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Utah WBB falls 84-81 at home to South Dakota State

Utes comeback attempt comes up just short in overtime loss

Ryan Kostecka

Utah WBB falls 84-81 at home to South Dakota State
Utah WBB falls 84-81 at home to South Dakota State /

It hasn't been the start Utah women's basketball program was looking for.

After beginning the season with back-to-back losses on the road, the Utes returned to the friendly confines of the Huntsman Center. Only this time, the home-court wasn't very friendly with South Dakota visiting. 

Despite a second-half comeback that saw Utah force the game into overtime, the Utes fell to South Dakota 84-81 on Saturday afternoon.

"I was proud of our toughness the whole game, we just showed our inexperience against a really experienced team," head coach Lynne Roberts told media following the loss. "South Dakota is very good. They returned around 10 people from last year that made the NCAA Tournament. You could see it down the stretch, they just had a little more poise."

Freshman Lola Pendande finished with a game-high 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting. She also added a game-high nine rebounds in just 23 minutes of action. The issue for the Utes was the other four starters combined for just 25 points.

However, Utah did get a much-needed boost from its bench. Senior guard Kiana Moore junior forward Ola Makurat combined for 26 points off the bench, going 6-for-10 from beyond the arc. The rest of the team finished 4-of-15 from three-point territory.

"Offensively, we are still a work in progress, but we scored 81 points and we hit 10 threes," Roberts said. "There are a lot of new people playing together. We have nine players that have never played together, so it is going to take some time."

Utah showed a lot of fight to force overtime, trailing by eight with under five minutes to play. The Utes had a chance to win in regulation, when Makurat's three-pointer gave them the lead with nine second left, but two free throws sent the game into extra time.

The Utes had a chance to win in overtime, taking an 81-80 lead with 1:55 to play. But that would be all Utah could muster, going scoreless the rest of the game while SOuth Dakota knocked down four free throws.

"I am proud of our team’s toughness and we showed some fight," Roberts said. "Our schedule has been hard, by design. We are learning who we are, and who we aren't, and we will move on."

Utah returns to action on Monday, Nov. 18 when it hosts Eastern Washington. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. from the Huntsman Center.

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Ryan Kostecka
RYAN KOSTECKA

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