Utah Sees Tourney Run End With Second Round Loss To No. 2 Texas
Mar 20, 2022, 4:45 PM | Updated: 4:50 pm
Kennady McQueen #24 of the Utah Utes grabs a rebound against the Texas Longhorns during the second round of the 2022 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament held at the Erwin Events Center on March 20, 2022 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Rudy Gonzalez/NCAA Photos/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
(Photo by Rudy Gonzalez/NCAA Photos/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah women’s basketball team experienced a season-ending loss to the Texas Longhorns in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The No. 7 seeded Utes played the No. 2 seed Longhorns on their home court at Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas on Sunday, March 20.
Utah fell to a hot-shooting Texas team, 78-56.
A incredible, historic season has come to an end. What a year for your Utes. ❤️
We will be back. #GoUtes pic.twitter.com/5ya74CDd3f
— Utah Women’s Basketball (@UTAHWBB) March 20, 2022
Both teams opened the contest with a strong first quarter performance. Despite allowing the Longhorns to shoot 70 percent from the field in the first quarter, the Utes found themselves down only two points after the opening 10 minutes of action.
Hot shooting in Austin and it’s a good one between the Utes and Longhorns. 🔥
End 1Q@UTAHWBB 17@TexasWBB 19#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/qvKY8c2FJB
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) March 20, 2022
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Texas continued its impressive play in the second quarter and opened the quarter on a 6-0 run. Utah struggled to keep pace on offense and its defense allowed the Longhorns to go up by 10 with 6:41 left in half.
By halftime, UT had stretched its advantage to 14 points. During the opening 20 minutes of action, the Longhorns shot a blazing 71.4 percent overall and 50.0 percent from beyond the arc.
By comparison, the Utes shot 48.0 percent from the field, including 36.4 percent from three.
At the break, Texas had two players in double figures in scoring. Kennady McQueen led Utah with 11 points at halftime.
Tough second quarter for the Utes, who will look to bounce back from a double-digit deficit after the break.
HALFTIME @UTAHWBB 30@TexasWBB 44#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/EsvPoFqVm8
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) March 20, 2022
The Longhorns came out of the locker room on fire and broke the game open with a 16-4 run to begin the third quarter.
Utah responded with an 8-4 run to close the quarter. However, the Utes went into the final 10 minutes of game time trailing by 22 points.
🔟 minutes left to play at the Frank Erwin Center.
End 3Q@UTAHWBB 42@TexasWBB 64#GoUtes
📷: Getty Images pic.twitter.com/3wp5A9nXSM— KSL Sports (@kslsports) March 20, 2022
Utah kept even with Texas as both teams put up 14 points in the quarter. Unfortunately for the Utes, the deficit was too large to overcome.
Texas finished the contest shooting 63.6 percent, including 50.0 percent from downtown. Utah shot 52.3 percent overall and 31.6 percent from deep.
McQueen led the Utes with 18 points, four rebounds, and two steals. Jenna Johnson added 14 points off the bench.
.@inesvieira03 to the rim!
📺 ESPN
💻 https://t.co/yRLvJdpOUP#GoUtes | #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/dS7Z8jQMQ1— Utah Women’s Basketball (@UTAHWBB) March 20, 2022
The Utes finished the regular season and Pac-12 Conference Tournament with a 20-11 record before earning a berth to the NCAA Tournament. Utah defeated Arkansas in the first round of the Spokane Region of the tourney.
