Coming into its first round matchup against Arizona in the Pac-12 Tournament, Utah was first in the conference in three-point shooting percentage.
But no one saw this coming.
The Utes’ three-point barrage in the first half Thursday gave them a 14-point halftime lead that they never surrendered in a 66-48 win over the Wildcats.
It was sweet revenge for Utah, which had lost twice to Arizona in the regular season. The Utes’ reward for finally beating the Wildcats is a date with the UCLA Bruins today in the second round of the tournament. Utah lost to UCLA by 28 on Feb. 3.
Utah seemingly couldn’t miss a shot from the outside in the first 20 minutes Thursday. Michelle Plouffe was 4-for-4 from downtown, Rachel Messer was 3-for-3 and Ciera Dunbar was 2-for-2. In fact, the Utes missed as many layups as they did threes in the first half. In total, they were 11-of-13 from distance in the first frame. Their previous season high for a whole game was nine.
“Eleven-for-13 is a little crazy,” said head coach Anthony Levrets on the Pac-12 Networks after the game. “We feel like we’re a good shooting team, but that’s just one of those things that you don’t ever expect. It was fun to watch.”
Plouffe led the charge for the Utes. She scored 24 points on 9-of-18 shooting and added nine rebounds. Taryn Wicijowski and Iwalani Rodrigues combined for 24 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
The only reason the game wasn’t more lopsided was the stellar play of Arizona’s Davellyn White. The Wildcat guard had 23 points, eight rebounds and six assists to keep her team competitive amid the dazzling shooting display from Utah.
In the first two games against Arizona, the Utes never led by more than four points. But Thursday, Utah’s smallest lead in the second half was nine.
“I was really happy in the second half with our execution and ball movement,” Levrets said. “We didn’t make as many shots, but we still had good, productive possessions.”
Not to be outdone by their 3-point parade, the Utes displayed stingy defense from start to finish. Additionally, Utah only committed five turnovers, a Pac-12 Tournament record.
“If we don’t turn the ball over and we play really good defense, we should have a really good chance to win, especially against this team,” Wicijowski said. “It really helped us.”
Plouffe said Utah’s good game plan on offense was the reason for its stout play. She said it allowed them to get the ball up the floor and avoid the full-court press for which Arizona is known.
Utah only made one 3-pointer in the second half, but that didn’t matter. The Utes were able to exploit Arizona’s zone defense and create easy layups for Plouffe and Wicijowski.
Today, Utah will take on UCLA in the quarterfinals. A 70-42 loss to the Bruins earlier in the season is the only memory the Utes have of them.
“They are really well- coached,” Levrets said of the Bruins. “They’re talented all across the board. We’re going to have our hands full.”
A bright spot for Utah is that Wicijowski wasn’t in the lineup the previous meeting because of a knee injury, but the All-Pac 12 honorable mention will be starting for Utah tomorrow.
“You win and you keep playing,” Levrets said. “That’s what we’re going to try and do tomorrow.”