Utah women's basketball: Rodriguez, Utes putting losses behind them

SALT LAKE CITY — All great things must come to an end. It's an old saying that rings true in many instances, if not most. But for the Utah women's basketball team, that couldn't be more wrong regarding its season.

The Utes are currently in the middle of enjoying a successful 2015-16 campaign, lead by first-year head coach Lynne Roberts. The Utes sit with an overall record of 12-7, including 4-4 mark in Pac-12 play. Their conference record has them sitting right in the middle of the pack in the standings, a step up from their cellar-dwelling position the last couple of years.

But as of late, Utah has struggled. It's in the middle of a three game-losing streak after back-to-back losses to the Oregon schools dropped the Utes' record to what it is. Though it's still impressive compared to years past, the sense of disappointment filled the locker room after a weekend that saw no victories.

The worst part of it all, though? It all happened within the confines of the Huntsman Center.

"Obviously, we had a tough weekend at home," Roberts said. "We dug ourselves too big of a hole to get out of in the first quarter. It's disappointing to play that way at home, but it's part of the process."

That process is something that Roberts has been preaching since her first day in Salt Lake City, and it's something that the Utes have grasped on.

Point guard Dani Rodriguez is one of the few seniors on this squad, and is a leader on and off the court. In order for Roberts to succeed in her first season at the helm, getting Rodriguez to buy into her scheme was pivotal to her success. The good news for Roberts is Rodriguez is completely invested into "the process."

Even though the Utes have fallen back down to earth after dropping three straight, Rodriguez is more focused on what she can take from those losses to improve upon, rather than sulk in the pain of defeat.

"You take what you can improve from it, you take things that you can learn from the game. But other than that, you're focusing on the process," Rodriguez said. "That's kind of what we are doing — just keep focusing on the process instead of the outcome."

Just like any other competitor out there, Rodriguez does not like to lose and she knows this is the same for her younger teammates. Taking on these losses after such a positive start can be quite the roller coaster of emotions for an underclassmen, but just like Rodriguez is there to help understanding the process, the senior leader's experience helps with this issue as well.

Rodriguez has learned how to deal with those losses and move past them in her time as a Ute. Once that final buzzer ends on a loss, the opportunity to start working for a win in the next game begins — something Rodriguez hopes the younger players will soon realize.

Her coach concurs.

"Being complacent is the worst thing you can do when you have a long season," Roberts said. "Winning can sometimes get you a little bit complacent, but it's the same thing, win or lose you have to move on. We have to teach them what that looks like, what does practice look like by moving on, how do we do that."

And quickly, too. Even though the hopes of leading the conference or remaining undefeated in the Huntsman Center are gone, there's still plenty to fight for for these Utes.

"(The undefeated home) streak is over, but we can still have one of the best seasons since my freshman year," Rodriguez said. "For me, that's another positive thing that I look at to keep us going; I can have one of the best season I've had here at Utah."

With USC slated to visit Salt Lake City on Friday night, Rodriguez and company will be looking to get back to their winning ways in order to achieve what may be Rodriguez' best season on the hill. The Trojans are a "really good team," according to the point guard, and the Utes will have to be on their game to return to the winning column.

Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. MST at the Huntsman Center. Twitter: @GriffDoug

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