ST. LOUIS -- The University of Louisville women's basketball team has embraced the role of underdog during its NCAA Tournament run.

The Cardinals feel like they have been treated as an afterthought even while upsetting three consecutive top-five-ranked teams.

Now comes the real monster task.

The Cardinals will try to topple top-ranked Connecticut (38-0) in tonight's NCAA Tournament championship game at in the Scotttrade Center. Tipoff will be at 2:42 Hawaii time.

The Louisville women are in the Final Four for the first time in school history and have won a school-record 34 games. But two of their four losses were beatdowns by Connecticut, which has been ranked No. 1 all season.

The Cardinals were whipped 93-65 on Jan. 26 in Storrs, Conn., and then 75-36 in the Big East Conference Tournament final in Hartford, Conn., on March 10.

How do they turn that around? The Cardinals agree they'll have to be flawless this time.

U of L led deep into the first half of the first game before the Huskies made a run, but the Cardinals were never in the Big East title game.

"We're thinking about this in four-minute segments," U of L freshman Becky Burke said. "We need to win some of those four-minute segments and not get blown out in any of them, and we'll be OK. I know it's easier said than done, but we just have to stick to the plan and believe in the coaches."

U of L coach Jeff Walz said there are no tricks up his sleeve. The teams are familiar with one another. He said the Cardinals have to do a better job of rebounding after being outrebounded 88-61 the first two games. U of L also rushed and took bad shots when it fell behind and shot just 31 percent (35 of 113) against UConn.

Connecticut, meanwhile, hit 59 of 117 from the field and 19 of 46 from three-point range.

"We're going to have to try and find a way to make them uncomfortable," Walz said. "How we're going to do that, I haven't quite figured it out. We're going to have to control the tempo of the game and make some early shots.

"But at the same time, nobody even expected us to be here. So really we have nothing to lose and everything to gain."

UConn has three of the top players in the country. Sophomore Maya Moore averages 19.4 points a game, and Renee Montgomery chips in 16.5 and leads the team with 195 assists. Tina Charles averages 16.2 points and 8.7 rebounds.

The underdog role has fueled Louisville's tournament run, but tonight there is no question this time who the big dog is.

"It's not a secret. They're the best team in the country," Walz said. "Even if we would beat them, they're still the best team in the country.

"If we had to play a seven-game series, I would probably bet on them. But we just have to be the best team for 40 minutes on Tuesday night."

Louisville point guard Deseree' Byrd said the Cardinals still can get a lift from being underappreciated one more time

"We still want our doubters because they add fuel to the fire," Byrd said. "This is the national championship game we are playing in. There are two teams left, and anything can happen. We're going to leave it all on the floor.

"I know many people said (UConn coach) Geno (Auriemma) never lost a championship game. But neither has coach Walz."

Walz, who was an associate head coach when Maryland won the title in 2006, said he won't show his team any game film from the past meetings.

Connecticut is 5-0 in title game appearances, winning its last national championship in 2003. The Huskies are making their 21st appearance in the NCAA Tournament and have the second-most wins in tournament history with 70 — trailing Tennessee's 104.

The Huskies also are a 13.5-point favorite in Las Vegas.

"They have so many weapons, they make you better," U of L senior All-American Angel McCoughtry said of UConn. "But to be the best you have to beat the best. I do think we have a different team than when we played them (March 10)."

Louisville has won 13 of its past 14 games and has been playing with a chip on its shoulder since being unhappy with a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament draw.

The Cardinals had to beat Liberty and host LSU in the first two rounds of the tournament and now have taken out No. 5 Baylor, No. 3 Maryland and No. 4 Oklahoma to earn a spot in the title game.

"We're playing a team that obviously has an awful lot going for them right now," Auriemma said. "And we're playing a team that, from what I heard, really wanted to play us, wants to play us, which I admire their camaraderie that they want it to be an all-Big East final. . . . So all I can say is we've done 38 times what I hope we can do one more time."

But McCoughtry and her teammates stand in the way. The school's all-time leading scorer said she recently had a dream that she was putting on a "national championship" hat and celebrating on the floor.

"Now, I just hope my dream comes true," she said.