Tied at halftime at 36, it seemed as if the game between Utah and Oregon over the weekend was going to come down to the wire, something the Utes are all too familiar with.
Things took a turn for the worse when the teams came out of the locker room, as the Ducks (13-9, 4-7) went on to win the game by over 20 points, defeating Utah (10-12, 3-8), 93-71.
Not only did the Utes lose the game, they also lost some of their players because of injury. In the end, Oregon’s fast pace proved to be too much for Utah.
“We did some things well, but we just ran out of gas,” Levrets said. “Losing [Dunbar] and then losing [Wilson] five minutes into the second half, it is just hard to keep any continuity when you got different kids on the floor. Our biggest struggle is keeping people on the floor right now.”
Junior guard Cierra Dunbar did not participate in the game because of a concussion and Cheyenne Wilson was taken out a little after the beginning of the second half due to a knee injury. Wilson was able to put in a career-high 16 points with three rebounds and three assists before she was sidelined for the rest of the game.
The injuries to two players that garner a lot of minutes forced Levrets to utilize his bench more than normal. Some of the players were even forced to play out of positions in order to give the team its best chance of winning.
Sophomore guard Valerie Nawahine was one of players that had to play out of position and had not played all season until this game. The former BYU transfer said she was not expecting to see any action and was surprised when her name was called. Nawahine said that the team lost the energy as Oregon would try to score within ten seconds of the shot clock. She said that the Utes really struggled as the tempo carried on into the second half.
“It was low energy and trying to remember what you were supposed to do,” Nawahine said. “It is just difficult to remember how to defend and stuff when you get tired.”
Leading the way for the Utes was freshman Malia Nawahine, pouring in a career high 19 points. Also contributing for Utah was senior forward Michelle Plouffe, who posted her 10th double-double of the season, scoring 13 points and grabbing 15 rebounds.
Oregon was led by freshman star Chrishae Rowe with 38 points in the game with 22 of those coming in the second half. Utah was unable to stop the onslaught, as they were eventually worn down by the Ducks.
“We had to take advantage of the opportunities we had but we couldn’t,” Levrets said. “Physically we are a mess right now. It was just hard to be comfortable.”
The Utes will go on to play Oregon State on Monday at 1 p.m. The game was originally scheduled for Sunday afternoon but because of inclement weather, the game was postponed.
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