This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Utah's down six on the road, and its player has four fouls. A month ago, the Utes admit, maybe they couldn't have won this game.
But win, they did: Six Utes scored 10 or more points in a 76-68 victory at Colorado on Sunday, the second victory over the Buffs in one week. And suddenly a topic that's been taboo all year — reaching the postseason — seems more in reach for Utah women's basketball (14-9, 6-6).
First-year coach Lynne Roberts hasn't addressed the postseason with her players, not with six league games left. The time for that conversation is drawing near, she confesses.
"I have learned after doing this long enough that when you start looking ahead, that's when you can trip, because you're not looking where you're walking," she said. "I'm really cautious of doing that, but it's getting to that point with three weeks left in the regular season, where our players, they're not dumb — they know, they're tracking."
There's certainly a fresh flavor to the Utes, who, while trudging through a five-game losing streak midway through Pac-12 play have fulfilled Roberts' goal to be competitive in the league. Voted to finish No. 11 in the conference, the Utes are in a tie for fifth place in the conference. With four of their final six games on the road (including a trip to Oregon and Oregon State), it won't be easy to finish on a high note, but the Utes are two wins away from matching their most wins in Pac-12 play in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year.
After running up an 8-3 non-conference record on the shoulders of 6-foot-6 Emily Potter, Utah has developed a characteristic that good teams have: More than one player who can do damage.
"I definitely think it is one area we've improved as a team," said senior guard Dani Rodriguez, who scored a career-high 19 points in Utah's first win over Colorado earlier in the week. "We've got more people who can step up when we need them to. Potter still gets a lot of attention, but teams get so honed in on her, it creates other opportunities."
The Utes have taken advantage of the opportunities: In the past three games, at least four Utah players have reached double figures, including a near-upset of ranked UCLA that slipped away in the final minutes. Five Utes are averaging between Potter's 16 ppg and Katie Kuklok's 7.3 ppg, and five players are shooting at least 43 percent from the floor.
Now, when Potter — who averages a double-double for the Utes — is mobbed, Paige Crozon and Malia Nawahine can find lanes to the hoop, Rodriguez can drive and dish or score herself and Kuklok can known down threes from all over the arc (44.2 percent).
In the past nine games, all five of the above mentioned players have led the team in points at least once.
There's fringe benefits to winning, besides merely getting the chance to play more. The team's attendance, 985 fans per game, is the best its ever been in the Pac-12 and no longer last place in the league. Roberts previously said that Utah's new basketball practice facility was one of her greatest recruiting weapons — a winning record also helps.
"In the absence of winning, you're basically asking kids to believe in you and have faith in what they haven't seen yet," Roberts said. "The fact that we have had some success, we're at .500 right now in the Pac-12, gives us a little credibility."
The faith part, then, plays in more for the current team. Can the Utes make a push for their first postseason berth since 2013, when they went to the WNIT finals?
The biggest change from the start of the season to now is the Utes are pretty sure they can get there.
"I just want to keep playing as many games as I can, so postseason is an absolute goal," Rodriguez said. "But at the same time, we want to go one game at a time. We've got a little momentum now, we've got to fight through the mental fatigue, and we want to finish our games knowing we put everything out there."
Twitter: @kylegoon —
About the Utes
The Utes are 6-6 in Pac-12 play, and need two more league wins to match their best total in five seasons in the conference. Some statistics that illustrate Utah's success:
• No. 30 nationally (2nd in Pac-12) in rebound margin (plus-7.8)
• No. 74 nationally (5th in Pac-12) in field goal percentage (42.1 percent)
• Past three games, four or more scorers in double figures
• Five different leading scorers in the past nine games
Utah at Oregon
P Matthew Knight Arena, Eugene, Ore.
Tip-off • Friday, 7 p.m. MST
Utah at No. 8 Oregon State
P Gill Coliseum, Corvallis, Ore.
Tip-off • Sunday, noon MST