NCAA Sweet Sixteen - Des Moines Region   1 2 FINAL Kansas 35 38 73 Tennessee 30 54 84 Video Highlights  |  Box Score  |  Photos  |  Buy Kansas Basketball Gear    Quick Stats Kansas Tennessee Points 73 84 FG Made - Attempted 31-66 29-66 FG Percentage .470 .439 3PT Made - Attempted 4-14 5-18 .286 .278 .143 FT Made - Attempted 7-11 21-24 FT Percentage .636 .875 Rebounds 32 41 Turnovers 9 8    Statistical Leaders Kansas Pts Rbs Asst St Blk  Chelsea Gardner 14 10 1 1 2  Angel Goodrich 23 5 6 1 0 Tennessee Pts Rbs Asst St Blk  Glory Johnson 18 7 2 0 0  Shekinna Stricklen 16 9 2 2 1    Related Links  ♦ Big 12 Championship Central | Season Stats | Media Guide  ♦ Big 12 Mobile Apps | Big 12 Digital Network  ♦ Big 12 Report - presented by Dr Pepper

As it turned out, Tennessee's mission trumped Kansas' mission.

The second-seeded Lady Vols want their senior class to make it the Final Four and avoid becoming the only senior class in the Pat Summitt era not to play in at least one Final Four. Also, Summitt has been diagnosed early onset dementia, Alzheimer's type, and it's not certain if she'll coach past this season.

The Jayhawks, the No. 11 seed, was the Cinderella team of the Sweet 16. One of the last at-large teams to make the 64-team bracket, Kansas beat No. 6 Nebraska and No. 3 Delaware to reach the Des Moines Regional semifinal.

Instead of a third game with Baylor, the Jayhawks' season ended Saturday. Tennessee, which trailed early by 14 points, used productive bench plan and a strong second half for an 84-73 victory. The Lady Vols (27-8) will face top-seeded Baylor in Monday's regional final. The Lady Bears knocked off Georgia Tech, 83-68, Saturday in Des Moines.

"The second-chance points on the glass, the offensive rebounds, which is what they've always been about," said Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson, whose team was outscored 23-12 in second-chance points. "They got into us in the offensive glass, they got into us in transition. That's the way they got the separation in the second half."

Kansas (21-13) jumped to a 26-12 lead in the first 10 minutes and led 35-30 at halftime.

"We want to be the ones to attack, and we did and it felt really good," said Kansas point guard Angel Goodrich, who finished with 23 points and six assists.

The Jayhawks pushed their lead to 39-31 in the opening minutes of the second half. The Lady Vols responded with an 11-3 run. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Ariel Massengale forged a 42-all tie four minutes into the second half.

Once Tennessee took the lead, Kansas was never able to regain control of the scoreboard. Tennessee received a huge boost from its bench, outscoring Kansas 41-11. Sophomore Meighan Simmons came off the bench to score a team-high 22 for the Lady Vols.

"We started the game and for some reason we were flat, didn't have a lot of energy," Simmons said. "We got that going, had a lot more energy in the second half. For me, since it's a one and done kind of thing, it just brings that energy inside me. . I want our seniors to go to the Final Four."

In mid-February, Kansas lost leading scorer Carolyn Davis to a season-ending knee injury. The Jayhawks lost six of their last eight and appeared destined to not end their streak of missing the NCAA Tournament since 2002.

 "We faced a lot of adversity, and I'm very proud of how our team stuck together and played together," Kansas guard Monica Engleman said. "We've lost people from injuries; we've lost games we thought we should have won. We have nothing to be upset about.  We lost. We're disappointed, but we should be proud of the run that we've made and the season we had."