Utah makes history in upset win and spoils No. 8 TCU’s bid for its own

The tandem of Lynne Roberts and her Utah women’s basketball head coach successor, Gavin Petersen, have earned plenty of memorable wins over the past several seasons.

Count the Utes’ 87-77 overtime victory over No. 8 TCU Saturday night in that category, as the 2,731 fans who showed up at the Huntsman Center were treated to an unforgettable night.

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“What a game. So proud of our team rising to the occasion, putting together another game in terms of intensity, and focusing for 40 minutes,” Petersen said.

“I’m really proud of us fully buying into the process of putting a team together, and we’re starting to get there. I’m so extremely proud of them.”

Lani White, the fan-favorite senior guard, had a signature moment when her team needed it most.

With the Utes trailing by three late in the fourth quarter after TCU had scored seven straight points to regain momentum and the lead, White came off a screen and hit a 3 to tie the contest at 67-67.

The shot didn’t swish — rather, it kind of rattled around the inside of the rim before going down.

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Doesn’t matter. The points counted the same either way.

“To be quite honest, I was confident in the shot. I felt the seams of the ball in the right spots on my hands and I just let that thing fly,” White said.

“I heard all of my teammates saying, ‘Shoot it,’ so I didn’t hesitate. I just let it go. Regardless of how it fell on the rim, I’m just happy how we ended the game.”

TCU couldn’t win it on the other end with 10 seconds to get a game-winning shot to fall, and the teams headed to overtime, where Utah made the plays — including another big White 3-pointer — to earn the victory.

It capped a wildly entertaining, if not rollercoaster week for the Utes, who fell by a point in a thriller Wednesday to an Arizona State team that entered that contest unbeaten on the season.

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This time, Utah found a way to deliver a highly regarded team its first loss.

In the process, the Utes (11-4, 2-1 Big 12) made history. It was the 11th time in school history that Utah has beaten a top 10 team, and it’s the fourth straight season the Utes have beaten a top 10 program.

That is a school record streak.

TCU, meanwhile, was chasing history going into the game. The Horned Frogs were seeking the school’s longest single-season win streak and best start to a season when they arrived in Salt Lake City.

TCU (14-1, 2-1 Big 12) also had a 12-game win streak against Big 12 competition that dated back to last season, and the Horned Frogs had won by an average of 17 points in that stretch.

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TCU’s closest win of the season going into Saturday was a 10-point victory over then-No. 10 NC State back in November.

The Utes spoiled the Horned Frogs’ fun — and won — to snap those streaks.

It’s a critical Quad 1 victory for Utah, which appears to be building momentum and confidence as it enters the teeth of league play.

“We only have room to go forward. We can only go up, and it takes 1 through 13, and I think tonight proved that it takes everyone,” White said.

“But this team has bought in. We all have to buy in constantly, and we have to indulge and sacrifice for play like this. So it was a good night, it was a team win, but yeah, we can only go forward. That’s what we do.”

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Saturday’s contest was a battle as neither team led by more than six points in regulation, and they both took turns making key plays.

TCU, despite shooting under 30% in the second quarter, had just one turnover in the period and used that to push to a 38-33 halftime lead.

Utah fought back, holding the Horned Frogs’ offense in check in the third quarter. The Utes outscored their visitors 18-11 in the period to go into the final stanza with a two-point lead.

Two 3-pointers by Reese Ross and another from Maty Wilke in the third flipped momentum and were part of a solid 3-point shooting night for the Utes, who were 13 of 23 from outside.

It looked like Utah was on its way to winning in regulation when Ross’ third 3 of the night made it 63-58 with just over four minutes to play, but to TCU’s credit, it kept fighting.

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After the game went two and a half minutes with neither team scoring, TCU’s Marta Suarez hit a 3 to make it 64-63 Utes. Then, after a Utah turnover, Donovyn Hunter drained a 3 to give TCU the lead back.

