When it became clear that the Pitt women's team would not qualify for the NCAA women's tournament, a number of people in the administration of the school were hoping the selection committee would hand them a nice consolation prize to fill Petersen Events Center for first- and second-round games -- top-ranked and undefeated Connecticut.

But even if the Huskies were sent elsewhere, there still was another attractive option -- at least in terms of selling tickets to the event -- about 75 miles away in Morgantown as the West Virginia Mountaineers are a top-10 team with a strong fan base.

Of course, the best laid plans don't always come to fruition and, in this case, the NCAA committee didn't do Pitt many favors. Not only is Connecticut headed elsewhere (Norfolk, Va., because it is 4 miles closer to Storrs, Conn., than Pittsburgh and by rule the top seed must go to the closest site), but so is West Virginia.

As a result, Petersen Events Center will play host to a doubleheader Sunday of the Dayton Region between No. 2 seed Ohio State (30-4) and No. 15 seed Saint Francis, Pa. (17-14), and No. 7 Mississippi State (19-12) against No. 10 seed Middle Tennessee State (25-5).

Pitt coach Agnus Berenato said that while they were obviously hoping to see the Huskies or Mountaineers at the Petersen Events Center, there is plenty to be excited about with the four teams that are coming.

"If Old Dominion would have won its conference tournament, they'd have been in Norfolk and we would have gotten Connecticut," Berenato said. "I really thought once that didn't happen we'd get West Virginia because I figured they'd be a No. 2 seed considering how they finished [WVU is a No. 3 seed]. But they gave us some really great teams -- Ohio State has done a fabulous job of building that program into something really big time and I'd expect they will travel well. Saint Francis ... I was really happy for them and they are a local school so they'll have a crowd, and then we have an SEC team. And let me tell you, they love their basketball programs at Middle Tennessee State -- so this is a great field for us.

"I think the other thing is, our time slots are fabulous [games are at 12:30 and 2:30 Sunday and then 7 p.m. Tuesday], and these are NCAA tournament games. This is a big event for us to host, and I really think fans recognize that and will come and take in two fabulous games."

If there is one silver lining to the draw is that Ohio State and Saint Francis are two teams that have local players playing prominent roles. Saint Francis' starting center is former Penn Hills standout Janie Killian and former West Allegheny star Andrea Walker is the first player off the bench for the Buckeyes.

Berenato said that the staffs of the university at-large and athletic department have worked extremely hard to make it a first-class event, and she believes it will be.

"We've done a great job of selling corporate sponsorships and getting tickets sold and doing all the things you need to do to make it a great event," Berenato said.

"Really, it is events like this that make this the City of Champions. It is more than just the Steelers and Penguins, it is events like this. And really, this is a reasonably priced alternative for the sports fans here in the city to go see some first-class basketball games and root on a lot of great student-athletes."

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