Utes played uncharacteristically sloppy against UC Riverside but used a big third quarter to earn the win.
Utah women’s basketball coach Gavin Petersen had a message at halftime for those watching the Utes take on UC Riverside on Wednesday night at the Huntsman Center.
“Apologies to everyone who just watched that. That is not Utah basketball,” he said during a halftime interview on the ESPN+ livestream.
The Utes had 15 first-half turnovers and were just 4 of 15 from the free-throw line after two quarters against the Highlanders, who entered the night with a 2-7 record but were giving Utah everything that they had in a sloppy game.
By the end of the contest, Petersen’s attitude hadn’t changed a ton, though Utah (9-3) had turned a 24-23 halftime deficit into a 61-52 win, thanks to a big third-quarter run.
“The last five games leading to this one, we were starting to hit our stride, and today, I think I don’t know if it’s Christmas shopping, if it’s just preparing for the break. We have our team Christmas party tomorrow. It’s just a lot of distractions,” Petersen said in an postgame interview on 700 AM.
“... The process is something to embrace, because that process is going to get you a big win come January and February, and that is our stride. Again, glad we won, we can learn the same lessons in a win.”
It leaves plenty of room for improvement and a re-focus on the fundamentals as Utah gears up for Big 12 play, which starts for the Utes with a road matchup at Arizona next Monday (12 p.m. MST, ESPN+).
Utah’s uncharacteristic play at the Huntsman on Wednesday was bailed out by a dominant stretch during the third quarter, when the Utes went on a 21-4 run over a six-and-a-half minute stretch to turn a one-point game into a 54-36 Utah lead going into the fourth quarter.
Utah shot 13 of 18 in the third quarter and made nine of its first 10 shots in the period, outscoring visiting UC Riverside 31-12 in the third.
Thank goodness, because the Highlanders outscored Utah 16-7 in the fourth — in fact, the Utes scored more points in the third quarter alone (31) than they did the other three quarters of the game combined (30).
Reese Ross helped lead that effort, as she had her first double-double of the season with 17 points and 13 rebounds. She also had a team-high six turnovers, though — more on that in a minute.
Ross got the 21-4 run off to a blazing start with back-to-back steals that turned into layups, and six different Utes scored during the run.
Utah outscored UC Riverside 18-4 in points in the paint in the third — flipping that stat in the Utes’ favor on the night — and used its defense to help set up the offense on what was an overall shaky night.
“It’s so important to be able to respond, and I think we did that,” Ross said in an ESPN+ interview, about Utah’s ability to respond and take charge in the third quarter.
“I mean, there’s a lot of things we can learn from this game. ... It’s important, every failure is an opportunity to grow. So just being able to take ownership of what we can get better at and applying it in practice and taking initiative.”
The Highlanders had one last run in them, using a 10-0 spurt in the fourth quarter to make it a 56-46 game with five minutes to play.
Utah didn’t fold against the visitors, though UC Riverside, to its credit, made life difficult for the Utes all night.
It’s a good thing UC Riverside shot just 35.1% from the field — and 30.8% in that critical third period — or the Highlanders might have had a real shot to steal a win against Utah, which shot 46% on the night.
Though UC Riverside lost 20 turnovers, the Highlanders forced Utah into 23, the most for the Utes in this six-game win streak.
It’s a discouraging return to not taking care of the ball. Earlier this season, Utah had 20 or more turnovers in a stretch of four out of five games.
The Utes lost three of those games, and repeating 20 or more turnovers in Big 12 contests will severely hamper Utah’s chances for victory in one of the nation’s top conferences.
“We knew that they were going to be intentional on defense. I mean, it’s just something we need to be intentional about, not taking reps off and making everything like it’s game like,” Ross said. “And I think, too, it’s good right before conference to get what it’s like to have a pressure defense, because it’s so important. That’s what we’re going to see every single game coming up in conference.
“So we’re just making sure, again, we’re adjusting to pressure defense. Every team sees it. We struggle with pressure. So being able to understand that there’s an opportunity to grow.”
Seven Utah players had two or more turnovers, led by Ross with her six, as well as four each from LA Sneed and Chyra Evans.
Petersen stressed the importance of limiting turnovers, including with Ross, who otherwise paced the Utes’ efforts against UC Riverside.
“With Reese, you know what you get (with) intensity. She’s going to play hard, she’s a rebounder, and she’s going to give it everything she’s got,” Petersen said. “I would love to utilize her more, and that trust has to come with not turning the ball over.”
Utah got some other key contributions from freshmen Avery Hjelmstad and Evelina Otto, a welcome sight on a quiet night for seniors Lani White (8 points) and Maty Wilke (4).
Hljelmstad hit two big second-quarter 3-pointers when UC Riverside threatened to increase its then-six point lead, and Hjelmsted was the only other Ute in double-figures, with 10 points. She also had three rebounds and an assist.
Otto came off the bench and helped Utah’s inside presence, scoring 5 points to go with seven rebounds and three assists as the Utes held a 36-20 edge in points in the paint and outrebounded the Highlanders 43-29.
That was enough to fend off UC Riverside, who was led by a game-high 19 points from Seneca Hackley. She made three of the Highlanders’ seven 3-pointers, while Utah was just 4 of 20 from 3-point range as a team.
Between the turnovers and free-throw woes especially, there are numbers on the stat sheet the Utes can point to when a lack of focus is discussed from this one.
It was an abysmal night at the free-throw line for Utah, which finished 9 of 21 at the stripe. Petersen said when he went into halftime and asked who had worked on free throws this week, only one player raised their hand.
“We didn’t have school this week, so like, who got in and shot free throws? One person raised their hand at halftime,” Petersen said. “Well, that’s why you’re gonna shoot from the free-throw line the way you did in first half. Basketball rewards putting in the time and again, that’s something that I want to make sure these young kids understand.”
Utah will have five days to remedy some of those fundamental issues that popped up Wednesday in what was the Utes’ worst effort during their six-game winning streak.
“It’s on us to get back into the practice facility, work on the skills and the fundamentals of basketball so they can thrive when the lights come on,” Petersen said. “And we just didn’t do a good job of that in our one day of prep for UC Riverside. Again, that falls on me, so we’ll definitely fix it.”
Category: General Sports
