March 30, 2000 5:01 PM AP

PHILADELPHIA (AP) Tasha Pointer came to Rutgers with a definite idea how to play point guard.

Get the ball and go, possession after possession after possession.

"I wanted to be one of those bunny rabbits," Pointer said Thursday after Rutgers (26-7) worked out at the First Union Center for Friday night's national semifinal against Tennessee (32-3).

But don't expect to see Pointer in high gear.

That's because Rutgers' offense in many ways is an extension of coach C. Vivian Stringer's defense. It forces an opponent to work on both ends of the court. They have to work 30 seconds to get a basket and 30 seconds to stop one.

"It's like teaching a dog, you teach him to slow down, take his time and be patient," Pointer said. "That's how we'll win. This is our style. This is what we are doing."

The patient approach isn't a fan favorite, even for Rutgers fans. During the course of the year, season-ticket holders would scream at Pointer to get going as the play clock dipped below 10 seconds with her dribbling the ball above the top of the key.

And it just wasn't one or two times a game. At times, it seemed like it was every second or third possession.

"I love playing a patient offense because it frustrates other people," Pointer said. "They're saying: `I have to play defense all day.' That's fine with me. That's what I have learned from Coach Stringer's system. Relax. We'll get opportunities. We run a lot more than what people think, but it's overshadowed by our defense."

While the patient approach has produced wins, it hasn't always been pretty.

Rutgers' offense has struggled at times. The biggest problem has been finding a shooting guard to replace Tomora Young, who graduated after last season.

Junior Karita Washington has been starting at the No. 2 guard since late February, but the big contributor lately has been Usha Gilmore. The senior is averaging 12 points in the NCAA tournament.

"We have gained a lot of confidence in one another and the chemistry has picked up tremendously, and we all know what we should do at certain times," Pointer said.

When Stringer took over at Rutgers four years ago, the one thing she didn't have was a point guard. The result was an ugly 11-17 record, the worst in school history.

"Without a point guard, a team is like a chicken with its head cut off," Stringer said earlier this month. "Have you ever seen that? It's the most lost feeling in the world."

Stringer solved that problem by making several recruiting trips to Chicago to woe Pointer, a solid 5-foot-6 player who is as adept at driving the lane as she is taking her jumper.

"My job is to make sure the offense continues to flow and continues to keep everybody into the game," Pointer said. "Sometimes that means giving up something so we can play to someone's strength."

In Pointer's case, she drastically reduced her scoring. After averaging 14 points as a freshman, her average dipped to 10.3 last season and 9.6 this season. While her assists total is about the same, the key has been the turnovers. She had 93 this season, 46 less than the season before.

"Offensively, they are a very disciplined team," Tennessee coach Pat Summit said. "They know what they want to do. They know where they want the basketball to go and they get it there with a great deal of consistency."

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