Jackrabbit rally falls short at Utah

Saturday, December 19

Salt Lake City, Utah

noon MT

South Dakota State University

Utah

12/19/2009 7:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball

By: SDSU Sports Info

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - Kalee Whipple scored 19 of her game-high 25 points the second half to lead Utah past South Dakota State, 62-58, in women's basketball action Saturday afternoon.

The Utes held off a late rally to improve to 6-4 overall, while the Jackrabbits dropped to 5-5 on the season.

Trailing 51-40 with just under seven minutes remaining in the game, Macie Michelson ignited a late Jackrabbit rally. The junior point guard scored all 10 of her points in the second half, including a pair of three-pointers -- the last of which pulled SDSU to within 57-53 with 1 minute, 17 seconds remaining.

After a Utah turnover, Maria Boever made the first of two free throws with 47 seconds left to make the score 57-54. Boever missed the second attempt and Kristin Rotert grabbed the rebound. However, Jill Young's attempt at a game-tying three-pointer rimmed off and Utah came up with the loose ball.

The Utes made 5-of-6 free throw attempts in the final 30 seconds to seal the victory and remain perfect on the season at the Jon M. Huntsman Center.

SDSU scored the first five points of the game and held the lead for much of the first half before the Utes grabbed a 26-25 halftime lead on a basket by Whipple with 31 seconds remaining.

The lead changed four times and was tied four more times in the second half before Utah took the lead for good with a 15-4 run.

Sasha McKinnon sparked the decisive spurt with a three-pointer - her only points of the game - that broke the ninth tie of the game, giving the Utes the lead for good at 39-36 with 12:51 to play.

Whipple finished the game 7-of-18 from the field and 9-of-11 at the free throw line for her 25 points. Taryn Wicijowski was the only other Utah player in double figures with 10 points and seven rebounds to lead the Utes' narrow 31-30 rebounding advantage.

Rotert scored 11 of her team-high 13 points in the first half for SDSU. Boever and Michelson each finished with 10 points, while Ashley Eide continued her strong play off the bench with nine points.

Shooting statistics from the field were nearly identical. The Jackrabbits shot at a higher percentage, making 23-of-52 attempts, 44.2 percent, including 6-of-19 on three-pointers. Utah made 21-of-49 shots from the floor, 42.9 percent, including 4-for-14 from long range.

Utah held a 10-point advantage at the free throw line, making 16-of-21 tries for 76.2 percent. The Jackrabbits were 6-of-10 at the stripe, 60 percent.

SDSU returns to action Tuesday at Iowa. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.