DENVER — The Utah women's basketball team reached new heights Saturday night in its third-round NCAA matchup with No. 2 Notre Dame at the Pepsi Center.
No, the Utes didn't beat the highly touted Irish team with its two all-American players, but they certainly let them know they were in a tough game. The Utes stayed right with the Irish for a little more than 30 minutes, which was about 29 minutes longer than most people thought they would, before faltering down the stretch and losing 69-54.
While Notre Dame improved to 31-2 and moved on to an Elite Eight matchup with Vanderbilt Monday night, the Utes completed perhaps their finest season in history with a 28-4 record.
Utah coach Elaine Elliott, who really thought her team had a chance to beat the mighty Irish, was disappointed, but had nothing but positive things to say afterward.
"What I believe and what I told the team is this: It hurts to lose this game, but we are very proud of what we've done and our heads are really high."
Notre Dame had defeated its first two NCAA opponents by an average of 42 points, but the Utes were right with the
Irish with 12 minutes left, trailing by just 2 points. However, the Irish, particularly their 6-5 all-American center Ruth Riley, were just too much for the Utes from that point on.
Riley, who won the Naismith Award as the top women's collegiate player, finished with 24 points and 14 rebounds and also passed for a career-high six assists. Niele Ivey, Notre Dame's all-American point guard scored 15 points and added six assists and two steals, while Alicia Ratay, the nation's top 3-point shooter scored 11.
"The game was just about eight minutes too long for us," Elliott said. "They just wore us down, and we ran out of gas."
The Utes fought back from an 11-point deficit early in the second half to pull within two at 40-38 on a pair of Erin Gibbons free throws with 12:04 left in the game. With just a little more than 10 minutes left, the Utes trailed by 5 when Gibbons got free for a wide-open 3-pointer from the right angle, but the shot just missed. After a miss by Notre Dame, the Utes had another chance to cut the lead but were called with a 3-second violation.
Then the Irish came up with a unique five-point play that stuck a dagger in the Utes' heart.
After Ericka Haney made a layup and was fouled, she missed the foul shot. However the ball was tipped out to Ivey, who drained a 3-pointer to make it a 10-point game at 50-40.
The Utes were still within 8 after two more Gibbons free throws with 8:25 left, but Notre Dame ran off 8 straight points to extend to lead to 60-44. From there the Irish gradually increased their lead to as high as 19 before finally taking their starters out with 55 seconds left.
"I thought we played a really great game, especially in the second half," said Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw. "Utah is an outstanding defensive team, and I thought they played a great game. In the second half we did a better job of getting the ball inside to Ruth."
In the first half, the Utes did a pretty good job of bottling up Riley in holding her to 8 points. The Utes, who are renowned for their defense, ranking No. 1 in the nation in points allowed, used a combination defense that allowed their defensive stalwart Amy Ewert to roam and help out on Riley.
However, she ran into foul trouble during an eight-minute stretch at the end of the first half and at the start of the second, which definitely hurt the Ute cause. Ewert was whistled for two fouls eight seconds apart, the latter with 5:47 left in the first half, then picked up her third with 33 seconds left. Ewert's fourth foul came early in the second half when Riley, who had no fouls all game, apparently turned into her in the lane.
Ewert sat out for nearly six minutes, but she was never the same. "It hurt me mentally, and I just couldn't get into a flow," Ewert said.
"That obviously hurt us," said Elliott. "She's the heart of our team. Her presence is the glue we look to rely on for a lot of things. We're used to having her on the floor for more minutes."
Gibbons came off the bench to lead Utah with 14 points, while Kristina Andersen scored 9 in her final game, all in the first half. Ewert added 8, while Lori Red-Castagnetto scored 7. Utah's leading scorer, Lauren Beckman, was held to just 4 points, as she didn't look to score inside against Riley.
In the first half, the Utes stayed right with the Irish and led 19-18 with 7:32 left in the half. With 4:30 left, they were still within 1 at 24-23 when the Irish closed the half on an 8-2 run.
UTE NOTES: The Utes didn't have any free throws in the first half but made all 12 attempts in the second half. . . . Notre Dame outrebounded Utah 41 to 28. . . . Reserve center Katherine McColl played a fine game with 6 points but fouled out in 12 minutes of action. . . . Notre Dame outshot the Utes 47.3 percent to 35.8 percent. . . . The attendance at the Pepsi Center was 8,936. . . . The Utes return another strong team next year but lose Ewert, Andersen and Red-Castagnetto.
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