University of Washington
Utah
Late Three-Pointer Propels Huskies Past Utah
December 01, 2010 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 1, 2010
SALT LAKE CITY - This is the type of game that demanded senior leadership.
But it was a freshman who stepped up Wednesday night when the Huskies need it most. Marjorie Heard hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds remaining as Washington escaped the Jon M. Huntsman Center with a 58-55 victory over Utah. The win set off a riotous celebration on the Huskies bench and later on in the locker room.
"Our freshmen have come to play," Jackson said afterwards. "They didn't come (to Utah) to look good in purple & gold. They came to go to war."
While it was Heard who hit the clutch shot in the corner, it was Sarah Morton who capably fulfilled her role as the team's co-captain. Returning to the lineup for the first time all season, Morton set a career-high with 20 points to go along with a game-high five assists. And it was a pair of free throws that tied the game for the Huskies (3-2) with 46 seconds remaining, two of a personal best 12 foul shots she would hit on the night.
Given new life, the Dawgs forced a Utes turnover with 16 seconds left and immediately called timeout.
The ensuing play was originally designed for Morton to attack the basket, something she had done with aplomb all game. And that's what the senior did, executing the play to perfection only to have the shot blocked out of bounds by the Utes' Diana Rolniak. On the next play, Kristi Kingma - who was a designed decoy - sucked up Utah's attention so Morton found Heard in the corner for the game-winning shot. The Snohomish, Wash., native left her hand high in the air and watched as the ball bounced once, twice and then swirled through the hoop, deflating the Huntsman Center crowd.
This was the type of game that defines quality teams, winning on the road in a hostile atmosphere - at altitude no less - and facing a top-tier opponent. The Huskies weren't rattled by the Utes' pressure defense, or the see-saw tenor to a game that featured six lead changes. Morton took ownership of her team on the floor and during timeouts, serving as a calming influence the team had missed in its first four games. Her offense was able to buoy the Huskies with the Utes making it a priority to shut down Kingma, face-guarding her for the entire game. Kingma scored 13 points on the night, but only two after the break.
Other Huskies needed to step up as well.
While Heard had started the first four games of the season, she was reassigned to a bench role with the addition of Morton. Yet she still brought the same intense, heady brand of basketball that's defined her career early on.
"As a freshman, you don't want to be the one to let your teammates down," Heard said, "especially when you have people like Kristi putting in (37) minutes. She wants it, and so I have to want it bad just like her."
Utah currently plays in the Mountain West Conference, but next season they will join the newly formed Pac-12. The atmosphere at the Huntsman Center had all the feel of a conference rivalry game, and Jackson said postgame that she's looking forward to more games like these with the Utes.
Michelle Plouffe scored 17 points and pulled down 10 points for the Utes. She's the younger sister of former UW letterwinner Andrea Plouffe, who played one season under Jackson in 2007-08. But Plouffe also fouled out late in the game, sending Morton to the line for the game-tying free throws with 46 seconds remaining.
Later, as she walked up the tunnel to the bus, Jackson let out a victorious yell. This was an emotional game for her team, and it felt good to savor it.
"It's a battle of wills ... We're getting better every game," Jackson said. "There are more opportunities for our freshmen, who maybe wouldn't be playing. We came out ready to go."