Ross had a chance to tie the game at the free-throw line, but she missed two free throws, and Horned Frogs star Olivia Miles went to the line with 22.3 seconds to play with the opportunity to make it a two-score game.

She missed the first, then hit the second — and Utah still had a chance.

That set up the White heroics, as she made the game-tying 3 and forced an extra session.

Utah, playing in front of an energized crowd, owned the overtime period, going up seven when White hit a 3-pointer with 2:47 to play in OT.

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That was the Utes’ last field goal of the game, and while Utah missed a handful of free throws down the stretch, it made enough (22 of 33 on the night) to fend off the Horned Frogs.

It spoiled the efforts from TCU stars Miles (31 points, seven rebounds, seven assists) and Suarez (23 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, two steals).

TCU coach Mark Campbell, though, made his feelings clear — Utah earned this win.

“We had a chance to steal this game. We didn’t deserve this game,” he said. “They outplayed us.”

White just missed a career high by scoring 25 points on 9 of 17 from the field and 4 of 6 from 3. She added five rebounds, two assists and a block.

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That was just one of several highlight efforts from a true team win, from seniors such as White and Maty Wilke to freshmen such as Evelina Otto and LA Sneed.

Ross had 15 points to go with six rebounds, as the Utes outrebounded TCU, 43-39 — a significant stat, as the Horned Frogs entered the contest 12th in the nation in rebounding.

“I think that’s what makes our team so great, just the ability to be gritty and tough,” Ross said. “We do rebounding drills every single day and we harp on it. We have this little box on our charts that we look back at every game and we have rebounding goals. We make rebounding a priority.

“We talk about those opportunities to get extra chances and that comes from rebounding, whether that’s on the offensive end giving us opportunities or on the defensive end limiting their opportunities. Rebounding is just as important as scoring to us.”

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Campbell stressed that the loss is a learning opportunity for his team that is still getting to know each other’s capabilities, and that the Horned Frogs know they’re going to be getting everyone’s best shot being the defending Big 12 champions.

Added Campbell, “They just outtoughed us tonight.”

Wilke had a loaded stat line, with 12 points, four assists, three rebounds and three steals, though she had six turnovers.

Brooke Walker, in her second game back from injury, added 10 points, three assists and two rebounds, while Otto nearly had a double-double with 10 points and eight rebounds in one of her best — and perhaps most impactful — games of the year.

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She and Sneed, who had six points, five rebounds and three assists, played key moments down the stretch.

“It starts at practice. It’s just the culmination of practice. Playing in practice, being able to get game experience, and it’s adding all those things up. Everyone who gets on the court, we have the utmost confidence in them being able to do their job and bring some kind of spark or energy coming off the bench,” Petersen said.

“Our three freshmen have been thrown into the fire since Day 1, and just the way they respond and the way they are just attacking each and every moment, that’s a great first year for them to continue to build on here at Utah.”

TCU was out of sorts offensively as well. The Horned Frogs came into the night 10th nationally in shooting, at 50% from the floor. Against Utah, though, TCU shot just 38% overall, 9 of 39 from 3-point range and had two quarters where it shot under 30%.

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“They’re a really good offensive team. They can really shoot it. Tonight was more we were just really sloppy and undisciplined,” Campbell said of Utah.

“But they share the ball, they move the ball, they play hard together, and so if you’re not dialed in on all of those things, they can score a lot of points. They run a great system, and we were poor defensively.”

For the homestanding Utes, it was the kind of victory that sends a message to the rest of the Big 12 as Utah prepares to go on a two-game road trip to Kansas and Kansas State next week.

“TCU is a phenomenal team that people are still chasing. … They’re still the team to beat, so yes, absolutely (it’s a) staple win,” Petersen said.

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“But for us, and because of the youthfulness you guys continue to talk about, which is very valid and true, we’re just trying to win every practice. We want to go 1 and 0 every day in practice, and hopefully the good habits are outweighing the bad habits, and we’re eliminating some of the bad habits, and we keep getting opportunities to go 1 and 0.”