Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — A somber and emotional Alissa Pili sat in front of a microphone last Friday and tried to contain the tears as she spoke to media after Utah suffered a 2-point loss to Stanford in a controversial ending to the game between two ranked teams.
There were tears of frustration and tears of sadness all spilt in a rare but raw setting for the senior forward.
That Friday night was the conclusion to what was a disappointing two-game stretch in which the Utes lost by a combined 3 points to Arizona and Stanford and let end-of-game theatrics from the refs (in both games) have an impact in the final result.
"I think it's just frustrating when — we play our asses off out there, we put it all out there, and it just doesn't go our way," Pili said after the Stanford loss. "I just feel for this team and for our coaches that put so much into it, and then we get the short end of the stick time after time. But, you know, it's not gonna stop us, we're gonna keep swinging, we're gonna keep fighting, and we're gonna eventually come out on top."
Utah head coach Lynne Roberts declared that night that things were going to change for her team. It was a palpable feeling in that room that Utah basketball would improve from that moment forward; there was too much on the line to keep with the status quo.
"I believe firmly that if you just keep showing up and swinging, they will bounce your way, and so that's my job to get these guys to continue to show up and play like that," Roberts said that night. "And if we do that, then we'll be fine. And we're going to win these games down the stretch and we're going to come out on top. Doing great things is hard and we're close. We're right there."
Utah responded two days later with a 40-point blowout win over a California team that was never going to stand in the way of the Utes letting out their frustrations from the previous two games.
And then a week after the Stanford loss, Utah built upon that momentum and handed the sixth-ranked USC Trojans a 20-point loss behind a 37-point performance by Pili — outshining freshman phenom JuJu Watkins' 26 points at the Huntsman Center.
What a difference a week can make.
When Pili took a seat in the same spot as the week prior, there was a different set of emotions — even smiles — as she described Utah's turnaround and blowout win over her former team. More importantly, there was a different feeling to a Utah team that had been trying to find a consistent rhythm without Gianna Kneepkens on the floor.
Utah was back to playing like the NCAA Tournament-caliber team that was expected to be dangerous in March in its pursuit of another Sweet 16 berth and potentially more. It was a renewed team with a sense of purpose.
"We were, obviously, frustrated with how the last few games were going, like against Stanford, Arizona, and things like that," Pili said. "I think our attitude is just different, and it kind of pushed us to just want to play harder and want to, I guess, just really buy into our team and focus on what we could do to win. ... We don't want to leave it in the refs hands, so why not blow out teams by 40 and 20, like we did the last two games."
Why not? If only it was that easy all the time.
Roberts said her team was simply "tired of that" — the close losses and playing like a team that could let the refs potentially decide a game. Instead, it was up to the Utes — not the refs, the other teams, the fans, or any other outside influence — to dictate how games should go.
"We'd lost a lot of close games to ranked teams, and I think we were sick of coming up short," Roberts said. "We talked about before Cal and even tonight, like let's not let get it to where things that are out of our control matter in the outcome; let's control what we can control.
"I'm proud of our team for fighting back and not pouting, or not feeling sorry for ourselves or whatever, with the adversity," she added. 'They've just battled back, and I think we've played with a little bit of a chip on our shoulder. I've coached with a little chip on my shoulder. That's the way it is, and I think that's the difference. We're playing with a little more swagger."
Utah did it as a team.
Pili still made up the bulk of Utah's scoring in the win over USC, but the makeup of the team's chemistry felt different, Roberts said. There was a "synergy" with the players on the court as they worked to take matters into their own hands against a previously one-loss Trojans team.
It's still a long ways to March, but Utah turned a new leaf after the Stanford loss — at least so far. The early results have been positive and have the potential to change the outlook of a team that still dreams of an Elite Eight appearance and more.
But the celebrations are often short-lived, and No. 5 UCLA now looms in a Monday night showdown of two top-20 teams.
"I think we're playing a lot better," Roberts said. "We're playing a little more cohesive. There's a lot more — I can sense — just kind of synergy out there. I think people have settled into their roles. ... I do feel like we're hitting our stride, but this league is merciless, and we're gonna enjoy this tonight and feel good about it. And then tomorrow, we wake up to play the No. 5 team in the country on Monday, and we'll be ready."
