The Michigan women's basketball team may have been on the floor with Valparaiso last night, but its mind was elsewhere.

Michigan coach Sue Guevara was not in attendance to see her team end its season last night because she had to tend to her ailing mother who had a relapse of cancer, a disease that she has been battling for quite some time. Guevara was at practice yesterday but had to leave after her mother's condition got worse.

Associate head coach Angela Jackson took over, but things were obviously not the same as Guevara's feisty attitude was missed.

"When you're used to one way, it's definitely different," Jackson said.

Guevara followed the game over the Internet and phoned into the bench frequently, "We defiantly felt her presence, she just wasn't in the building," Jackson said.

Guevara is the reason many of these players came to Michigan. She has known most of the Wolverines since before they were teenagers playing AAU. The Wolverines had a great deal more talent than Valparaiso. But without Guevara the team looked like it was in another place.

"We came to play for her," junior center Jennifer Smith said. "It just didn't work out."

Falling flat: The women's NIT was supposed to be a springboard to next season for the Michigan women's basketball team, but that was until its fire was taken away. While Michigan had advantage on the glass, Valparaiso tracked down almost every loose ball. Valparaiso guard Katie Boone tracked down eight offensive rebounds of her own.

But that was possibly because Valparaiso had a lot more to play for. After winning 20 out of 21 games, the Crusaders lost to Oakland in the Mid-Continent Tournament, keeping them out of the NCAA Tournament. So they had something to prove in the WNIT. And while they had beaten some major conference teams at home, the Crusaders had never beaten a major opponent on the road. Winning against the Wolverines was a historic victory for their program.

"I felt like we were in a good position," Valparaiso coach Keith Freeman said. "I'm so happy for our school and for our program. We're happy to be here, we're excited."

For Michigan, such a disappointing loss hurt even more after the Big Ten Tournament. After playing so well against Illinois and Purdue, Michigan came out with no desire. Other than a solid 20-point performance by Smith, the Wolverines showed just about nothing. The team's new lineup got off to a horrid start, falling down by 10, less than five minutes into the game. Michigan had no points off the bench and only four combined points from Alayne Ingram and Heather Oesterle in their final game at Michigan.

"We didn't play like we played at the Big Ten Tournament," Jackson said.

For a team that was supposed to finish at the top of the Big Ten, Michigan is going to have to start from square one after finishing ninth in the conference. It had the talent to succeed against just about any team in the conference but came out flat on countless occasions, turning over the ball and playing lackluster defense.

"We have to push ourselves harder," Gandy said. "So we don't end up like we did this year."