Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
SPOKANE, Wash. — As Lynne Roberts watched back film of the last time Utah played Gonzaga, she was "annoyed."
The game was two and a half years ago and featured a handful of Utah's current roster — albeit as underclassman — but it resembled almost nothing of how the Utes operate today. But that wasn't the point of Roberts' disdain for the game.
She was mostly annoyed with herself and the coaching in that game.
"I was annoyed with myself watching that film back at how poorly a job I did executing — the stuff we ran was just poor," Roberts said a day before her team takes on the fourth-seeded Bulldogs. "So, yes, they beat us there. And watching it back, they're very — they're a great program, and they don't reinvent the wheel every year. They're very similar in terms of their schemes."
But a lot has changed for Utah since then, and Roberts hopes the "chess match" this year will be more favorable for Utah, especially with a second straight Sweet 16 appearance on the line. And given the team's "adversity" this year with Gianna Kneepkens suffering a season-ending injury and Issy Palmer missing most of the season due to injury, a chance to be back in the Sweet 16 means everything to Utah.
"Last year, losing in the Sweet 16 in the way we did, that has been at the forefront of our minds since last April," Roberts said. "And while we haven't talked about it a whole lot, now we're starting to in terms of the goal all along this season was to get back to that game and have a redo at that Sweet 16 game.
"Obviously, not (the) same opponent or anything, but just get a chance to get back to that game. Now that's within our sights, but we know — my goodness — it's going to be hard, but it should be hard. It's the second round of the NCAA Tournament, it's supposed to be. We have faced a lot of adversity, a lot of injuries, but don't feel sorry for us; that's part of sports.
As Roberts' team prepares for a second-round matchup against Gonzaga in the NCAA Tournament, she's hoping to have a better showing than a couple years ago. But the matchup this year features, arguably, an even better Bulldogs team.
The Bulldogs have lost only three games this season — and at one point went on a 24-game win streak — and are the second-best team in the country in 3-point shooting (39.8%) for an average of 9.4 makes per game. Oh, and the team features five players that average double figures en route to an average of 81.0 points per game.
To add to that outside threat, Gonzaga has a talented post player in Yvonne Ejim who averages 20.0 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists to give the Bulldogs another weapon to add to the scoring arsenal.
And with home-court advantage, and an "incredible basketball community" cheering them on, it only adds to the pressure of the second-round matchup. But Roberts believes that pressure is on Gonzaga to play well with that inherit advantage.
"The tournament is emotional, but this is — for some of our players — this is their third year in a row making it to the second round. Experience is a great thing. So I don't sense nerves at all," Roberts said about her team. "There's definitely intensity and focus. I don't sense cockiness — I don't mean that way — there's just a comfort level having been there, done that.
"The key in the NCAA Tournament is to be the best version of yourself," she added. "Yes, you have to game plan, and every game plan is going to be completely unique with what the other team does, and there's no familiarity, like you don't play each other during the course of the season, but that part is fun. You're playing a new team, and they're playing a new team, so there's a little bit of a chess match there. But you have to be the best version of yourself."
But for as good as Gonzaga has been this season, Utah is almost a carbon copy (even with their injuries).
Utah ranks 19th in the country in 3-point shooting (36.4%), but averages 10.3 makes per game, while averaging 77.7 points per game in, arguably, the toughest women's basketball conference. Utah also has Alissa Pili, who averages 21.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists.
Those similarities aren't lost on either team, either.
"It is a little bit of looking in the mirror that way of game planning," Roberts said. "And so trying to figure out what we could be most effective in defensively that might give them the most trouble."
"Everybody can shoot it. Everybody can score the ball in a variety of different ways. They play unselfish just like us," added Gonzaga head coach Lisa Fortier. "Both teams play hard, both teams are veteran. I think there's all those similarities. ... I think we approach it in a different way.
"I think it plays into the game plan. ... I've tried to stop thinking through what they are going to do and just tried to focus on us, because every time I thought I was going to out think (Saint Mary's) Paul Thomas, he just did what he did. That's how every time I'm like, oh, they are probably going to do this on us and I spend all this wasted energy thinking about what they are going to do against us versus trying to think about how we are going to be strong and what our strengths are. I'm just trying to figure out how to best prepare for them and hopefully we have a good game plan."
So who has the advantage?
"I think it's going to come down to who makes — which team makes the other team play more to their weaknesses," Fortier said. "I think that's a big thing."
Utah's Ines Vieira, who is playing in her third NCAA Tournament, said she believes it will come down to whichever teams does the best at staying together and not getting away from their style of basketball.
"It's all going to be about second chances and whoever plays harder," Vieira said. "We already talked about that, since we're a really similar team. So I just think every loose ball, every O-board, everything, it's going to count. And I don't know, it's March, so everyone is in the same position, so we've just got to play harder."
The two teams will tipoff at the McCarthey Athletic Center Monday (8:30 p.m. MDT, ESPN2) with a chance at a Sweet 16 berth on the line.
