The Utes returned home this week following a four-game road stint, in which they split their games 2-2. Utah head coach Lynne Roberts was pleased with her team’s play on the road, which included a late-game comeback victory over then-ranked Cal, a gutty win over the hard-nosed Arizona Wildcats and learning experiences in games against two of the nation’s best teams, Stanford and Arizona State, which both beat Utah handily.
“Any time we put on a jersey we want to play to win, so we certainly wanted to compete,” Roberts said in an interview with ESPN 700. “[But] we got the split on the road, and that’s always the goal, to at least get a split, and we did.”
Utah has not played well on the road this year, averaging just 63 points per game on 40 percent shooting, compared to its 76 points per game on 46 percent shooting at home. To come away .500 following a tough road swing against strong opponents is a testament to the team’s improvement and player’s confidence.
“[We’re playing with] a lot of confidence in the way our season’s going. We’re racking up wins, we’re playing some good teams, we’re a good team,” said senior point guard Dani Rodriguez. “We’ve got all the parts we need to be successful — it’s just playing like that every single game.”
Player Spotlight
This week’s player spotlight shines on junior forward and Canadian import Paige Crozon. Despite a shooting slump, averaging just 38 percent from the floor, Crozon found a way to help her team in other areas of the game. In the Utes’ four-game road swing, Crozon averaged nearly a double-double with 13.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. She also added a pair of assists per game.
Pac-12 Standings
Currently, Utah sits in the middle of a three-team tie for fourth place in the conference — Utah, UCLA and Stanford are all tied at 4-2. Arizona State leads the conference as the sole undefeated team in regular season play at 6-0 and is currently ranked fifteenth in the nation in the most recent AP poll. Cal, who looked impressive early on with a 9-2 preseason record, including wins over strong opponents like Louisville and Texas A&M, and was ranked as high as No. 21 in the AP poll, has slipped since conference play began winning just one of their six Pac-12 contests. Colorado trails all Pac-12 teams and has yet to win a game in conference play this year.
Home Stand
The Utes are certainly excited to be home following nearly two weeks of road games. Utah plays its next five games in the Huntsman Center and has a chance to make some hay as the conference begins to separate in terms of rankings. Utah is 9-0 at home thus far and plays a far superior brand of basketball there compared to its play on the road. In home games this year, the Utes are scoring 76 points per game on an efficient 46 percent from the field and is holding opponents to just 64 points per game.
“We’re still undefeated at home, so we’re trying to keep it that way. We’re taking one game at a time, but every game we’re thinking we’re undefeated at home and we want to keep it that way,” said Rodriguez of her team’s mentality heading into this home stand.
@westinjay