Sidelined after eight games last season by a torn ligament in her left knee, Bird was miserable. There were times Connecticut needed her steady hand at point guard. Instead, she could do nothing but sit and watch.

	Sue Bird had four steals and went 2-for-3 from 3-point range Saturday.

All that has changed this season. Bird is healthy and she was at her best in top-ranked Connecticut's biggest game to date, a 74-67 victory over No. 2 Tennessee on Saturday.

She handled Tennessee's pressure with aplomb, ran the offense and made one big basket after another while scoring a career-high 25 points as Connecticut (12-0) broke a three-game losing streak to the Lady Vols.

"This is as fun a basketball as you're ever going to get to play," Bird said. "Most times, teams thrive on pressure and that's what our team did. We came up with some big plays."

In a game matching teams that run and play hard-nosed defense, guard play was going to be critical. And Bird clearly outplayed her Tennessee counterpart, Kristen Clement.

Clement went scoreless and committed seven turnovers. Bird was 8 of 10, including two critical 3-pointers in the second half, and came up with four steals and two assists.

"I think you could tell she really took over the game for us," Connecticut's Shea Ralph said. "We needed somebody to step up and play well and Sue did it almost single-handedly."

Bird is the type of player who's tough without showing it. With her constant smile and bubbly personality, she seems like such an easy-going sort. She grew up in Syosset, N.Y., on Long Island, and UConn coach Geno Auriemma joked that the last thing anyone stole there was a newspaper off somebody's porch.

But Bird was toughened for the college game at Christ the King High School in Queens, where former Tennessee star Chamique Holdsclaw played.

Though Ralph and preseason All-American Svetlana Abrosimova also had a big hand in Saturday's victory, Bird was the MVP.

"There's a part of her ... when the game gets to be very, very difficult, she has the same thing Svet and Shea have," Auriemma said. "It's just packaged differently and it comes out differently.

	“	When the game gets to be very, very difficult, she has the same thing Svet (Abrosimova) and Shea (Ralph) have. It's just packaged differently and it comes out differently. She doesn't let everybody see it until it's time to see it. ... But she has it. ”
		— UConn coach Geno Auriemma

"She doesn't let everybody see it until it's time to see it. I think people are shocked when they do see it because it doesn't look like she has it. But she has it."

Because of her injury, Bird didn't get a chance to show much of anything as a freshman last year. When Tennessee traveled to Storrs, she watched as her top-ranked team faded down the stretch and lost to the second-ranked Lady Vols 92-81.

"I was dying to be out there," Bird said. "It's really hard to sit there and know you can't do anything about what's going on out on the court. Because of that experience, I think I value each game much more. I try to come out and play every play like it's the last. Because it could be."

Tennessee (11-2) struggled all day against Connecticut's sticky defense. The Lady Vols shot 34 percent and could not capitalize on Connecticut's foul problems, missing 14 of 33 free throws.

"I thought it was apparent from the beginning that Connecticut was confident and aggressive," Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said. "We were on our heels and not getting back in transition. They were more aggressive and mentally tougher."

Michelle Snow led Tennessee with 21 points and 12 rebounds, and Semeka Randall scored 20 points.

The two teams meet again in Storrs on Feb. 2. It would not be a surprise if they met a third time -- in the Final Four.

"We can't dwell on this," Randall said. "We've got to bounce back and play good basketball. The championship was not today. We still have time to get better."