After tough start to season, Utah looking to benefit from upset over No. 15 Oregon State

SALT LAKE CITY — Everybody knew the season was going to be hard and nothing was going to go as planned. And that's not just because the Utah women's basketball team plays in a conference with five teams ranked inside the top 15 in the Associated Press Top 25.

A majority of those challenges will come later.

But just two days before the team's expected season opener against Southern Utah was set to tip-off at the end of November, Utah put a pause to the season as the program dealt with positive COVID-19 results. And just like that, two nonconference games were scrapped, and its game against Oregon State was pushed from Thursday to the following Tuesday.

All of it was understandable and needed in an ever-changing world surrounding a global pandemic, but still a difficult challenge.

The shift in scheduling, however, meant Utah opened its season against No. 8 Oregon without and real practice in the two-week pause — a steep test for a program that has five athletes that have never suited up for the Utes before and a still relatively new roster. And that opening game for the Utes went as expected under those conditions: a blowout loss in a game Utah never stood a real chance.

"Sunday was hard," Utah head coach Lynne Roberts said. "It was humbling in terms of just everything happened too fast — we were rusty, I was rusty.

"What we've been through the last couple weeks has been really hard, in terms of basketball — from a basketball standpoint," she said. "I understand the global pandemic has much bigger issues than a basketball team, but with the cards we were dealt and not having any real practice time before we hit the road, and no games, no scrimmages, no idea."

No team in a conference with several top teams in collegiate basketball wants to feel unprepared, but 2020 has shown ideal situations are the exception and not the rule. And Utah found out firsthand how true that can be.

But despite the early-season struggles and a lack of preparation, Utah bounced back two days later and upset No. 15 Oregon State on the road in a 75-69 win. And it wasn't just Utah catching Oregon State on a bad night —Utah was simply better for one night.

"To bounce back and then, not just beat Oregon State who's who's 15th in the country, I think, on the road at their place — any day, that would be a big win for us — but to do it on the heels of all the things that we've kind of been through makes me really proud of our leaders, their resolve," Roberts said. "So it was fun. Sometimes there's games that are — winning is always fun — but there's games where you're just particularly proud of your players as a coach, and (Tuesday) night was one of those."

Roberts said she and the coaching staff tried to "simplify things" for the players and to not make the game overly complicated. She said she emphasized to her team that one game doesn't define a season — not a loss to Oregon or a win to Oregon State, either.

"Getting our tail kicked at Oregon didn't change that, that's what I told them; that doesn't change our culture, it doesn't change our potential, it's just a bad start and kind of an unlucky last couple of weeks," Roberts said. "I've been telling them for months that the team that is able to adapt through all of this is the team that's going to be able to make it through on top, in terms of just to have some success. So their ability to adapt and just bounce back — the win was awesome."

But at least for one night, the outside noise or its distractions didn't matter. Sophomore guard Brynna Maxwell delivered the Beavers a death blow and scored 28 of her 34 points in the second half, and Utah came away with a big program win.

"She made big shots," Roberts said of her star player. "Oregon State was pushing and we just kept answering. I just kept calling her number and she just kept answering, which it's fun to have a player like that. It's a luxury to have a kid that you're like, 'OK, yeah, let's just give it to her.'

"Oregon State's a big win because Oregon State's such a respected and tough program, but it was how we played. We played really well. We didn't just beat them and they had a bad night; they competed — they did a nice job — and we just made plays. So, again, really, really proud of them."

A win over Oregon State is big — Roberts' teams have beat at least one Top 25 team each season she's been head coach at Utah — but the season is still young, the adversity will remain and Utah will have to find more ways to define success. But Roberts said she hopes the Oregon State win can at least propel her team into bigger things this season and that it's viewed more as a springboard to a successful season.

"The thing I always preach to teams is: Great teams are consistent, great players are consistent. And so we need to build on Tuesday. We've just started the season," Roberts said. "This is a great confidence booster for our players to think like, 'OK, we're (a) legit team.' But we certainly haven't done anything — we didn't cut down any nets (Tuesday) night, we just beat a really good team on their floor in the Pac-12, which is hard to do.

"But let that put some confidence in our sails, but not arrogance. That's a slippery slope and I'm very guarded against that, so they're not going to get any of that from me."

Utah returns to action Friday with a nonconference matchup at home against Montana State. The game tips off at 5 p.m. and will be available via livestream on Utah Athletics' website.

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