Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
LAS VEGAS — The way it started, the Pac-12 Tournament was going to be a short stay for the Utah women's basketball team.
"If we can't get motivated to play our tails off and coach our tails off, then we deserve to lose," Roberts said a day before the game. "That's just kind of the mentality right now."
That motivation didn't seem to take effect until the second quarter — not until Maty Wilke hit a 3-pointer to spark an eventual 14-2 Utah run to erase a 7-point deficit. Utah flipped the deficit and turned it into a then game-high 8-point lead.
But much like most games in March, leads don't last for long.
Arizona State battled back to make it a 2-point game in the third quarter amid a flurry of Utah turnovers — the team finished with 17 turnovers to lead to 15 Arizona State points. The threat was short-lived, though, as Alissa Pili started to take charge on both ends of the floor.
Utah managed to control a 9-point lead going into the final quarter after Ines Vieira hit a big-time beyond half court heave at the buzzer. It was a play that, arguably, changed the tone of the game.
"Yeah, that was great," Roberts said of Vieira's shot. "I mean, those are momentum shots. I've been on the other end of those. We do that actually in practice. It's not like we practice half-court shots, but we do a shooting drill where they have the first person to make a half-court shot. I don't think Ines has made it all season, so she saved it today."
The Utes then held on in the final frame to pull away for a 71-60 first-round victory. And with that, Utah breathed a sigh of relief after a choppy game that started all wrong in a turnover-laden quarter.
"I thought they came to compete, and they played really hard," Roberts said of Arizona State. "They didn't make it easy on us, for sure. That's impressive from them, and I thought they played well. I thought in the first half we were just kind of sputtering. Offensively we weren't executing very well. In the second half we were much better. ... We had too many turnovers. We have to clean that up and fast, but proud of our team."
Vieira was pivotal for an Utah (22-9, 12-7 Pac-12) team that struggled at times to piece together consistent play on offense. The shifty, quick guard finished with 18 points — 12 of which came in the first half — five rebounds and three assists to help pace Utah to a win.
Vieira beats the third quarter buzzer! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/HUVoQlbQeT
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) March 7, 2024
Pili, who was held to just 4 points in the first half, added a team-high 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting and 11 rebounds; and Wilke provided a much-needed 10 points, including two 3-pointers, four assists and two rebounds.
The Sun Devils (11-20, 3-16 Pac-12), who made it a worthy first-round fight, were led in scoring by Trayanna Crisp, who finished with 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Jalyn Brown added 15 points and five rebounds as the only other player to score in double digits for Arizona State.
Utah returns to action Thursday (9:30 p.m. MST, Pac-12 Networks) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena against UCLA.
