The Utes will look to validate a strong home win against South Dakota by following it up with another home win against Lamar University on Tuesday night at the Huntsman Center.
Head coach Lynne Roberts views this game as another opportunity to show what her team is made of.
“It should be a tough game for us,” Roberts said. “They’re picked to win their league. Certainly is another opportunity for us to see where we’re at.”
Roberts was pleased with how Utah played in its home opener, but she gave her team average marks regarding their play on Friday night.
“If we make the same mistakes that we made on Friday in January then it would probably be a D,” Roberts said. “But for where we’re at in the season, I think a solid B.”
Fans can expect to see a different style of game tonight against the Cardinals than they saw against the Coyotes on Friday night.
“They play a five-out offense, whether you’re man or zone, they just try to take you off the dribble,” Roberts said. “They’re just a very different, kind of unique team to play.”
Lamar boasted a positive 5.2 scoring differential last season, third-best in the Southland conference, and led Southland in scoring at 71.7 points per game. Roberts cited offensive rebounding and defensive communication as areas of emphasis for the Utes in this matchup.
“We need to do a better job communicating out there,” Roberts said. “We had some lapses, defensively, that we have to clean up. Finishing plays, in terms of coming down with the rebound. South Dakota had 15 offensive boards. If we give up 15 offensive boards a game, we’re going to have a hard time winning.”
The Utes will look to build off of strong performances from the starting five in Friday night’s game as well. The Coyotes harassed Emily Potter defensively, denying her post-position and bringing double and even triple teams every time she caught the ball with her back to the basket. Even amid the swarm of defenders, Potter imposed her 6-foot-6-inch presence in the paint, both offensively and defensively, coming away with 17 points, 13 rebounds and four blocked shots.
Roberts even credited Potter with a team-high eight deflections against South Dakota, a stat tracked by Utah coaches.
“She was a big reason why [South Dakota] shot 31 percent for the game,” said Roberts.
Utah starters, who combined 176 of the total 200 minutes played, put up strong performances across the board against South Dakota. Malia Nawahine tied a career-best 18 points on just 11 shot attempts. Tanaeya Boclair struggled with shooting early on, but she found her rhythm late with several pull-up jumpers in the lane. Boclair also put her stamp on the game with a big blocked shot that shifted the momentum late and sparked a 7-2 Utah run.
Danielle Rodriguez controlled the pace of the game, pushing in transition, and facilitated beautifully, getting into the teeth of the defense and kicking out to the open women. The Utes were carried quietly all night by the solid play of Paige Crozon. Crozon finished with five points and eight rebounds, but her presence was priceless to Utah. All night she provided a physical presence, battling for rebounds and loose balls. She didn’t shrink from the moment either, when a Rodriguez drive and dish found her open for three in the corner — swish. The bucket put Utah up by eight with one minute to play.
“She did her job all game long,” Roberts said. “She’s been huge for us. Twenty-two rebounds through two games isn’t bad.”
The Utes will tip-off against Lamar at the Huntsman center, Tuesday night at 7 p.m. MST.
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