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SALT LAKE CITY — Flat. Disjointed. Uninspired.
Whatever word you want to use to describe it, Utah women's basketball was feeling all of it in the first half of its regular-season finale Saturday afternoon.
There was no rhythm to the game, shots weren't falling at a consistent rate — Utah shot 30% in the half — and Utah found itself with a 27-21 deficit going into the halftime break against a Washington team that had only won five conference games coming into Saturday.
To add to the pain, it took a Maty Wilke layup at the conclusion of the half to end a five-minute scoring drought that included a stretch of four turnovers — seven for the first half — and featured only 5 points made in the second quarter.
It was not Utah basketball, and head coach Lynne Roberts was visibly frustrated with the effort.
The second half didn't start any better as Utah committed multiple turnovers and Washington built up a game-high 17-point lead. Even when Utah made a quick run at the end of the third quarter to cut the deficit to single digits, the home team couldn't maintain the momentum.
Washington answered back, built up a 19-point lead and pulled away for a 62-47 win on the road, ruining Utah's senior day and forcing the Utes into a first-round game of next week's Pac-12 Tournament.
"I want to congratulate Washington," Roberts said. "I thought they were phenomenal today. They seem to just be quicker to everything — defensively, offensively. They really came in prepared and ready to win. ... They did a great job. They beat us and we didn't play well. It's been kind of a pattern this year where we've played really well for a few games and then we've played poorly for a game."
Though Utah (21-9, 11-7 Pac-12) as a whole shot a collective 31% from the floor and 19% from 3-point range, Maty Wilke was the only real bright spot for the Utes Saturday afternoon. The Wisconsin transfer finished with a team-high 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting and three rebounds in the loss.
"I think towards the end of the game, I became aggressive because I didn't want to lose for them," Wilke said, speaking about the seniors. "I just tried to make plays just to stay as close as we can just to give us a shot at the end for them."
No other Utah player reached double figures, though Ines Vieira was close with 9 points and four assists.
In their final games at home for the Utes, Alissa Pili finished with 5 points on 1-of-9 shooting and 10 rebounds, and Dasia Young added 4 points and two rebounds before exiting the game late in the fourth quarter due to an injury.
Washington (16-13, 6-12 Pac-12) had four players reach double figures, with Lauren Schwartz leading the charge with 18 points, including three made 3-pointers, four rebounds and four assists. Salvia Sellers added 13 points, with three 3-pointers of her own.
"It's a bummer to end that way on senior night, but we still have a season in front of us," Roberts said. "I don't think any of us saw that coming. But, again, I think you've got to credit the other team, too, in terms of how they played. They were inspired and we just played a little tight and kind of nervous — like we were almost afraid to lose, and you've got to be fearless, especially in March."
