 "Photo: Lennie Mahler")
Another downright shabby start for the Utah women's basketball team, but with another victory.
This time it was UNLV that was lulled into a period of faux safety before the Utes came storming back for a 49-37 win.
Utah's shooting effort in the first half would best be termed "tragic," as the Utes connected on 17 percent of their shots.
After putting a pathetic 11 points on the board in the opening half, Utah headed into the break down by seven.
Luckily for the Utes, the Rebels weren't exactly shooting the lights out themselves-21 percent in the first half wasn't enough to pull away from Utah, which improved to 4-0 in conference play.
Morgan Warburton came on strong in the second half of the defensive battle, finishing the game with 20 points.
It was her second-straight 20-point outing of the week, and, along with seven assists versus Colorado State, her play was impressive enough to earn her MWC Player of the Week honors.
Starting out slowly has been a trend for the Utes in recent games. Utah found itself down 10-0 against New Mexico but rebounded from the hairy start to win by one. On Thursday, the Utes fell into a 7-0 hole against Colorado State but managed to climb out, recovering down the stretch.
"Sometimes I think it's our focus," Warburton said of her team's sub-par starts. "We don't realize the intensity of a team until we're on the floor."
So how are the Utes undefeated in the conference? "We don't quit," Warburton said.
After the dismal first half, coach Elaine Elliott reassured her troops in the locker room.
"We're still in it. Our shots are going to fall," Warburton said, quoting Elliott. And she must have taken her coach's wisdom to heart. Warburton scored 15 of her 20 points in the final 20 minutes.
The Rebels pushed their lead to 20-11 early in the second half, but the Utes started showing signs of life and went on a 13-0 rampage that would set them up for a 12-point win on the road in Las Vegas.
The Utes, who improved to 11-6 on the season, will try to down another high-ranking team on Thursday. The Utes beat then-No. 25 New Mexico last week, and on Thursday will take on TCU, which has now climbed into the No. 25 spot. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at the Huntsman Center.
