Three of the region's Division I women's basketball teams will compete in conference tournaments this weekend. All have the same objective: Win enough games to get to the NCAA tournament.

Two teams, Pitt (20-9, No. 5 seed in Big East) and West Virginia (23-6, No. 3 seed), are virtual locks to receive bids regardless of what happens.

They go to Hartford, Conn., for the conference tournament trying to collect a few more victories, gain some NCAA tournament momentum and improve their seeding.

Pitt coach Agnus Berenato is not merely satisfied to make the trip to Hartford. She said the Panthers have much higher goals. Pitt, which plays No. 12 seed Villanova (15-14) at noon today in the first of four games at the XL Center, hasn't won two games in the Big East tournament since 1996. That is something Berenato wants to change.

"For us to win one game in a tournament, it is not a first anymore," she said Thursday on a conference call. "To win a second game, that would be a first, especially with a 16-team tournament, but you have to be realistic. And with us it is always about the next game.

"To say we have to win two games, three games, that just doesn't work for my crew. We want to win every game we play. Right now, we've got a really good Villanova team. If we're lucky enough to have a next day, we'll handle the next day."

Pitt has stumbled down the stretch, but the Panthers played a brutal schedule that included only 11 home games. That's why they sport an RPI of 20 and why they are considered an NCAA lock, especially given the conference's strength (second to only the Big 12 in conference RPI). Pitt played nine games against teams in the top 23 of the RPI and was 3-6 against them.

The Panthers won at Villanova earlier this season. 72-63. But the Wildcats are a tricky team because they are methodical on offense, don't make many mistakes and rely heavily on the 3-point shot. Berenato acknowledged that guarding the perimeter is the most important component for her team on defense.

If Pitt wins today, it will have to face No. 5 seed Notre Dame (23-7).

The Irish pounded the Panthers, 81-66, this season and have won 17 of the 18 games in the series. Getting that coveted second tournament win will be a major challenge for Pitt.

The Mountaineers, whose RPI is 16, have a first-round bye and will play the winner of today's game between No. 6 seed Syracuse (22-7) and No. 11 seed South Florida (15-14). West Virginia is a dark horse to win the Big East tournament.

Robert Morris (20-9, No. 2 NEC seed) enters the postseason having won 14 consecutive games. But it will be for naught if the Colonials don't win the NEC tournament championship and get the conference's automatic NCAA berth because the league is not strong enough to merit an at-large bid -- its RPI is 24th out of the 32 conferences).

Robert Morris will begin its quest for a second consecutive conference title and NCAA bid today at Long Island University against No. 7 seed St. Francis, N.Y. (10-19). The Colonials swept the season series, and a Robert Morris victory would likely set up a showdown with Sacred Heart (19-9), the last team to beat the Colonials.

NOTES -- Pitt junior Shavonte Zellous was named to the All-Big East first-team last night and senior Marcedes Walker was named to the second team. Notre Dame senior Charel Allen, a Monessen graduate, was named to the first team, and West Virginia's Meg Bulger (Oakland Catholic) was a second-team selection and received the sportsmanship award. Pitt's Chelsea Cole and Taneisha Harrison were named to the all-freshmen team.