Two streaks are on the line tonight when the U women’s basketball team pays a visit to Colorado State. One of the streaks is raising eyebrows nationwide for being impressive. The other streak you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy.
On the line are the U women’s basketball team’s 20-game winning streak and Colorado State’s 18-game losing streak.
As dominant as the U women’s basketball team has been in the Mountain West Conference, Colorado State has been that dominated. The two teams are living opposite realities. The Utes are 14-0 while the Rams are 0-14. The Utes haven’t lost since Dec. 3 and Colorado State hasn’t won since Dec. 4. The Utes have guaranteed themselves a conference title and are looking forward to a possible NCAA tournament run, while the Rams are counting down the days until the off-season.
With all that in mind, it’s difficult to see how the Utes could get themselves fired up for a rematch with a team that they destroyed 68-28 a month ago.
“It is different,” said head coach Elaine Elliott. “There’s not a built-in enthusiasm for this type of game, but you know, we trust the kids, and we want to be who we are, and we want to be consistent in our play.”
Senior point guard Leilani Mitchell, who has been named MWC Player of the Week five times this season, is excited about Utah’s postseason prospects but still knows there’s work to be done.
“It’s toward the end of the season, and we are looking forward to the postseason,” the Washington native said. “Next week’s going to be fun. Just being a senior, I know I’m just trying to enjoy every practice and every game. It’s not really hard for me (to get motivated), and I think the rest of the team is kind of that way.”
The Rams have lost 21 of their last 22 games including a 40-point blowout to the Utes at the Huntsman Center.
“First of all, they’re better (now) than when they played us (last),” Elliott said. “I mean, they’re not a 28-point a night team. Their kids are fighting hard. The thing that’s good about them is that they want to play. There’s nobody in this program that’s quit.”
While the Utes have three players-Mitchell, Morgan Warburton and Kalee Whipple-who average more than 15 points a contest, the Rams don’t have a single player who averages in double figures. Their scoring woes are exacerbated by the fact that they shoot poorly from the field (32.8 percent). The Utes, on the other hand, shoot a conference-best 47.5 percent per game.
Still, Mitchell says she’s not taking the game lightly.
“We just need to use these next couple games to focus on getting better ourselves,” Mitchell said. “Next week the conference tournament is going to be tough, and we just need to make sure we’re at the top of our game…We need to take them seriously.”