They say to save your best basketball for March, and through the first two rounds of the Women’s National Invitiational Tournament, the Utes did just that. A 34-point shellacking of Montana State, followed by a 15-point, wire-to-wire victory over Gonzaga — Utah was poised for a run at the Elite Eight, with Oregon missing its star player in Jillian Alleyne due to a torn ACL.
But as the Utes stepped onto the Matthew Knight Arena Floor, the Ducks were there waiting to send them home.
In the absence of star forward Alleyne, the Ducks found help from sophomore guard Lexi Bando, who put up a game-high 34 points. Despite 21 points from Utah’s leading scorer Emily Potter and yet another double-double, the Utes weren’t able to continue their play into the fourth round of the WNIT, as the Ducks came away with the 73-63 victory over Utah.
Utah came out strong early, opening the first quarter on an 11-2 run, in which four of Utah’s starters scored, while floor general Dani Rodriguez distributed. But the Ducks were quick to answer, quelling the Utah run with 7-0 run of their own. Utah closed the quarter on top, 19-15, but like the calm before the storm, the Ducks rallied under the raucous Matthew Knight Arena to battle the visiting Utes.
Utah went toe-to-toe with the Ducks through the opening of the second quarter, even holding its four-point edge into the final minutes of the first half. But Bando willed her team back on top, closing the quarter with seven straight points all on her own, as the Utes failed to score again for the remainder of the half. Oregon took a 32-29 lead into the locker room with no intention of giving it back.
While the Utes fought hard, they wouldn’t reclaim the lead again as the Ducks rode the wings of Bando through the second half to secure the victory. Utah’s anchor in Potter put together a phenomenal game, tallying 21 points, 13 rebounds and five blocked shots. In the absence of Alleyne, the paint belonged to Potter on both ends of the floor.
“That’s what playing basketball in March is all about,” Potter said.
As the fourth quarter opened, Utah still sat within striking distance — a two-possession ball game, as the Ducks led 56-51. But Oregon never let the Utes get into the rhythm of their up-tempo brand of basketball, and on the defensive end there was simply no answer for Bando, who summoned the rainy northwest with her jumper all night.
On 22 shot attempts, Bando earned her season-high 34 points. In myriad ways Bando got her buckets, scorching Utah from behind the three-point line, where she shot 6-for-11, and also making plays by putting the ball on the floor. Bando also earned several trips to the charity stripe, where she was a near perfect 6-of-7.
In addition, her backcourt partner Maite Cazorla dished out nine assists to go with her 13 points.
The Ducks scored the first four points of the final period of play and never let Utah get back within nine points. With their loss to Oregon in the Sweet 16 of the WNIT, Utah’s 2015-16 campaign officially comes to a close.
@westinjay