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Utah is still looking for its first Pac-12 conference win after falling to 0-8 in conference play following the loss to Washington. The Utes’ play in the last two games against the Huskies and Washington State matched the Northwest weather they played in — cloudy, gray and not much sunlight.
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What is heartbreaking for Utah in both of these losses is that they actually shot the ball better in both games. The Ute defense played well on the road, holding both Washington and Washington State to field goal percentages of 32.8 and 33.9 percent respectively.
“I’m really proud of our effort defensively,” said Utah head coach Anthony Levrets.
While these aren’t difficult numbers to outperform, the Utes still couldn’t capitalize on the offensive side, as Levrets claims they have “struggles offensively.”
The most glaring reason why the Utes lost is easy to find by looking at a stat sheet. They had a horrific 19-6 turnover differential against the Cougars, and a 16-8 differential against the Huskies. Overcoming that big of a turnover discrepancy would be hard for nearly any team to handle.
Despite losing the turnover battle, the Ute underclassmen held the star guards for Washington in check throughout. Huskie guards Jazmine Davis and Kelsey Plum were held to a combined 7-for-32 shooting effort against the Utes.
“I was really happy with Jo [Fatuesi] and Tanaeya [Boclair]. They were offensively really good today,” Levrets said. “It was a tough task they shared.”
Boclair had her best conference game scoring the ball with a season high 14 points. This game featured ups and downs early on, as the Utes fell behind 19-4 to start.
Falling behind by 15 points could have been devastating for the Utes, but Levrets has taught his team to keep fighting and the players responded with a 15-0 run. While the final score may not have registered a win for Utah, it was a small victory that might help keep its hopes up.
It is clear that the Utes are struggling right now, but Levrets and company know what they need to do moving forward.
“If you keep fighting like we are, you’re going to eventually come through this,” Levrets said. “I’m going to keep fighting for them, and they’ve got to keep fighting for what’s across their chest.”
Utah will return home to host Arizona in the Huntsman Center on Friday.
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