In an elite conference such as the Pac-12, league play is known for being a grind.
Utah has certainly experienced that over the past few weeks, and its contest Wednesday night at the Huntsman Center against Colorado was the latest episode. When the clock hit triple zeroes, the Utes had put together a 58-55 victory over the Buffaloes for their third win in four games.
“A great team win, much needed,” said Utah head coach Anthony Levrets. “We feel like we are back and are as healthy as we are going to be. We do not feel like we are a bad basketball team. We feel like we have been going through a hard stretch in a lot of ways, and we are going to continue to get better and play our best basketball towards the end of the season.”
In a tightly contested battle that saw nine ties and nine lead changes, the two squads traded blows using contrasting styles. Colorado did most of its damage inside and outscored the Utes 26-12 in the paint, but Utah had success from downtown, connecting on seven 3-pointers.
Junior guard Cheyenne Wilson came into the game seeking a way to make more of an impact, and she finished with 11 points and a game-high seven assists to give Utah a much-needed lift. Because the team as a whole did well shooting from a distance, Wilson said it had a contagious affect on her.
“This team feeds really well off each other’s energy,” Wilson said. “When we have multiple people knocking shots down, people coming off the bench are saying, ‘I can contribute, too.’ Today I was in a gloom, just kind of going through the motions, and the assists kind of cheered me up.”
With the Utes down by four with just over three minutes to play, a Wilson three off a Michelle Plouffe assist helped Utah grab the momentum.
“Offensively when we were struggling knocking down a couple of shots, I think you saw some very unselfish play on the offensive end,” Levrets said. “What we needed was a basket. On a play, we thought we were going to get Plouffe a shot, then [Colorado] moved off of [Wilson], and Plouffe made the extra pass, and [Wilson] shot that three. That was a very unselfish play by an All-American making that pass and even more by a kid who we needed to make the basket at the time. Proud of the whole team, but [Wilson] making that shot was huge.”
Plouffe finished with 14 points, eight rebounds and four steals.
Utah faces a quick turnaround as it prepares to face off with Colorado again on Sunday in Boulder. Levrets and the team anticipate another fight like what they faced on Wednesday night, but they hope the win tonight will continue to bring the upswing they have been desperately looking for.
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