 The Regional Championship matched Tennessee with the 2nd @-@ seeded Tar Heels , who were coming off of a 6 @-@ point victory over 3rd @-@ seeded Illinois . Summitt 's team started off with a 17 – 11 lead , only to falter and allow Carolina to tie it up at 21 . Tennessee responded with a 12 – 6 run to end the first , but Carolina answered by opening the second half with the first seven points , giving them a one @-@ point lead , 34 – 33 , and the first time an opponent had held a lead over Tennessee in over three months . Carolina slowly extended the lead as the game continued , until they were eventually leading 61 – 49 , at which point Summitt sent several players , including Holdsclaw ( who was on the bench due to a poor shooting performance ) back onto the floor . A minute later , Tennessee had cut the deficit to five , and by the five @-@ minute mark the game was tied again , at 62 . The teams traded baskets , tying the game at 64 and 66 , before Tennessee reached a 70 – 67 lead , with less than ninety seconds remaining . Carolina was soon forced to start fouling the Lady Vols , who made their free throws and advanced to the Final Four , 76 – 70 . Holdsclaw once again led all scorers , this time with 29 , and Semeka Randall had 20 . North Carolina was led by Wright and Reid , who had 21 and 20 . 
