Women’s Basketball Looks to Snap Three-Game Losing Streak in Washington

University of Utah senior guard Kiana Moore (0) takes a layup 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)

By Ethan Pearce, Sports Editor

 

The University of Utah women’s basketball team (10-11, 3-7 Pac-12) will look to snap a three-game losing streak this weekend on the road in Washington.

The Utes are coming off an extremely tough stretch in which they played No. 6 Stanford, No. 3 Oregon and No. 10 Oregon State all in a row. They lost all three games by double digits and are surely looking forward to some competition more on their level. They will be getting that this weekend when they travel to Seattle to take on the Washington Huskies (10-11, 2-8 Pac-12). 

The Huskies are desperate for a win themselves. They have now lost eight in a row, and three of their last four losses have been in overtime. The Utes are 10-11 all-time against the Huskies, and they’ve won four of the last five matchups. They lost to Washington last season in the Pac-12 Tournament 64-54. They won the other two matchups last year. The game is scheduled for Friday at 8 p.m.

From there, they will head to Pullman, Washington for a game against the Washington State Cougars (10-12, 3-7 Pac-12). The Cougars have lost five of their last six and will play Colorado on Friday before the Utes come to town on Sunday. Utah has come away with wins in their last three games against the Cougars. They last met in January last year in Pullman and the Utes won 72-68. 

Utah is looking to take advantage of their potential for a strong offensive performance. “We’ve got to be more consistent on offense. It can’t be feast or famine,” said coach Lynne Roberts.

They certainly need to be consistent if they are going to get wins. They hung with all of the Top 10 teams they’ve played this year, but consistency has been an issue. They were tied at halftime against Oregon State, but a big third quarter run by the Beavers closed the game out early. The Utes know what they have to do to get wins, and they’ve seen some great teams up close. It’s time to put their experience into practice and start stringing some wins together. They’re nearing the stretch run and the schedule has softened up a bit, which means it is up to the Utes to capitalize.

They will be back at home on Valentine’s Day against Stanford.

 

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