This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Seven-point game, six-point game, four-point game. The Utes were in it against the No. 7 team in the country for most of Sunday afternoon.
They were a few breaks away from pulling even. If only a 3-pointer would go down. If only a shot would wobble into the rim instead of out. If only there was just a little extra magic in the last home game of the year — the last home game for one of the best players in program history.
It didn't. It wouldn't. There wasn't.
A hard-fought 52-42 loss to Oregon State stirred a familiar feeling for snakebitten Utah (9-18, 3-13) — the feeling of being a few pieces of the puzzle away from pulling off something special.
In this case, it wasn't hard to put a finger on the problem: baskets, or lack thereof.
"Just kind of the story of the year: We weren't able to make enough baskets down the stretch," coach Anthony Levrets said. "If we make a couple threes, it's a different game. But we were O-fer."
It was a tough shooting night for both teams: Utah's defense kept it in the game against the Beavers, who have lost only two games all season long. The Utes actually led for a significant portion of the first half, forcing OSU to make only 3 of its first 12 shots. Through 11 minutes, it was tied.
But reality caught up to Utah, as Oregon State went on a 13-6 run to finish the half, then never trailed again. The Utes got most of their points in the paint, but still struggled to shoot it over the willowy reach of 6-foot-6 OSU center Ruth Hamblin.
Utah finished shooting 35 percent, with no 3-pointers in six attempts from deep. Hamblin was 6 for 9 from the field for 14 points and added a whopping 7 blocks.
Although Joeseta Fatuesi found success with a team-high 12 points, the Beavers were able to take away Utah's star senior forward Taryn Wicijowski for most of the game. It wasn't an ideal end to her distinguished career at the Huntsman Center, as she finished 5 for 14 with 10 points and 8 rebounds.
"She's really, really, really good, and she's super tall," Levrets said of Hamblin, who now has 99 blocks on the year. "She's breaking every shot-blocking record there is in this league before she's done. We competed, but we had to make one or two more shots and we didn't."
Even in the second half, Fatuesi helped pull Utah within four with about 14 minutes to go, but misses dogged the team, which was only 5 for 18 to finish the game.
Both Wicijowski and Cheyenne Wilson, the team's two seniors, were subbed out to a round of applause in the final minute. Wilson had 2 points and 3 rebounds.
"I feel bad for our seniors walking out of the building with a loss," Levrets said. "But that can't be the memory for them. They gotta remember all the great times they had here."
Oregon State shot only 38 percent from the field in the game, not enjoying much success from the perimeter. Guard Jamie Weisner led all scorers with 15 points for OSU.
Wicijowski has dealt with plenty of disappointment in a rough senior year, but she and the Utes remain confident that even with almost half the team laid up by injury, there could still be hope ahead. Utah is running out of chances to pay off that faith, with only two more regular season games to go ahead of the conference tournament.
The weekend, which saw Utah split its home games, hasn't drained that particular feeling.
"I think if we saw this team again," Wicijowksi said, "we could give them another run for their money."
Twitter: @kylegoon