This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Utah was a within a short run Sunday of challenging for its third Pac-12 win in four tries at the Huntsman Center, but Washington State's Lia Galdeira doesn't abide runs, however short.
A Dani Rodriguez 3-pointer brought Utah within two, only to watch Galdeira answer with three of her own.
Then, a Taneaya Boclair jumper made it a 3-point game, but Galdeira made it six.
And so on throughout: Utah was down 3 after a Taryn Wicijowski layup, tied after a Joeseta Fatuesi jumper, trailing by just seven after two Rodriguez free throws, and back within five, with four minutes to play, after a Cheyenne Wilson layup.
Each time the lead was within sight, the Pac-12's second-leading scorer dangled the carrot a little further out, finishing with 23 points, 10 rebounds and four steals as Washington State (14-11, 5-9 Pac-12) won 61-52 and gave coach June Daugherty her 400th career victory.
"When she gets going, she's hard to get stopped," Utah head coach Anthony Levrets said of Galdeira. "… She came in here and put it to us pretty good."
It was an emotional letdown for the Utes, who made just 17-of-49 shot attempts after hitting 50 percent in an upset of early NCAA tournament No. 3 seed Washington on Friday.
Rodriguez said that it can be hard to gear up for games on Sunday afternoons, but that the tip time is no excuse.
Offered Levrets: "We got out-efforted and out-energy-ed, which didn't feel so good after the way we played the other night."
Washington State's zone pressure gave the Utes few issues in the first half and fits in the second, as the Cougars began to double-team more often.
Levrets said those looks can give Utah trouble because they don't have a traditional secondary ballhandler, relying on forward Wicijowski to help Rodriguez - who scored 12 points but finished without an assist for the first time in the last two seasons.
Wicijowski totaled 20 points and 11 rebounds, becoming the fifth player in school history to collect 1,000 boards.
With four games remaining in the regular season, "We've got to make sure we have our energy and make sure we play hard every possession," Rodriguez said.
Utah hosts Oregon at 7 p.m. Friday and then No. 8 Oregon State for Senior Day - the final home games for Wicijowski and Wilson - at noon Sunday.
Twitter: @matthew_piper