Utah opens up a five-game home stand with a matchup against No. 11 Oregon State this Friday night. The Utes returned from their road stint with their heads held high, going 2-2 with wins against then-ranked Cal and a gritty Arizona team. The Beavers will prove to be another test for Utah, as they are the second-best team in the Pac-12 and even ranked eighth in the Coaches Poll.
Head coach Lynne Roberts knows her team needs to have a tight game plan if they have any shot at getting another win.
“They’re very balanced,” Roberts said. “They don’t seem to beat themselves. You have to beat them, they’re not going to beat themselves.”
Oregon State typically plays a clean game, and that starts with its fundamentals. The Beavers rebound well, shoot the ball well and have the best defense in the Pac-12 while simultaneously fouling less than any other team except California.
Oregon State’s sweltering defense this season is due largely to senior center Ruth Hamblin. Hamblin should strike Utah fans as familiar — like Utah center, Emily Potter, Hamblin stands at 6-feet-6-inches tall and has a similar game, using most of her possessions with her back to the basket. Also like Potter, Hamblin has strong defensive instincts, blocking nearly three shots per game.
“They’re very, very good defensively, in large part because of her,” Roberts said. “She’s big and long and active. It will be fun to see her and Potter go at it.”
Hamblin and Potter differ on the offensive end of the floor. While Hamblin is key to Oregon State’s offense, she is primarily the second option to OSU’s leading scorer, Jamie Weisner. Weisner is a 5-foot-10-inch guard with a knack for scoring the ball.
Weisner is currently scoring 16.6 points per game and is doing so efficiently, shooting nearly 50 percent from the floor and 40 percent from three. The Utah backcourt will have its hands full guarding the two-headed attack of Weisner and Hamblin, and Dani Rodriguez knows what those two are capable of.
“They do a little bit of everything,” Rodriguez said. “They’ve got great post play, they’ve got great shooters, they can drive.”
One key to the game for the Utes will be how well they take care of the ball, something that has been concerning Roberts so far this season.
“We can’t shoot ourselves in the foot,” Roberts said. “If the defense forces a turnover, then good for them, that’s part of the game. But if we travel on a jump or throw a soft pass, those are things that we can control, and we’ve got to eliminate those.”
Rodriguez is confident in her team’s abilities to correct their mistakes and is looking forward to getting out on the court.
“If we play the way we’re supposed to and we take care of the ball, I think its going to turn out to be a really good game,” said Rodriguez.
Catch the game this Friday at the Huntsman Center at 8 p.m. MST.
@westinjay