Tuesday, March 25, 2008 - When the first Miner stepped off the escalator, a crowd clad in orange and blue erupted into cheers. The UTEP women's basketball team made its first appearance in the NCAA tournament this past weekend. They defeated Western Kentucky in the first round, but lost their second game to Stanford. Although it wasn't the way they wanted to end their season, the players enjoyed the experience. Tasha Marisett said, "It's sort of like an overwhelming feeling, like it's a mixture of emotions, happy or sad, in the game, out of the game, it's just a great feeling." Izabella Piekarska reflected on the team's two game run, "The second game was harder, but we faced a really good team on their home court, that was a hard thing...but it was great to be there, and it put UTEP on the map."But the significance of UTEP's first NCAA tournament birth goes far beyond what they did on the court. Fans say it's the kind of thing that will give the city of El Paso national recognition.