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Ogden • For the first 36 minutes of Tuesday women's basketball game, the Weber State Wildcats could not contend with redwoods wearing Utah uniforms. During the last four minutes, the Wildcats taught the Utes a lesson about finishing.
Leading by 22, Utah withstood a furious WSU comeback and hung on to a 62-56 victory Tuesday night in the Dee Events Center.
"We're young, 11 freshmen and sophomores," Ute coach Anthony Levrets said. "Fortunately, we're going to learn a lesson in how to close out a game in a victory and not a loss."
With four players at 6-foot-3 and taller seeing significant time, the key for Levrets is to turn his physical, athletic frontline into a cohesive unit. Taryn Wicijowski, Utah's 6-foot-3 sophomore post, recorded a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
With point guard Janita Badon pushing the action, Utah (2-0) opened a 15-point advantage in the first half, led by 22 with four minutes to play and hung on for dear life as Weber State made the outcome interesting with a 14-0 run to close the gap in the final minutes.
"We had a hard time matching up with their size and athletic skill," WSU coach Carla Taylor said. "But we didn't give up. We got better. At this point in the season you want to get better."
The Wildcats' two six-footers, Karlee Weight and Mikell Woodfield played 40 combined minutes, but could only combine for six points and seven rebounds. Forward Amanda Hughes led Weber State with 16 points.
Highlights
R Utah leads by 22, then holds on as Weber State goes on a 14-0 run in the final minutes.
• Utah center Taryn Wicijowski has 14 points and 11 rebounds.
• Utah holds its second consecutive opponent to 35 percent shooting.