Utah picked up its second win in a row Sunday afternoon against the Buffaloes in Colorado 76-68.
The Utes were carried by a balanced scoring attack in which six different players tallied double-figures. Utah now moves to 6-6 in conference play, 14-9 on the season.
“We’re playing hard, we just need to keep playing hard, practicing hard and we can do the things we want to do,” said sophomore forward Joeseta Fatuesi with the Pac-12 Network following Sunday’s win.
Through the opening period of play, Utah looked like it could be in trouble. The Utes couldn’t buy a bucket, shooting an abysmal 29 percent from the floor through the opening period and Colorado forward Jamee Swan had it going early with eight points on just four shot attempts. In the closing minutes of the period, Colorado caught fire, scoring 10 unanswered points.
But Utah hung tough, keeping the Buff lead within striking distance as it ended the quarter down 16-9.
Utah center Emily Potter, who has struggled to stay out of foul trouble recently, picked up her second personal midway through the second quarter, sending her to the bench to watch the remainder of the first half. While Utah had navigated its way back into the ball game, the Utes would need to find points elsewhere without their leading scorer.
Fatuesi answered the bell promptly with back-to-back buckets. Despite Potter’s absence through half of the quarter, Utah put together a strong run, closing the quarter down just two points to Colorado, 32-30.
The rest of the game was all offense for both teams. Following a Swan layup, Utah turned on the burners and ripped off an 8-2 run; six of those points coming from the charity stripe, as the Utes made aggressive plays at the basket to earn free throws.
Despite a tough shooting quarter, Rodriguez put pressure on the rim and the defense on its heels, attacking driving lanes with aggression. For the second straight game now, Rodriguez has scored in double digits.
Early in the third period playing with two fouls, Potter picked up her third. Head coach Lynne Roberts rolled the dice, allowing Potter to stay on the floor rather than from the sideline. While Potter played well, putting up six points at just the four-minute mark, Potter picked up another personal foul, her fourth of the game.
Utah managed to keep the game close again without Potter for large stretches, heading into the fourth quarter down 55-51.
But the final period of play was all Utah, as the Utes outscored the Buffaloes 25-13 to close the game. Junior forward Paige Crozon opened the quarter with a triple, and after Swan scored the first six Colorado points, Utah reached into its bag of fourth-quarter experience this season and pulled out the victory.
Sunday afternoon’s win was Utah’s first road win since defeating Arizona on Jan. 15. The Utes will gladly take a pair of wins against Colorado as fuel to their competitive fire as they look for revenge against the Ducks in Oregon on Feb. 12.
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