Pac-12 Preview: Will 7 teams make the NCAA tournament again?
By Ben Dull
Utah Utes
This will be the third season for the Utes under head coach Lynn Roberts. Coach Roberts has said that she now feels that she is settled in. She and the Utes will aim to surprise some people, especially with the return of three starters (including an All-Pac-12-caliber player) around seven new players.
More on the Utes:
Numbers & notes
25-9 overall in ’16-’17, 13-5 (T-Last) in Pac-12, lost in 1st Round of WNIT to UC Davis
Utah was picked 9th in the preseason Pac-12 media and coaches polls.
The Utes return three starters from last season’s team.
Utah went 11-0 through its non-conference schedule last season.
Signature wins last season for the Utes included home wins over Cal and a road victory against Washington State.
Joanna Reitz begins her first season on Roberts’ coaching staff. She has been in coaching since 2007, where she began as a grad assistant at Florida State.
Departures
Malia Nawahine– 10.6 PPG, 31.6 MPG (led team), 42 3PM
Paige Crozon — 10.1 PPG, 50 3PM, 28.7 MPG (31 starts)
Joeseta Fatuesi — 10.2 MPG
Returners
Emily Potter, F (Sr) — 13.7 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 2.9 BPG, 51.1 FG%, ’16-’17 All-Pac-12 honorable mention, ’16-’17 Pac-12 All-Defense
Tanaeya Boclair, G (Sr) — 10.1 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 27.7 MPG (30 starts)
Erika Bean, G (Jr) — 28.1 MPG (29 starts)
Wendy Anae (F, Sr, 12.9 MPG), Kiana Moore (G, So, 11.7 MPG), Daneesha Provo (G, Jr, 12.5 MPG), Megan Jacobs (G, So, 13.5 MPG) and Tilar Clark (G, Jr, 8.6 MPG) also return for the Utes.
“Defense is always a work in progress for me,” Potter said at Pac-12 media day. “It’s something I want to take pride in. We did defensive boot camp the entire first week of practice last week. Only defense for the entire week. Yeah, I think I just need to trust my abilities on defense. I am bigger, obviously, than a lot of the girls. I need to trust that I can defend them if I move my feet and I work towards it. So trust in that and try not to foul as much. Know that I need to stay in the game for my team.”
Fresh faces
Junior transfer F Megan Huff (Big West Conference Sixth Player of the Year as a freshman and sophomore at Hawai’i) is now eligible after sitting out last season.
Jordan Cruz, G (McDonalds All-American nominee, three-time team MVP at C.K. McClatchy HS in Sacramento)
Tori Williams, G (2017 Gatorade Idaho Player of the Year, McDonalds All-American nominee)
Maurane Corbin, F (played three seasons for Montmorency (CEGEP) in Quebec, led them to two provincial championships and one national championship)
Elli Koskinen, F (played for Finland’s U15, U16 and U18 national teams)
Dru Gylten, G (McDonalds All-American nominee, led St. Thomas More HS to four straight South Dakota state championships)
Adrianna Lalonde, F (will redshirt the season, 1st Team All-State as a senior for Chandler HS, from Phoenix)
“This year I think we have the best post play that I’ve ever coached. We have, you know, we’re two, three deep at the four and five spot. We have legitimate size,” Roberts said at Pac-12 media day. “So we still want to be up-tempo, but we’ll probably play two post players at the same time.
“I think Emily gets so much attention on defensive scouts. It’s going to open things up for Megan a lot. So she’s going to play quite a bit. Tori Williams, a guard out of Idaho, a freshman, she was the big Idaho State Player of the Year, very highly recruited. She can score. She’s got a good feel for the game. We’re going to need her to play. Then Corbin, we were talking about Mo Corbin, I think she’s going to be an impact player for us too. She’s a freshman, but she just plays so dang hard. She’s still learning.”
5 games to watch
November 20 v. Purdue, 6:00 PST (Pac-12 Networks)
December 2 v. Saint Mary’s, 1:30 PM PST (Pac-12 Networks)
December 29 v. Arizona, 5:00 PM PST (Utah Live Stream)
January 26 v. Oregon State, 5:00 PM PST (Pac-12 Networks)
January 28 v. Oregon, 11:00 AM PST (Pac-12 Networks)
Will Utah’s non-conference winning streak continue into 2018? Home games against Purdue and Saint Mary’s will both be available via the Pac-12 Networks. The Utes then open Pac-12 play at home against Arizona. Utah hosts Oregon State and Oregon at the end of January as part of a rare three-game homestand during conference play.