University of Utah Women’s Basketball Drops Third Straight Game
University of Utah sophomore forward Andrea Torres (3) goes up for a shot during an NCAA Basketball game vs. the University of Oregon at the Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, Utah on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020. (Photo by Jalen Pace | The Daily Utah Chronicle)
February 1, 2020
The University of Utah women’s basketball team (10-11, 3-7 Pac-12) is coming off a tough three-game stretch against the best teams in the Pac-12.
Last weekend, the Utes lost to No. 6 Stanford (19-2, 8-1 Pac-12) on the road. They then returned home for matchups against No. 3 Oregon (18-2, 8-1 Pac-12) and No. 10 Oregon State (19-4, 7-4 Pac-12).
On Thursday, the Ducks and superstar Sabrina Ionescu came to town and the Utes were unable to pull out a win. Oregon won convincingly, with a score of 63-90. Ionescu was not the only driving force in this win, as a balanced scoring attack featuring 23 from Satou Sabally was enough for them to cruise to a victory.
“We were taking bad shots, quick shots, not good shots,” said head coach Lynne Roberts. “Contested ones, rushed ones, guarded ones, or turning it over, and they converted those.”
Kemery Martín had a team-high 15 points for the Utes on 6-10 shooting. After briefly keeping it close for the first few minutes of the game, it quickly got away from Utah against a superior opponent. Oregon had doubled their score 52-26 at halftime, and it didn’t get any better from there. Utah lost at Oregon 51-88 earlier this season.
“You can’t beat yourself. You can’t do things that beat yourself. You can’t turn it over carelessly. You can’t take bad shots,” said Roberts.
Just two day later, the Utes fell once again to another team from Oregon in No. 10 Oregon State. They competed well in the first half and went to the locker room tied at the break 32-32. From there, Oregon State showed why they’re a Top 10 team. They outscored the Utes 30-11 in the third quarter and went on to win the game 65-77. This was the third straight loss for the Utes. Mikayla Pivec of the Beavers had 20 points and they ran away with it late. Lola Pendande and Brynna Maxwell each had 17 points for Utah, while Kiana Moore had 16.
“We’ve got to stay focused the whole time. It’s hard to win games in this league. The players are too good, the coaching is too good. You’ve got to really do things right for 40 minutes. You don’t have to play perfectly, but you have to try,” said Roberts.
The Utes will now travel to the Pacific Northwest for matchups against Washington (10-10, 2-7 Pac-12) on Friday and Washington State (10-11, 3-6 Pac-12) on Sunday. They will be desperate for some wins after now losing three in a row to some great teams. They will return home in two weeks on Valentine’s Day against Stanford.
