Former volleyball player Megan Huff is a force as Utah tops Purdue

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes forward Emily Potter (12) goes up for a shot as Purdue Boilermakers forward Ae'Rianna Harris (32) defends, in basketball action Utah Utes vs. Purdue Boilermakers, at the Thomas M. Huntsman Center, Monday, November 20, 2017.

On Star Wars night inside the Huntsman Center, a force awakened.

At this time last year, Megan Huff was on the sidelines every game, screaming in support of her teammates. But she couldn’t play. A transfer from Hawaii, Huff chose to leave the island paradise and her dual-sport student-athlete life as a volleyball and basketball player in Honolulu to join the rebuilding project started by Utah coach Lynne Roberts.

The versatile 6-foot-3 forward moved to Salt Lake City, choosing to stick with hoops.

“I feel like I had more opportunity in basketball,” Huff said.

“Thank heavens she did,” Roberts said, patting her junior forward on the back.

That decision is paying dividends. Huff busted out on a career-high evening as she scored 23 points and snagged nine rebounds in Utah’s 81-68 win over the visiting Purdue Boilermakers, handing Purdue its first loss of the season. Whatever frustrations she had missing last year have been taken out on this season.

Four games into the season, Huff leads Utah (3-1) in points per game (18) and is second on the team in rebounds per game (7.5).

Against the Boilermakers, she showcased why Roberts and the Utah coaching staff feel like they’ve found a gem. Huff sliced up Purdue down low, making timely cuts to the basket for easy layups, showed off her ability to hit midrange jumpers and even stretch the floor hitting a shot from behind the arc.

“I don’t think Purdue’s going to be unique in that,” Roberts said. “I think the game is still moving pretty quickly for her right now. She’s still getting her sea legs a little bit. The more minutes she plays, the more minutes she gets at this level, I think it’s just going to get better. I really do.”

Huff paced a 16-2 second-quarter run that gave Utah a double-digit halftime lead. And when Purdue made its expected second-half run, slimming the Utes’ lead to four early in the third quarter, Huff was there to get open under the basket, drop in a layup, sprint back on defense in time to get her feet set and draw an offensive foul.

Roberts said during the year Huff had to sit out due to transfer rules, she added about 12 pounds of muscle, and worked on her jump shot and ball-handling skills.

“She was pretty raw in terms of, we knew she was a gifted athlete and long and all those things that you see,” Roberts said, “but her skills were not anywhere close to where they are today. She put an impressive amount of work in.”

Huff’s early-season portfolio is proving as much.

“Last year was a great year,” Huff said. “Every day, I tried to get better. I had some tough times, but I overcame things, and I matured a lot as a player and as a person.”

While it was Huff’s career night that pushed the Utes to the win, Utah also had three other players in double digits in freshman Tori Williams (15 points), junior Daneesha Provo (13 points) and senior center Emily Potter (10 points).

Provo’s timely 3-pointer late in the third quarter helped quell another mini-run by the Boilermakers. She’s provided a scoring punch for the Utes, and is currently second on the team in points per game at nearly 12 points per outing.

“That’s what I’m most proud of,” Roberts said. I think last year, we wouldn’t have answered. We would’ve played a little tight, and that’s the progression of the team and of our program. We’re just getting better.”

Former volleyball player Megan Huff is a force as Utah tops Purdue

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