C. Vivian Stringer could barely stand to watch.

The Hall of Fame coach put her hand over her forehand and stared downward as her scrappy young Rutgers team’s unlikely run finally ended – just short of its first title.

Outrebounded and outhustled, the Scarlet Knights lost to Tennessee 59-46 in the NCAA national championship game Tuesday night.

The Scarlet Knights’ aggressive defense transformed them this season, in Stringer’s words, from an embarrassing 2-4 start to a team of destiny.

But they gave a cold-shooting Tennessee team too many second, and sometimes third chances. The Lady Vols had 24 offensive rebounds.

For Stringer, a 36-year veteran with 777 wins, a national title is still missing from her resume. Her second championship appearance ended like the other and she was again topped by her good friend, Tennessee coach Pat Summitt.

Rutgers’ stifling defense and 3-point shooting crushed LSU in the semifinal, but the Scarlet Knights couldn’t repeat the effort.

With no seniors and five freshman, the Scarlet Knights started the season off tough. Stringer threw them out of their locker room early in December until they bought into her defensive scheme.

Rutgers finally seemed to hit its stride in early February and went on to win the Big East tournament championship for the first time. The Scarlet Knights continued their run in the NCAA tournament as a No. 4 seed, pushing their way through a tough regional.

But Tennessee stood in their way and the Lady Vols refused to be denied a seventh national championship.

AP-ES-04-03-07 2259EDT