleasure of playing against,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “And Janel McCarville is one of the toughest kids in America. To beat them today is as gratifying as anything that we have ever done.”

Minnesota never did get the lead in the second half, but the Gophers had their chances after Kelly Roysland scored on a baseline drive to cut their deficit to 58-55 with 5:50 left.

But the Gophers missed shots on three straight possessions. Then Strother nailed a three from the left corner, and Taurasi came through with her third assist.

She faked a shot at the top of the key and whipped the ball to Willnett Crockett, who banked in a layup to make it 63-55 with 2:36 to play.

It was all but over after Taurasi and Ashley Battle each made two free throws in the final minute. Then Taurasi put an exclamation point on it with her block.