ROSEMONT, Ill. – Pat Summitt isn’t sure she’ll coach Tennessee beyond this season. So if the Volunteers are looking for some extra motivation, there it is.

Not that they really need it.

They’ve missed the Final Four the past three years and will try to break that streak starting today in the NCAA tournament.

Tennessee (24-8) drew the second seed in the Des Moines regional and a first-round matchup with 15th-seeded Tennessee-Martin, where Summitt played from 1970-74. Beat the Skyhawks (23-8), and the Vols would meet seventh-seeded DePaul (22-10) or 10th-seeded Brigham Young (26-6) on Monday.

Senior center Vicki Baugh said it’s a privilege to play for Summitt and she thinks Tennessee is peaking right now after an inconsistent season.

“We’re fortunate to play for such a legendary coach and one of the best coaches — the best coach — in the nation,” Baugh said. “We definitely want that for her. All it takes is pride, and all she asks for us is to play 40 minutes and not have to coach effort. That’s one thing, we’ve had to mature and grow up and learn, and I think we’ve done that just in time.”

Tennessee has played in every NCAA tournament and won eight national championships, but a Final Four run is no sure thing for the Vols. They’ve come up short the past three years after winning the 2008 national championship, and the only player left from that team is Baugh, in her fifth year. The rest of the seniors who were part of a heralded recruiting class are still trying to reach a Final Four, something every four-year player at Tennessee before them has done.

That alone would be enough motivation. Summitt’s health just gives them another incentive.

“When we came here, we wanted to play for her and we wanted to win games for her. It’s her program,” said senior Glory Johnson, averaging 14.1 points and 9.4 rebounds. “Now that she’s dealing with this, it’s just more motivation for us.”

Summitt, a coaching icon who has the most victories in NCAA history, announced in August that she has early onset dementia, Alzheimer’s type, and she said this week she’s not sure if she’ll coach beyond this season. Today, there’s a chance — however slim — that her career could end against the school where her college basketball life began.

This hasn’t been the easiest season for the Volunteers.

Summitt has delegated more responsibilities to her assistants, with associate head coach Holly Warlick handling interviews, and there have been plenty of ups and downs on the court.

Tennessee got blown out at Stanford and Notre Dame, and dropped a program-high three games at home. But they seem to be hitting their stride just in time for the NCAAs.

They’re facing the nation’s top-scoring team. Tennessee-Martin is averaging 81.1 points.

“Tennessee girls, basketball means something to them,” said Tennessee-Martin Coach Kevin McMillan. “It’s meant something to them since they were real little. And the reason it means something in the state is because of Pat and the UT Lady Vols.”