Following Colorado loss, Utah's Lynne Roberts wants more 'urgency' and 'edgy' play


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SALT LAKE CITY — Colorado was the type of loss that left a bad taste.

Each loss has its own sting, but there was something different about Utah's loss to Colorado Saturday afternoon. Maybe it was the career performance of Buffaloes guard Jaylyn Sherrod, or the multiple careless turnovers that accounted for Colorado's 16 steals and 23 points on the other end of the floor.

Or maybe it was the 19-point swing in the last five minutes of regulation where Utah's 8-point lead turned into an 11-point deficit.

Whatever the reason, Colorado earned the win as the better team that day to start conference play, and Utah did everything to make it even easier for the Buffaloes to make it a possibility.

"I think everyone was really upset; not because Colorado didn't beat us, not because they're not a great team, but because, again, we let it slip through our hands a little bit. ... That'll tick you off," Utah head coach Lynne Roberts said. "We've got to get it together to where we're winning these games."

The loss forced Utah to take a good look at itself.

Outside of Alissa Pili's consistent play, Utah has, at times, looked like a shell of itself since Gianna Kneepkens suffered a season-ending injury. There were no easy answers to replace one of Utah's best scorers, especially one who creates her own shot the way Kneepkens does for the Utes.

For a team that is given the green light from behind the 3-point line — and makes a nation-leading 12.7 3-pointers on average per game — Utah's guard line has looked timid and hesitant to shoot unless there's a wide-open look; and even then, sometimes those looks are passed up to find Pili in the post.

Pili continues to deliver, but the reigning Pac-12 Player of the Year can't do it all; it takes all five players on the court contributing to the effort, Roberts said.

"You've got to be night in and night out, not icing on the cake, but you've got to be part of the cake," Roberts said. "Alissa can't score 35 every game. That should be icing on the cake. ... We're still a work in progress, but I still think we're good enough to beat anybody. We just have to settle in. We need a big win, and I think that'll propel us."

Roberts and her team are trying to find a comfortable medium in life after Kneepkens this season, and some of that takes time, the head coach admits. Some guards have been used to being a distributor or being the open look shooter on an extra pass for a 3-point shot. Now, that role may have changed to being a catch-and-shoot scorer.

Utah forward Alissa Pili (35) is guarded by South Carolina forward Ashlyn Watkins (2) in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023, in Uncasville, Conn.
Utah forward Alissa Pili (35) is guarded by South Carolina forward Ashlyn Watkins (2) in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023, in Uncasville, Conn. (Photo: Jessica Hill, Associated Press)

It's just being more comfortable with taking contested shots and not relying on Pili to carry the team to victory — though she's more than capable of doing that.

"Alissa's a great scorer and everyone knows that, now everyone needs to come ready to score and be a shooter," Kennady McQueen said. "So everyone just be a threat, I think that's what it's going to come down to.

"If we have a look, we can't just think something else is gonna develop," McQueen added. "We have to take our first good luck that we get. This weekend, I just think everybody needs to work one through five, shoot their shot, and don't just let it come. If you have a look, take it."

Easier said than done, but Utah has no choice but to keep trying new things as each member of the team gets more comfortable in their new role. And a lot of that is just the team reminding itself what's at stake each day.

Prior to the start of the season, Utah saw the Elite Eight as a realistic goal — if not more. With or without Kneepkens, though, that wasn't just going to be handed to the Utes because the team talked about it and put it into the universe. Now, more than ever, the work put into the game will define Utah's trajectory.

"It's just showing up every day and just doing it," forward Jenna Johnson said. "I mean, we can talk about it and say we want to make the Sweet 16 like everyone in the country does or, like, we want to go further, we want to win a national championship, all these different goals. But it comes down to coming in every day and having that focus."

The goals are what they are, but Roberts wants her team to be "mentally tougher" and find a sense of urgency within themselves.

"No one's panicking or down or depressed, but there has to be some urgency with how we're pursuing this right now," Roberts said.

"Our margin of error has gotten smaller," she added. "So me just reminding them, whether it's friendly or not, to get your butts moving — like either you want to win, cut down a net, or you don't. Tell me now if you don't, because I'll try to chill out. Probably not, though."

With teams figuring out how to scout Utah better, especially in Pac-12 play, Roberts also wants a team with an edge that's willing to not back down against opponents.

"We're confident, we're optimistic. I just want to see us play with a little more edge, in a sense — a little more," she said. "We've got some really nice kids, but I want them to play a little less nice — compete a little less nice. Be nice off the court, but let's get a little edgy."

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Josh is the sports director at KSL.com and beat writer covering University of Utah athletics — primarily football, men’s and women's basketball and gymnastics. He is also an Associated Press Top 25 voter for college football.
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