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SPOKANE, Wash. — Utah women's basketball opened up the game on a 20-3 run, looking to make a big statement against 12th-seeded South Dakota State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
But games played in March have a tendency to get a little wild.
The Jackrabbits reeled off a 21-7 run of their own in the second quarter behind a 9-of-12 effort from the free-throw line — Utah didn't go to the charity stripe once — to erase Utah's first quarter effort and to cut the deficit to three, 27-24, at the halftime break.
But it was the closest South Dakota State could get as the Utes pulled away in the third quarter — winning the quarter 26-17 — to maintain a double-digit lead for a majority of the second half. Utah closed out the game by extending its lead to win 68-54, securing a second-round NCAA Tournament appearance for the Utes for the third consecutive season.
"We went up big in the first quarter, and they never quit," Utah head coach Lynne Roberts said of the opposition. "They never hung their heads. And that's a sign of a good team. So congratulations to them on a good season. I'm proud of our team. It is never easy in the NCAA Tournament to get a win. Tonight was not easy. We never could get very comfortable. They had us scouted pretty well."
That scouting job was most evident in that second quarter in which Roberts said her team got away from what it usually does best and then met a challenging defensive unit that shrunk driving lanes and took away sets to Alissa Pili.
"I think they kind of — they were prepared, you know, for lack of a better word," Roberts said. "Then they just kind of have that blue collar toughness that they never go away. So I would say that. We're a really good offensive rebounding team, and we had four. And I was hammering on that in timeouts and in halftime. We had one at halftime. But they boxed out for 40 minutes. Like they just — they're just tough."
Pili said the team just went away from its "style of basketball, just moving the ball and kind of just honing in on setting good screens and kind of — we were kind of just going through the motions, and just taking quick shots when we knew that we — if we just move the ball, we could get better shots."
Utah never blinked, though, and used the halftime break to recollect and refocus on the task at hand. There was never any panic, but more of just an emphasis on what has made Utah successful all season, and that's moving the ball — a fluid offense that can use the inside-out game to put away opponents.
"At halftime, it wasn't like we were screaming and yelling or anything," Roberts said. "It was just like, guys, let's just — we have to move the ball. Our offense is predicated on pace and space and tempo, and we just kind of got away from that, so it's like let's go back to what we talked about and what we prepared for."
LOCK IT IN 🔒#MarchMadness x @UTAHWBBpic.twitter.com/J6G6kCbjXP
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) March 24, 2024
Roberts said the team also made some adjustments to counteract what South Dakota State was doing defensively. And it worked.
Pili led the Utes with 26 points on 11-of-20 shooting, including a bank shot 3-pointer near the end of the game, seven rebounds and three assists in the win; and Kennady McQueen added 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting, six assists and four rebounds — a performance that Roberts described as "phenomenal."
Pili and McQueen combined for six of the team's eight 3-pointers on the night, and were the only two Utah players in double figures.
"Alissa, you know, it's hard, the amount of pressure she has, not just off the court, which there is that, too, but the way she gets swarmed and the physical and all of that," Roberts said. "She garners so much attention, and she handles it. So she had a good game."
The Jackrabbits had three players finish in double figures, with Tori Nelson leading the way with 14 points and four rebounds in 30 minutes of action. Brooklyn Meyer added 13 points and Paige Meyer finished with 12 points, eight rebounds and two assists.
No. 5 Utah (23-10) moves on to play host No. 4 Gonzaga (31-3) in the second round of the tournament Monday (8:30 p.m. MDT, ESPN2) at the McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Washington. The winner will advance to the Sweet 16 in Portland, Oregon.
