As the seedings for the NCAA women's tournament flashed on the screen late Sunday afternoon, Elaine Elliott and her Utah women's basketball team began to get a little nervous.
Three of the four regions had been shown and the Utes still hadn't seen their name on the board. Despite their co-Western Athletic Conference championship, the Utes weren't guaranteed a spot in the NCAAs because of their loss to New Mexico in the WAC tournament semifinals.Then finally, cheers erupted from the gathering at the University Park Hotel when the second bracket of the Midwest Region was revealed. Utah was listed as the No. 8 seed facing No. 9 Southern Mississippi Saturday at Ruston, La.
"That's a good seed for us," said Elliott. "I was hoping for 10 or better, so as far as the 8th seed is concerned, I'm real pleased actually."
Elliott had looked at the newspaper Sunday morning and figured the Utes "were in the tournament." Still she said "the little seeds of doubt were there and you're thinking, `what if?' "
The doubts were erased by the announcement on national television and the Ute players celebrated with some of their fans. The 21-7 Utes know little about 21-7 Southern Miss, except that they play out of the Southland Conference. Utah will be looking for its first-ever NCAA win.
The Utes' No. 8 seed matched that of WAC tournament champ Colorado State, which finished with a more glossy 25-4 record. Elliott figures her team's tough preseason schedule, which included Western Kentucky, Colorado, Oregon, Texas and SMU, played a part in the Utes' relatively high seeding.
Awaiting the Utes if they win will be Louisiana Tech, the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region on their home court, no less. The Utes faced Louisiana Tech in Ruston once before, during the 1987-88 season.
Ironically the Ute women will be playing just 250 miles down I-20 from the Ute men, who are playing their first-round game in Dallas, Texas. Ruston and Louisiana Tech is where Karl Malone spent his college career.