LAS VEGAS — Sara Hunter let a jumper fly with plenty of time on the shot clock and Colorado State holding a precarious, six-point lead over No. 12-ranked Utah as the game clock neared the two-minute mark.
“We’re not going to sit on a six-point lead and go, ‘Oh, my gosh, I can’t believe we’re up six points. Nobody else shoot the ball,’ ” CSU coach Jen Warden said after the Rams’ stunning 60-52 victory Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the women’s Mountain West Conference Tournament.
“You’ve got to continue to be on the attack,” she added.
The No. 9-seeded Rams, with an RPI in the far regions of the 300s, pulled off perhaps the greatest MWC Tournament upset ever and extended their season to Friday’s semifinals against third-seeded New Mexico.
CSU is two wins from the NCAA Tournament selection committee’s biggest nightmare. Except Hunter looked at it a different way.
“It’s a dream come true,” said CSU’s senior leader. “Right now we’re going to enjoy the win, practice (today), watch our men play and get ready for the next game.”
The teams came in with opposite records. Utah was 27-3, including 16-0 in the MWC regular season, and had a 22-game winning streak. CSU was 3-27 only because the Rams stunned UNLV in Tuesday’s play-in game to end a 20-game losing streak. CSU lost every game in the MWC regular season, including a 68-28 rout to Utah on Feb. 2.
“There was no coming in and overlooking,” insisted Utah coach Elaine Elliott. “Colorado State played a great game.”
It was the Rams’ first win over a ranked team since beating No. 14 Colorado 81-69 in November 2001, at a time when both programs were NCAA Tournament regulars.
If not mirrors, CSU achieved the coup with defense. Warden said the Rams gave Utah six different looks, constantly changing. The result was the Utes shooting 29 percent to the Rams’ 39 percent. Utah stars Leilani Mitchell and Morgan Warburton combined to shoot 9-of-32 from the floor.
“It just shows how much your heart and just going out there and playing hard can do,” CSU guard Emily Neal said of the monumental upset. “It’s not always statistical or any of that.”
No one played harder on the boards than Rams center Amaka Uzomah, who finished with 15 rebounds. She said she challenged herself after getting just three in the first half.
The small CSU cheering section — which included the men’s team, which upset Wyoming earlier — was on its feet. Usually reserved CSU athletic director Paul Kowalczyk, who recently gave Warden a vote of confidence, hugged his coach before she left the court.
“I think as a coach I feel probably the most like a parent now as I’ve ever felt as a coach,” Warden said.
COLORADO STATE (4-27)
Uzomah 2-2 4-6 8, Queen 1-6 1-2 3, Minor 0-5 0-0 0, Cornell 3-6 3-6 9, Hunter 4-12 5-6 14, Young 3-5 1-1 7, Neal 4-8 6-6 17, Reimink 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 18-46 20-27 60.
UTAH (27-4)
Whipple 4-16 0-0 11, King 4-6 0-0 8, Perry 0-0 0-0 0, Mitchell 5-16 7-8 19, Warburton 4-16 0-0 11, Knight 0-1 1-2 1, Tokumura 0-1 0-0 0, Sawyer 0-1 1-2 1, Stevenson 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 17-58 10-14 52.
Halftime — Utah 32-30. 3-point goals — CSU 4-8 (Neal 3-4, Hunter 1-3, Young 0-1); Utah 8-29 (Warburton 3-7, Whipple 3-11, Mitchell 2-9, Knight 0-1, Tokumura 0-1). Fouled out — Mitchell. Rebounds — CSU 42 (Uzomah 15), Utah 30 (Whipple 11). Assists — CSU 10 (Queen 5), Utah 11 (Mitchell 7). Total fouls — CSU 14, Utah 21. A — 4,190.
