During the regular season, center Kathy Phillips averaged 10.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.

But during the Atlantic 10 Tournament, Phillips played the best back-to-back games of her collegiate career and led the Lady Lions to the championship and an automatic NCAA bid.

"You can see what it (Phillips' performance) meant -- we won," forward Susan Robinson said.

"Kathy Phillips was the difference," Rutgers coach Theresa Grentz said after Friday night's 75-74 semifinal loss to Penn State.

For her efforts, Phillips was named the MVP of the tournament.

"I was very surprised," Phillips said. "I am shocked but I am also glad I got it."

The MVP performance is the last thing Phillips should be surprised about. In Friday night's semifinal win, Phillips scored 21 points and pulled down a career-high 19 rebounds against the big inside game of the Lady Knights.

But Saturday night, Phillips started slowly in the championship game, hitting just one of her first four shots and grabbing three rebounds in the first half.

"A couple of my shots didn't fall, I wasn't getting the boards like I should've," she said. "(Coach Rene Portland) subbed and she said, 'I want you to concentrate on the boards, you have done it, you've shown it, now get the job done."

That is exactly what Phillips did in the second half, scoring 13 points and grabbing eight rebounds.

"Kathy in the first half started out real slow to be honest," Portland said. "She went out in the second half and did a great job."

But her amazing performance Friday set the tone for the whole weekend. The 6'3", 163-pound sophomore from Southfield, Mich., had to contend with 6'0" Vicky Picott, 6'2" Tanya Hansen and 6'4" LaTanya Johnson, who usually dominate the boards. The Lady Knights had never lost a game in which they outrebounded an opponent.

Phillips started early against Rutgers, scoring 16 points and eight rebounds in the first half. The two teams battled back and forth, with Penn State grabbing leads of seven and five and Rutgers battled back to tie. Then Phillips took over. She scored the last six Lady Lion points, including a layup with two seconds left to give the Lady Lions the lead again at the half, 38-36.

"A critical point is the rebounding and I think Kathy Phillips played great," Grentz said. Of Phillips' 19 rebounds, 14 were offensive.

Phillips continued her play in the second half, pulling down 11 rebounds, nine offensive, and giving Penn State many second-chance buckets, to keep it in the game until Tanya Garner's buzzer beater. The Lady Lions won the battle for the boards, 44-32.