The way things started in Wednesday's first-round WAC tournament game against rival BYU, the Utah women's basketball team looked to be headed for an unexpected early exit.
The jittery Utes saw the Cougars score the first six points of the game and take a seven-point lead midway through the first half. It didn't take long, however, for the Utes to calm down and thanks to some 3-point bombs, they rallied for a 71-62 victory at The Pit.The win puts the Utes, now 21-6, in Friday's semifinals against Fresno State, which upset No. 3 seed Wyoming 85-76. The Utes and Bulldogs tip off at 12:30 p.m. Friday with the winner advancing to Saturday's finals at 2:30 p.m.
"For us to beat BYU a third time this year is a great accomplishment," said Utah coach Elaine Elliott. "Our defensive run in the second half is what turned the game around."
During that run the Utes forced six turnovers in seven BYU possessions and turned a 40-40 game into a 52-42 Ute advantage and from there they coasted home.
But the Utes wouldn't have even been in the game at that point if not for their deadly outside shooting early in the game. In the first half, the Utes were 7 of 9 from 3-point range with Julie Krommenhoek and Andrea Herold each going 3-for-3. But in 2-point baskets, the Utes were an abysmal 16 percent on 4-for-25.
By the end of the game, Krommenhoek and Herold were still perfect, both at 4 for 4 and they led the scoring with 23 and 22 points, respectively.
"We felt we were in a zone," said Krommenhoek. "Everything felt like it was going to go in."
"I felt great every time I got the ball up there," added Herold.
For the game, the Utes finished with 10 of 13 for 77 percent, but they were only 27 percent from 2-point range.
"Our confidence doesn't break down," said Herold, one of the senior leaders. "We were confident we would come back tonight and that our shots would start falling."
Besides her 6-of-9 shooting from the field and 6-of-7 from the line, Herold pulled down 11 rebounds and came up with 5 steals.
Freshman Alli Bills made up for an off-shooting and turnover-filled game with 6 steals and 5 assists.
For BYU, Debbie Diamond concluded a great career by leading her team with 16 points. Another senior, Thais Kidd added 15 points, while Kari Gallup chipped in 10.
For first-year coach Soni Adams, the game was a disappointing end to a disappointing season (8-19) "It's a confidence thing. At times we were brilliant, but we struggled with turnovers all year."
In other first-round games at the women's tourney Wednesday, No. 1 seed San Diego State advanced with an easy 57-39 victory over New Mexico, while UTEP edged Colorado State 59-53.