Utah's Jenna Johnson rues missed FTs in LSU loss, but will 'get back after it'

GREENVILLE, S.C. — The NCAA tournament puts players into the most pressure-packed situations of their careers. It happened to two players in the final 10 seconds of No. 3 seed LSU's 66-63 win over No. 2 seed Utah in the Greenville 2 regional semifinal Friday night.

LSU fifth-year senior Alexis Morris made all four of her free throws. Utah sophomore Jenna Johnson missed both of hers, and the Tigers move on to face No. 9 seed Miami in an unexpected women's basketball regional final Sunday.

The dramatic win puts second-year coach Kim Mulkey in position to make the women's Final Four with a third program. She made it that far as a player and an assistant coach at Louisiana Tech, winning two NCAA titles, and as a head coach at Baylor, winning three titles.

The Utes had their sights set on reaching the Elite Eight for the second time in program history; they made it that far in 2006 before losing to eventual champion Maryland. After an 11-2 run in the final 3½ minutes of Friday's game, Utah looked poised to win when LSU forward Angel Reese missed a shot with 13 seconds left and the Tigers trailing 63-62.

But Morris scrambled for the ball and was fouled going to the basket. She said she took a moment to gather herself before stepping up to the line.

«You've got to breathe, breathe, breathe,» Morris said. «I'm looking at Coach Mulkey, I'm looking at my teammates, my little niece. It wasn't just about me in that moment. It was about everybody, the program and the fans. That calmed me down, because I knew that they believed in me.»

Morris made both free throws to put LSU up 64-63. Then Utah's Gianna Kneepkens missed a shot, but Johnson got the offensive rebound and was fouled with 4 seconds left. The 6-foot-2 forward was shooting