Go back in time for a minute, back to March 12, 2007. That was a day in Pitt women's basketball coach Agnus Berenato's life that has to rank below her wedding date and the birthdays of her five children, but not much else. It was the night that Pitt learned it was going to its first NCAA tournament and would be playing its first game -- and a second, if it got lucky -- at its fabulous on-campus Petersen Events Center.

"We're going to the dance!" Berenato fairly screamed at the time. "We've got to buy some dancin' shoes!"

It was hard not to think about that wonderful night on Sunday. Berenato wasn't nearly so cheery. "I'm just sick," she said. The NCAA women's tournament was back at the Petersen Events Center. There was Big Ten Conference power Ohio State crushing Saint Francis (Pa.), 93-59, in the type of lopsided first-round game that seems to happen frequently in women's basketball. There also was Mississippi State beating Middle Tennessee State, 68-64. But there was no Pitt.

"We aren't dancing," Berenato said, quietly. "I'm sorry, Pittsburgh. I'm sorry we couldn't get it done for you."

It's easy to understand Berenato's pain. For seven years, she has worked tirelessly not just to build the Pitt program, but to make the women's game relevant in this city. It is a challenging job in a pro town. Missing out on the tournament this season, of all seasons, with it back on the Pitt campus, makes it even tougher.

We're talking big-time hurt.

Berenato has been here long enough to know that Pittsburgh likes big events. The women's tournament is a big event. The crowd for the two games Sunday was announced as 5,156, thanks, mostly, to a nice turnout of Saint Francis fans from Loretto, Pa. It's fair to think a lot more people would have been there if Pitt had provided a rooting interest by being in the field. It's also fair to think many of those would have come back again if they liked what they saw.

That's what Pitt lost.

That's what hurts the most.

It's not as if the basketball wasn't entertaining Sunday. The Ohio State-Saint Francis game was a horrible mismatch -- Ohio State took an 11-0 lead and rolled -- but three-time Big Ten Player of the Year Jantel Lavender put on a show with 23 points and 16 rebounds. So did point guard extraordinaire Samantha Prahalis with 14 points and 13 assists. The second game was much more competitive. Mississippi State outscored Middle Tennessee State, 13-0, in the final 4:49 to survive and advance to a second-round game here Tuesday night against Ohio State. Mississippi State's Chanel Mokango had a huge day with 20 points and 14 rebounds. The Lady Bulldogs held Middle Tennessee State's Alysha Clark -- the nation's leading scorer -- to 17 points on 7-of-17 shooting.

Still ...

"It's not Pitt," Berenato said.

It's a shame because hosting and playing in the '07 tournament gave the Pitt program a big boost. It beat James Madison in its first-round game, then played eventual national champion Tennessee tough in the second round before losing, 68-54. In each of the next two seasons, it made the NCAAs and won two games to get to the round of 16. It was a program on the rise.

That's what made this season so difficult for Berenato. Pitt was lousy from the start, underachieved all season and finished with a 16-15 record, including 5-11 in the Big East. It lost its first game in the conference tournament to Louisville, then lost its first game in the WNIT to Toledo Friday night.

No need for dancin' shoes.

No need at all.

"I was here all day [Saturday]," Berenato said, trying to play the role of a good host. "I think I only broke down three times. When I saw the ESPN producer, I couldn't even talk. Missing out on all of this is heart-wrenching."

Berenato was back Sunday, seemingly attempting to thank everybody for coming. At that point, that was all she could do. "We worked all year to sell tickets," she said. To say she appreciated the support of women's basketball without Pitt as the draw would be an understatement.

The crowd would have been bigger if No. 1 Connecticut had been placed here instead of in Norfolk, Va. UConn is a dynasty, one of the greatest in college basketball, men or women. It beat Southern by 56 points Sunday for its 73rd consecutive win.

The crowd also would have been bigger if No. 3 seed West Virginia had landed here instead of in Austin, Texas. Maybe Pitt fans wouldn't have turned out to cheer for the Mountaineers, but they surely would have come up from Morgantown to do it.

Clearly, the NCAA women's basketball committee didn't do Pitt any favors.

Not that Pitt has any real right to complain.

Most of the blame for a lesser crowd belongs only one place.

On Pitt.

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