Ute women to play like a tourney berth is on the line

LAS VEGAS — Utah coach Elaine Elliott won't come right out and say that the Mountain West Conference tournament has always been sort of a chore for the Utah women's basketball team.

That's just the way it's seemed over the years for the Ute women, who have won the regular-season title the majority of the time (six titles in nine years), yet haven't done so great in the tournament (two titles).

That was never more the case than last year when, after a perfect 16-0 season, the Utes lost in the first round of the tourney to 0-16 Colorado State.

This year, the MWC has changed the format of the tourney so, as the No. 1 seed, the Utes have been resting all week awaiting today's semifinal game with New Mexico (noon MDT).

And this year the Utes (20-9) are playing with a new attitude since they haven't locked up an NCAA berth yet with a mediocre RPI rating below 60. The Utes likely need to win the tourney to get into the NCAA Tournament.

"We really want to go in with the attitude that we need to win it," said Elliot. "We're not in the strong position we've been in the past. There are many good teams, so it will certainly be a challenge."

The Utes have two of the top players in the league in MWC Player of the Year Morgan Warburton and first-team selection Kalee Whipple. They were embarrassed by last year's first-round exit and are ready to go this year.

"We have to go into the tournament knowing that we have to get some big wins and that we have to take the tournament if we want to go to the NCAAs," said Whipple. "I think all of us understand that and are ready for the challenge."

"We've got to have it," said Warburton. " We have to look at it like we're starting over. This could be our last chance to play. We don't want to leave it up to a committee. Hopefully we can get two wins."

In New Mexico, the Utes will face a team that always takes the MWC tourney seriously. In nine seasons, the Lobos have just two regular-season co-championships, but five tournament championships and a 17-4 overall record.

"They've had great success in the tournament," said Elliott of the Lobos (22-9), who beat Air Force Tuesday and Colorado State Wednesday to advance to the semifinals.

However, the Ute coach believes her team will be ready.

"They're excited and I feel good about their mental frame," she said.

If the Utes win today, they'll play the winner of Friday's UNLV-San Diego State game on Saturday at 2 p.m. MDT, with the game being televised on The mtn.

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