OCR Text |
Show THE DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE Tuesday, November 27, 2012 7 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL POTENTIAL Utes polish strategy in prep for Aggies continued from Page 6 Michael Smith STAFF WRITER In the past two games, the Utes have started to show they have a complete team beyond stars Michelle Plouffe and Taryn Wicijowski. But they will need to continue to get a solid team effort if they are going to go far this season, starting with their matchup against the Utah State Aggies tonight. In its first three games of the season, Utah relied heavily on Plouffe and Wicijowski for scoring production. Although the Utes have won all three games, as their season gets tougher, Plouffe and Wicijowski will get double-teamed and Utah will need other players to step up. The last two games, they've done just that. Veteran guard Rachel Messer led the Utes to a victory last Tuesday against Northern Colorado, as she scored a career high of 18 points. In that same game, freshman Danielle Rodriguez had her best offensive outing as well, scoring 12 points. On Saturday against Weber State, fellow freshman Paige Crozon produced the first double-digit scoring output of her career. It's the kind of complete team scoring Utah will need against the Aggies. "They're another in-state team that's going to come in here and give us a tough test," said Utah head coach Anthony Levrets. "They play a really unique style both defensively and offensively. They will do things that we have not seen yet, and it will be paramount that we prepare ourselves for what we're going to see and make sure we're comfortable with what our attack is going to be." Utah State is a team that likes to run up and down the floor and put up a lot of points. The Aggies are averaging 73 points a game — three more than Utah. To prepare for Utah State's schemes, the Utes had no time off last weekend. After traveling home Saturday night from Ogden following their win against the Weber State Wildcats, Utah players were back in the film room and on the court Sunday scouting the Aggies and practicing their attack. "We're just trying to get better and better as a team as we head closer to the conference season," Levrets said. Crucial to Utah's success tonight will be stopping Utah State's Devyn Christensen. The Caldwell, Idaho, native was the 2013 preseason pick for Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year and has lived up to her billing thus far. Through five games, Christensen is averaging 25 points, 4.4 assists and five rebounds per game. Even though the Aggies have a 2-3 record, they're trending up. After dropping their first three games, they took their last two at the Great Alaska Shootout last week. They will be more rested than Utah, as they haven't played since last Wednesday. Because of all these factors, it will be that much more important for Utah to produce a team effort to beat the Aggies tonight. m.smith@chronicle.utah.edu Twitter: @smithmichael8 deflect it high in the air, allowing the Beavers to easily make the interception. Later, Utah was threatening to get back in the game and had the ball inside the Oregon State five-yard line. The Utes drew up a reverse for Christopher, which would have allowed him to walk into the end zone. Instead, Christopher dropped the pitch and Oregon State recovered. Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham immediately benched the senior wideout. Christopher went from being a potential NFL prospect to being a back-up for a lower-tier Pac-12 team. Christopher wasn't alone. The quarterback situation also fell short of preseason expectations. Coming in to the season, it seemed Jordan Wynn was stronger and healthier than he had been in years. The theory spread that his health would give way to a monster season. Wynn made it all of about six quarters before his career ended with another injury. By season's end, Utah had used three different starting quarterbacks. Yes, Wilson did show promise at times, but the team finished moth in the nation in passing yards — far from what was expected. Not wanting to be left out, Utah's linebackers decided to give lackluster performances. Trevor Reilly, who played multiple positions throughout the season, did have a good year. He was the exception. Guys such as V. J. Fehoko and Dave Fagergren came in as big hitters, but lacked the speed to keep up with Pac-12 athletes. Missed tackles became commonplace for the Utes. The team did do some good things, but when it was all said and done, too many guys failed to live up to their reputations. Because too many players were underwhelming, the whole team underperformed, giving fans the worst Utah season in a decade. p.lee@chronicle.utah.edu Twitter: @parkerscottlee CHRONICLE FILE PHOTO Freshman point guard Danielle Rodriguez proved to be a great asset for the Utes early in the season, helping the team become more rounded beyond last year's one-two punch of Michelle Plouffe and Taryn Wicijowski. The Daily Utah Chronicle is now hiring sports writers. O Contact Jake Bullinger at 11 j.bullinger@chronicle.utah.edu Sign up now ea MEDIA SALES GROUP THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH Vi (10.15 kids) for SLC School District After School program J•BP • GROUP LEADERS 1 University IN The 2 7 6 73 1 6 2 3 9 2 7 4 1 7 5 AVES US P S FOCAL ARUBA BORA SODA F IRS TCLA SCAB IN ALOHA SHOT ADE BAR I TA AL I NED MEANT I ON REG I TEREDNUR E AAA NEA BEG PRIORI TYSEAT ING VVI S E T T E S TEEPLE LETS SEE HES PAPA I TALL EXPRE S S CHECKOUT BAYER OTOE INDO AS TS MAI L TEEN 3_ 1 9 5 8 4 8 5 1 3 5 4 7 9 7 cr) 3 ANSWER TO TODAY'S PUZZLE 4 M Trey McIntyre Project 9 L7 KINGSBURY HALL PRESENTS I 1 cr) 19.5 hrs/wk, M-TH 2:30.5:30/6pm and Fridays 12:30-5:30/6pm. Start at $9.50 per hour. Send resume to: heidi.clark@slcschools.org or call 578.8275 NA! IT WAS ME HIDING IN YOUR CLOSET, WAITING UNTIL YOU ASLEEP To JUMP GUT SCREAMING Mitt WRING -Rim MASK! PIP I SCARE YoU, aiUcK?! Deals for food, entertainment and everything else for students, faculty and staff at the University of Utah. "There is indeed such a thing as genuine 21st century ballet... McIntyre rocks, McIntyre rules. Everyone else can just get in line." —Los Angeles Times U Student Tickets Just SS I Buy now — Limited quantities at box hase. to purchase. office Photo by Lots Greenfield Sh Go to: www.UtahCampusDeals.com and sign up today to get $10 in Deal Bucks! November 27 I 7:30 PM Tickets: 801-581-7100 I www.kingtix.com Tickets starting at $19.50 U of U Discounts Available B.W. BASTL4N FOUNDATTON E CITY ARTS COUNCIL arts E; museums 8,;_tti!all, Charlie &. the Chocolate Factory in his Shorts STA F ige? 1=33 BIRELEY 0 FOUNDATION *Tell us where you want deals from email ads@utah.edu www.popeahureconnes.com © Doug Bratton 2005 KUED thruennr„ Ann THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH U ART WORKS. KINGSBURY Center ter the Per ermine! Arts 4 3r jX R EWAR ON AFL N ov 1 - Di ► DS 9. PURCHASES university FEDERAL CREDIT UNION APPLY ONLINE UCREDITU.COM |