The Utah women’s basketball team was determined to make up for a humbling, lopsided loss last Saturday against Texas Tech.
No. 22 West Virginia just so happened to be the team standing between the Utes and a get-right game, as Utah beat the Mountaineers 71-64 Tuesday night at the Huntsman Center.
“This one was kind of personal. I think a lot of us had a bad taste in our mouth. ... It’s not that we brush that loss under the rug or anything, we learn from it, most importantly,” Utah junior forward Reese Ross said.
“It’s so huge that we’re able to get another opportunity just within 48 hours. Being able to adjust, it shows growth and determination, trust, and all these things that are going to carry into postseason.”
The Utes (15-6, 6-3 Big 12) started slow offensively, but unlike the loss to the Red Raiders, they relied on their defense to help them build confidence in a difficult matchup.
West Virginia (17-5, 7-3 Big 12) shot 41.3% in the game, but only 33.3% in the first quarter, and that helped Utah, which gave up 77 points to the Red Raiders three days earlier, lead from the get-go against the Mountaineers.
Once the Utes’ offense kicked into high gear, it was Utah’s night to shine.
The Utes shot 54% from the field, including 10 of 18 from 3-point range.
The Mountaineers, meanwhile, hit just 2 of 12 3s, the primary difference in a game where Utah led by as many as 18 points in the third quarter, then fended off a rally from West Virginia in the fourth.
And it wasn’t just the Utes’ ability to hit 3s that helped turned the tide in their favor — oftentimes, those outside shots came at critical moments.
The Mountaineers used a 7-0 run to start the fourth quarter to make it a 55-49 game, but Ross responded with a 3, then after a Utah free throw from Brooke Walker, LA Sneed added a triple of her own. Like that, the double-digit lead was restored.
West Virginia cut it to five in the final minute, but again, the Utes had an answer.
“(I’m) just extremely proud of our players, our coaching staff, for turning the page after a not-so-great performance on Saturday, and just getting back to Utah basketball — being connected, playing with intensity, locked in focus, and just competing," Utah coach Gavin Petersen said.
“Just really proud of our players for putting that game aside. That’s hard to do, especially when you lose at home, but we bounced back and so extremely proud. That’s a really good team, West Virginia.”
On the opposite bench, Mountaineers coach Mark Kellogg, who saw his team score 91 points in a win over BYU in Provo last Saturday, said his team struggled to match the Utes’ intensity.
“They punched us early. Stayed with that the basically the entire night. We made a couple little runs there in the second half, but that first half was not very good from our standards,” he said.
“We knew they would come in disappointed after their last game. Wanted to make sure we kind of match that intensity. We did not.”
One of those players who set that tone was Sneed, the true freshman.
She scored in double-digits for the fourth time this season, leading Utah with 15 points, just two off her career high. Sneed made 5 of 6 from the field, 3 of 4 from 3 and added three assists in a game that showcased the kind of confidence she is finding midway through her first college season.
“I feel like I just wasn’t hesitating anymore, just letting the ball fly, and obviously it went in,” Sneed said. “But also, my teammates just relay confidence in me. And I think just seeing our our offense flow and our defense flow and the flow of the game, I just went in and did what I needed to do.”
Ross, meanwhile, added her fourth double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds, setting the physical tone that Utah needed against one of the toughest remaining opponents on Utah’s regular-season schedule. She also had a team-high four assists.
Chrya Evans (12 points, three rebounds, three assists) and Lani White (14 points, three rebounds) also played critical roles in helping Utah earn its second win over a ranked opponent this season.
Jordan Harrison led the Mountaineers with 18 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.
On this night, though, it was a balanced Utah effort — and responding well from a soul-searching loss a few nights earlier — that powered the Utes to victory.
Petersen praised his team for their ability to shake off the previous game and its offensive woes that night — when Utah shot just 32.7% — and show that those struggles wouldn’t carry over.
“You got to have some courage. You’re going to make it or miss it, right? It’s a 50/50, chance,” the coach said. “You got to have the courage to be able to miss those shots, and when you get beyond like, is it a good shot, then shoot it.
“I think our younger kids are starting to figure that out. It’s more about the shot quality, because over time and how we train, more often than not we believe it’s going to go in.”