The Utah Tech University women’s basketball team had a rough night against the No. 1 team in the Western Athletic Conference, Grand Canyon University.
The Trailblazers lost their game Feb. 15 against GCU 41-88. The 47-point loss is their single biggest loss of the season, and it is also their lowest-scoring game of the season.
Despite this, the team remained optimistic after their loss.
Associate head coach Matt Thune said: “I think it is one of those games you just kind of have to throw away… We are going to regroup and we will be ready Saturday. We are not going to hang our heads too long for this one.”
From the beginning of the game, the offense had a hard time finding a rhythm. Over the course of the game, Utah Tech had a total field goal percentage of 32%.
Thune said the defense was not the problem of the night. The team was unable to perform offensively and get clicking.
The Trailblazers are fighting adversity in terms of injury at this point in the season. Out of the total 12 players on the roster, only eight were dressed for the game. They are missing starting guard No. 2 Macie Warren who is the third leading scorer on the team.
Alyson Deaver, a sophomore population health major from Sumner, Washington, said, “Playing with only eight girls is kind of hard because, with our rotation, we all need to be ready to go.”
Thune said he was proud of the team fighting the whole game and how they never gave up no matter what the scoreboard said.
Even with the loss, the team remains optimistic about their chances of winning if they see GCU again this season. If they are able to play GCU again, they are hoping to have more depth on the roster with some of the injured players healing and have a better night shooting.
Nicole Willardson, a freshman exercise science major from Richfield, said, “Hopefully we will see them [GCU] again in the [WAC] tournament, and we will show them what we have.”
Thune said he is happy with where the team is currently as they are sitting in fourth place in the WAC. He said they fought to get to fourth place and the team is going to fight to stay there.
