LAS VEGAS8212;Morgan Warburton may have hit the game winning shot in Utah’s 56-55 win in the semifinals of the MWC tournament, but it was the efforts of two bench players that gave her that opportunity. Josi McDermott and Sasha McKinnon came off the bench to supply a pair of timely 3-pointers for the Utes.
“Josi and Sasha, those two 3s they hit, was awesome,” Warbuton said. “To come off the bench and shoot like that is great.”
Utah had struggled to get into a rhythm for the first 30 minutes of the game. At the 9:04 mark, Kalee Whipple knocked down a 3-pointer to get the Utes within seven points of New Mexico, then Utah’s bench went to work.
McDermott had been struggling with back problems all season.
“I thought she would never play for us because she had back surgery last year,” said head coach Elaine Elliott.
McDermott came into the MWC tournament healthy, but Elliott didn’t know what she could get out of her in this contest. As soon as she checked in she made a difference. At the 7:42 mark, McDermott came off the bench to continue the come back with clutch shooting. She knocked down a 3-pointer to cut the Lobos lead to five, 47-42. Utah would rally from there.
Another player that had been plagued by an injury for most of her college career also checked into the contest. Sasha McKinnon’s knee kept her from being a big part of the team this season, but not against the Lobos.
McKinnon made a trey at the 6:39 mark, cutting Utah’s deficit to two, 48-46. Two minutes later she would make another three, giving the Utes their first lead of the game 51-48. She finished the game with six points on 2-for-2 shooting from the 3-point line, in ten minutes of play.
“Neither one of them has had any kind of a season with preparation,” Elliot said. “But that’s our bench, that’s who we have and I’m just so proud of them. It gives us more fire power because they do have better offensive skill than our point guards.”
Although Whipple and Warburton were the leading scorers, they weren’t playing their best basketball. Whipple missed several free throws appearing to suffer from a back injury. New Mexico’s defense prevented Warburton from getting much going from the field. Utah’s stars stayed in the game while Elliot went to the bench to look for players to replace starters Halie Sawyer and Janita Badon, who combined for two points in 40 minutes.
Four bench players saw action against New Mexico. They played 40 minutes combined and outscored the Lobos’ bench 17-7. Deanne Stevenson came in to pull down six rebounds and add four points.
“The big turnaround point was where our players came in, when me and Morgan weren’t shooting well, they hit big shots,” Whipple said. “That turned us around to give us some momentum to get defensive stops.”
This season, Utah’s bench has averaged about six points per game. The leading bench scorer this season is Janita Badon (3.7) who ironically started the game for the Utes against the Lobos and scored no points.
Tyler CobbSasha McKinnon came off the bench for the Utes and scored six points in the second half. Utah?s bench scored 17 total points to help the Utes come from behind and win.