A socket connector for connecting a bulbous terminal or ball wherein the female element grips the terminal with resilient prongs with end tips at low insertion force but positive contact is maintained and wherein attempted withdrawal is normally inhibited by increasing force applied to the post by the female element in response to the withdrawal force. The female element comprises a tube of resilient conductive material that has been sliced or helically partitioned into opposing prongs of a width that decreases with axial distance from the end of the connector so as to allow the prongs of the connector to grip around the ball-like bulbous terminal and mechanically retain the terminal within the connector. The tubular element of the connector may be made by forming prongs in one or both ends of a tube by cuts of a width that increases with distance from the end of the tube.