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Utah women's basketball will get one more shot to redeem a season that fell short of expectations.
The Utes (16-15) earned a second straight berth to the WNIT, where they will host UC Davis (23-7), the winner of the Big West and an automatic qualifier. The game, which does not yet have a tipoff time, will be Friday at the Huntsman Center.
Utah finished tied for ninth in the Pac-12 and was one of three conference teams selected, along with Colorado and Washington State. Seven other conference teams were chosen to go to the NCAA Tournament on Monday afternoon.
The Utes are in the hunt for a finish more in line with the season's start: They were 11-0 against nonconference opponents before hitting turbulence in conference play.
Led by 6-foot-6 junior Emily Potter, Utah has ranked in the top 25 in both blocked shots and defensive rebounding this year.
They'll face an Aggies team that lost to both Pac-12 teams it faced, Stanford (66-42) and Oregon State (93-52), in December. UC Davis is a top-50 team in both shooting and field goal-percentage defense.
Last year, Utah made it to the third round of the 64-team tournament before falling to Oregon.
Twitter: @kylegoon —
UC Davis at Utah
P WNIT first round Friday, Time TBD