It was one of those nights where Utah didn’t look like itself.
That resulted in a frustrating 75-64 loss to Texas Tech in the second round of the Big 12 women’s basketball tournament Thursday night at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.
What’s next?
Selection Sunday will reveal that for Utah (22-8) on March 16, but the Utes had a chance — and a seemingly favorable path on the Big 12 bracket — to make a case for a better NCAA tournament seed.
Utah should be in the NCAAs — the Utes went into Thursday No. 23 in the NCAA’s NET rankings, and have a win over No. 6 Notre Dame in the nonconference — but Gavin Petersen’s group will bemoan a tough night in Kansas City.
“Congratulations to Texas Tech. They came ready to play and used that big second quarter to kind of really get us on our heels,” Petersen said. “And we were playing comeback and trying to claw back the rest of the game, which we exerted a lot of energy.
“They did a good job of taking away what we like to do in terms of sharing the basketball, holding us to only 14 assists and 8-for-28 from the 3-point line. We weren’t really able to get into a rhythm.”
What ultimately doomed the Utes was a flat-footed second quarter where Utah was outscored 21-10, and from there, they were fighting from behind the rest of the night.
Texas Tech shot 61.5% and made four 3-pointers in the decisive quarter, while the Utes shot 29.4% and were 0 of 8 from 3-point range.
That led to the Red Raiders taking a 31-23 lead into the break, and Texas Tech was never seriously challenged by the Utes in the second half.
“They were winning the point of attacks and getting downhill, and everything just opened up for them,” Petersen said.
Utah’s offense had a difficult time getting in rhythm, as the No. 6 seed Utes shot 39.3% in the game while the No. 14 seed Red Raiders made 48.9% of their field goals.
Texas Tech was also unbeatable from the free-throw line, making 19 of 22, including a perfect 16 of 16 in the fourth quarter when the Red Raiders were able to maintain at least a 6-point lead in the final period.
“We knew we wanted to come in against Utah and really pressure them, and I thought our kids came out of the gate with that right mindset,” Texas Tech coach Krista Gerlich said. “They were in attack mode. They were very confident. And I thought that our pressure really affected Utah.”
Bailey Maupin led the charge for the Red Raiders, finishing with 22 points, seven rebounds and six assists, while she had seven turnovers. Maupin was a perfect 11 of 11 from the free-throw line, with 10 of those coming in the fourth.
Gianna Kneepkens had a game-high 23 points on a tough shooting night for the star junior guard. She finished 7 of 20 from the field and 4 of 10 from 3-point range, but that included making 3 of 4 in the game’s last couple minutes.
She also had six rebounds and six assists, both team-highs, but four turnovers.
“I’m a little disappointed, just because I feel like we probably should have played hard a little more consistently,” Kneepkens said. “I think it kind of came down to that. That’s hard, but we still have games left this year, so we just have to learn from this and we can still make a run in March.”
Texas Tech also got more from its supporting cast.
The Red Raiders’ Denae Fritz had 12 points and six rebounds, while teammate Jasmine Shavers also scored 12 points.
Maye Toure added 10 points and five rebounds for Utah and Jenna Johnson put up nine points and five rebounds, but senior guards Kennady McQueen and Ines Vieira combined for just three points.
Texas Tech, even as the lower seed, was the aggressor, and that showed up in its 33-24 rebounding edge.
While there weren’t many statistics outside of free throws where the Red Raiders dominated, it was clear Texas Tech was in charge for most of the night.
Now, Utah will be a spectator as the Big 12 tournament plays out this weekend and then must wait nine more days to learn its NCAA fate.
“We have to learn how to play consistent basketball at a high level with our effort and our focused intensity,” Petersen said. “No matter who you play, whether it’s in the Big 12 tournament or in the NCAA Tournament, you’re going to get some really good teams that you got to match or even outplay them or outwork them.
“And there are moments when we did that, and then there’s moments when we didn’t do that, and we cannot allow ourselves to be front-runners and just allow shot-making to dictate that.”