Wow, what a relief to get at least one win on this incredibly difficult road trip. The bad officiating continues, and these officials were not even among the worst. One can only hope that the bad calls even out over the course of the game, but we benefited from two bad calls and Utah benefited from one bad call in the last couple of minutes, so I see how the Utah fans feel robbed.
Overall:
1) Altitude matters. Our players were mouth breathing even in the first half, and they started missing short a lot in the second half. We shot 60% in the first half, and 30% in the second.
2) Utah's defense is surprisingly effective. Defense has not been their calling card but they made the second half a struggle for us. And that was the half when we had Brink for most of her minutes, so Utah was doing something right. There were times the offense went stagnant. Tara called a time out on one of those stagnant possessions--a good time out. She saw it too, of course.
3) How many times have we won games in which we gave up 13 three pointers?
4) Jump's defense was awesome. She held McQueen to 3 points, and those not until deep into the second half.
5) Holding Pili to 5/18 was terrific. Quite astounding, really, given that the likes of South Carolina gave her 37 points.
6) One of Iriafen's best games. Not only 25 points but 16 rebounds.
7) Lepolo with 7 assists to 3 turnovers, and she made her only trey. Wish she had made both her free throws at the end.
8) Bosgana with 16 minutes. Demetre with 17. Agara with 14. Ogden did not play--I wonder if she is ok.
9) We shot 45% and held the vaunted Utah offense to 39%. We were 6/12 from three point range, they were 13/32. More than half their shots were from beyond the arc.
10) While turnovers were almost even, Utah had a LOT more points off of turnovers. Ours seemed to be worse turnovers than theirs.
11) It was very striking to see the number of jumpshots that Brink and Iriafen were taking, and sometimes making. This was a deliberate strategy--I know Tara does not like mid range jumpers as a matter of analytics, but she must have known that the jump shots were going to be needed against the Utah style of defense.
Our team showed some composure under difficult circumstances tonight--it did oh so much better than in a similar situation against Gonzaga. All in all, I am delighted to get any kind of a win on this trip. Colorado will be tougher yet.
Overall:
1) Altitude matters. Our players were mouth breathing even in the first half, and they started missing short a lot in the second half. We shot 60% in the first half, and 30% in the second.
2) Utah's defense is surprisingly effective. Defense has not been their calling card but they made the second half a struggle for us. And that was the half when we had Brink for most of her minutes, so Utah was doing something right. There were times the offense went stagnant. Tara called a time out on one of those stagnant possessions--a good time out. She saw it too, of course.
3) How many times have we won games in which we gave up 13 three pointers?
4) Jump's defense was awesome. She held McQueen to 3 points, and those not until deep into the second half.
5) Holding Pili to 5/18 was terrific. Quite astounding, really, given that the likes of South Carolina gave her 37 points.
6) One of Iriafen's best games. Not only 25 points but 16 rebounds.
7) Lepolo with 7 assists to 3 turnovers, and she made her only trey. Wish she had made both her free throws at the end.
8) Bosgana with 16 minutes. Demetre with 17. Agara with 14. Ogden did not play--I wonder if she is ok.
9) We shot 45% and held the vaunted Utah offense to 39%. We were 6/12 from three point range, they were 13/32. More than half their shots were from beyond the arc.
10) While turnovers were almost even, Utah had a LOT more points off of turnovers. Ours seemed to be worse turnovers than theirs.
11) It was very striking to see the number of jumpshots that Brink and Iriafen were taking, and sometimes making. This was a deliberate strategy--I know Tara does not like mid range jumpers as a matter of analytics, but she must have known that the jump shots were going to be needed against the Utah style of defense.
Our team showed some composure under difficult circumstances tonight--it did oh so much better than in a similar situation against Gonzaga. All in all, I am delighted to get any kind of a win on this trip. Colorado will be tougher yet.