The individual packets handed out to each player after the win Thursday afternoon had a treat to accompany them: A small, festive box of holiday candy. Some players had to hustle out of the Huntsman Center and zoom to the airport to jet home for the Christmas break and catch flights as soon as 90 minutes after Utah beat Oral Roberts, 71-50.
The packets, Utah coach Lynne Roberts, said are a detailed reminder of what’s still to come.
The most grueling portion of the year — an upcoming three-month slate that will determine whether the Utes will be smiling in March as a potential NCAA Tournament team — is near. There’s still work to be done for the Utes (9-2), who now have wrapped up their 2017 nonconference schedule. There’s an eight-day break between Utah’s win Thursday and the start of Pac-12 Conference play at home next Friday night against Arizona.
Roberts has told her crew to enjoy the holidays, to soak in the next five days away from Salt Lake City and unplug.
“They’ve earned it,” she said.
And they now can turn the page.
After topping Oral Roberts in a game that never was in danger of being featured as an upset, Utah said it’s ready for the main stage of its campaign. They’ve learned from last year that a record in nonconference play only can mean so much. The Utes were 11-0 in 2016 before losing 15 of their last 20 games.
“It just feels different,” Roberts said. “I think we had a little bit of a false sense of security last year going into Pac-12 play. I think we were a talented team, but I don’t think we were ‘undefeated’ good enough.”
Both of Utah’s nonconference losses this year were on the road: At Alabama in November and at rival BYU on Dec. 9. Junior guard Daneesha Provo, who had 10 points off the bench Thursday, said a rivalry loss would’ve lingered too long last year. The Utes, she said, “would’ve collapsed.”
Utah instead rebounded by beating instate rival Utah State by 35 points in its next outing.
“We know what we’re capable of,” Provo said.
(Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah head coach Lynn Roberts gives a shot some body english during second half play as the Utah women beat Nevada 87-61, Friday, November 10, 2017.
Utah has had five different leading scorers in its first 11 games, not counting junior point guard Erika Bean, whose assist-to-turnover ratio is sixth in college basketball. If it’s not senior center Emily Potter, junior wing Megan Huff or true freshman Tori Williams, Bean’s command of Utah’s offense is playing a major role, Roberts said.
“She’s leading others to score,” Utah’s coach said.
The Utes have excelled in an avenue they believed would be a strong suit this year: Pushing the ball in transition. With Bean quarterbacking the attacks, Utah has found its groove offensively. The team is averaging 77 points per game and is in the top 25 nationally in field-goal percentage.
“It’s been bound to come out,” Bean said, “and we’ve kind of showcased glimpses of how good we can be.”
Utah is confident but promises to remain realistic. It won’t run the table and go undefeated in the Pac-12. Not even close, Roberts said. The Utes have to get back to “chopping wood,” embracing the chip-on-the-shoulder approach and embrace the role of the underdog it will be in during several conference matchups.
“I think this team has a real sense of their identity in terms of what makes them good,” Roberts said. “Last year I don’t know if we would’ve said that.”
They vow it’s different.
“We’re tested,” Bean said.
“We can compete with anybody,” Roberts said.
There’s a brief holiday reprieve. But the Utes will reconvene in the Huntsman Basketball Facility on Dec. 26 and prep for the big games. In the meantime, they’ll dive into their individual packets, which Roberts said will take about 45 minutes to an hour of study time.