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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The news was bittersweet for the Utah women's basketball team, which was expecting a higher seed than No. 8 in the NCAA Tournament.
"There were no cheers," senior guard Leilani Mitchell said Monday.
No. 18 Utah was in the Top 25 through much of the season and had a 22-game winning streak before a bad loss last week to Colorado State in the Mountain West Conference tournament.
The Utes (27-4) believed they might be seeded fourth. They'll play Purdue on the Boilermakers' home court Sunday.
"We're disappointed," coach Elaine Elliott said. "We thought we had a good enough body of work that we wouldn't drop this far."
Purdue (18-14) is the two-time Big Ten tournament champion. The winner will likely play top-seeded Tennessee (30-2).
"We certainly didn't get any breaks," Elliott said.
Some players are using the disappointment to fuel a run in the tournament.
"We can be that Cinderella team now," Mitchell said. "So we're excited. We like to be the underdog, and I think it motivates us more."
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APTV-03-18-08 1256MDT
