Utah

How No. 22 Utah fended off Arizona State in the Pac-12 tournament

Published

10 months ago

March 7, 2024

How No. 22 Utah fended off Arizona State in the Pac-12 tournament

LAS VEGAS â Ines Vieira cashed in the biggest shot of the night in Las Vegas.

Her 50-foot buzzer-beating bank shot 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter of No. 22 Utahâs first-round matchup against Arizona State changed the tide in a game that looked like it might be ripe for an upset.

Instead, the No. 6 seed Utes were able to fend off the No. 11 seed Sun Devils 71-60 Wednesday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

âFirst, I was surprised. I donât know,â Vieira said of the shot. âI just throw the ball sometimes not thinking itâs gonna go in. But hopefully yeah, hopefully it goes in and then I was just happy for the team.â

Utah turned that momentum-shifting shot into a 12-4 run that led to the Utes taking a game-high 14-point lead with 7:02 to play.

âThose are momentum shots. Iâve been on the other end of those,â Utah coach Lynne Roberts said. âWe do a shooting drill where the first person to make half-court shot, I donât think Ines made it all season. But those are big momentum plays and you know, got our fans back in it.â

From there, Utah did enough to overcome a spirited effort from Arizona State.

âWe can walk out of that game with our heads up because we competed for 40 minutes,â Arizona State coach Natasha Adair said. âIt was not the outcome that we wanted, obviously, but there were bright spots and there have been bright spots all season.â

Utahâs coach praised the effort and fight she saw from the Sun Devils.

âI thought they came to compete and they played really hard. They didnât make it easy on us for sure,â Roberts said.

On Wednesday night, ASU planned to make it tough on Alissa Pili.

âObviously Pili is Pili. I mean she really had a presence inside. The plan was to trap her, the plan was to not let her turn, make her throw it back out,â Adair said. âIn moments, the rotations were late but what I really loved was that we honed in to what we were supposed to do, and we made it a game.â

Vieira turned that emphasis on Pili into a near career-night, as her 18 points were just two short of her career high. She made 7 of 12 shots and led four Utah players in double-figures while adding five rebounds and three assists.

âI trust her and sheâs definitely our engine that makes us go, so proud of her for that,â Roberts said of Vieira.

In addition to the third-quarter buzzer-beater, Vieira also scored four points in a 14-2 run in the second quarter where Utah turned an early deficit into an eight-point lead, and the Utes never trailed again.

âI trust her and sheâs definitely our engine that makes us go, so proud of her for that.â
â Â Utah coach Lynne Roberts, on Ines Vieira

Turnovers were a sore spot for the Utes, as they finished with 17 and had seven in the first quarter â that helped ASU build a seven-point lead in the early going. Trayanna Crisp scored seven points in the first quarter as part of a 19-point effort.

Eventually, though, the Utah tenacity and toughness made its way to the top.

Pili scored a game-high 20 points, 16 of those in the second half.

âWe made a concerted effort to get her the dang ball in the second half,â Roberts said.

She also had 11 rebounds â Roberts said she ârebounded with authorityâ â leading the charge as Utah outrebounded the Sun Devils 39-26. That helped the Utes own an 11-8 advantage in second-chance points and 40-26 edge in points in the paint.

When teams are keying on Pili, like Arizona State was, she said sheâs learned to focus on things like setting good screens, being a facilitator, rebounding and playing hard to continue making an impact, and it worked again Wednesday.

âYou know doing the controllable things when you know I may not be scoring as much, I just trusted my teammates and trusted the process,â Pili said. âI wasnât going to force anything and kind of take great shots and not force anything. And I think that I just let the game come to me.â

Piliâs presence opened lanes for guards like Vieira, Kennedy McQueen (11 points) and Maty Wilke (10) to cash in.

âIt really helps a lot, at least for me, like she sealed a lot and thatâs how I got one so it doesnât show on the stats, only if youâre watching the game,â Vieira said.

That sets the Utes up with a quarterfinal matchup against No. 3 seed UCLA. The Utes and Bruins split their regular-season matchups â Utah won in overtime in Salt Lake City, while UCLA beat the Utes by 30 in Los Angeles.

âI think UCLA is a complete team,â Roberts said. â… Theyâre well coached, they execute their stuff theyâre playing at a really high level right now. So weâll have a game plan ready, and weâll be ready.â

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Utah

Utah State Running Back Transfer Commits To South Carolina Over Florida State

Published

5 hours ago

January 7, 2025

Press Room

Utah State Running Back Transfer Commits To South Carolina Over Florida State

Florida State came up short in its pursuit of a top running back transfer.

On Tuesday, Utah State running back transfer Rahsul Faison announced he was committing to South Carolina. Faison chose the Gamecocks over FSU, Alabama, North Carolina, UCLA, and UCF.

The Seminoles hosted Faison for a visit last weekend but he continued to take trips elsewhere. Florida State could very well kick the tires on another transfer during the spring window.

Faison spent two seasons with the Aggies and had a career year in 2024 where he rushed 198 times for 1,109 yards and eight touchdowns while catching 22 passes for 99 yards. He had five games of 100+ rushing yards, including a season-high 20 carries for 191 yards and a touchdown in a 55-10 victory against Hawaii on November 16. He was named second-team All-Mountain West for his performance last fall.

During his first season at Utah State, Faison rushed 118 times for 736 yards and five touchdowns. In total, he appeared in 25 games, making 13 starts, and totaled 316 carries for 1,845 yards and 13 touchdowns. Faison also caught 33 passes for 151 yards.

The Pennsylvania native signed with Marshall as a two-star prospect in 2019. He ultimately spent that season at the junior college level at Lackawanna College and was with the Thundering Herd in 2020. Faison didn’t appear in a game with either program and elected to go back to the JUCO level with Snow College. He rushed 88 times for 355 yards and six touchdowns prior to transferring to Utah State.

The 5-foot-11, 200-pound running back has at least one season of eligibility remaining due to the new junior college ruling.

READ MORE: Elite FSU Quarterback Commitment Gets First Chance To Meet New OC Gus Malzahn

Florida State has six scholarship running backs eligible to return in 2025; redshirt senior Roydell Williams, redshirt senior Caziah Holmes, redshirt junior Jaylin Lucas, redshirt sophomore Samuel Singleton Jr., sophomore Kam Davis, and redshirt freshman Micahi Danzy.

The Seminoles signed four-star Ousmane Kromah during the Early Signing Period.

READ MORE: Standout Utah State Running Back Transfer Lists Florida State In Top-Six

Stick with NoleGameday for more FREE coverage of Florida State Football throughout the offseason

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• Florida State Adds FCS Quarterbacks Coach To Off-Field Staff

• Florida State Lands Explosive Tennessee Wide Receiver Transfer Squirrel White

• Florida State Secures Veteran Memphis Linebacker Transfer Elijah Herring

• Former FSU Defensive End, Seminole Legacy Transferring To Third School In Three Years

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Utah junior high teacher arrested for alleged possession of child porn

Published

13 hours ago

January 7, 2025

Press Room

Utah junior high teacher arrested for alleged possession of child porn

PROVO, Utah — A teacher within the Alpine School District is facing charges of sexual exploitation of a minor after allegedly uploading child porn to the internet. Travis Adamson, 49, is currently being held without bail.

According to court documents obtained by FOX 13 News, investigators were first notified of the potential crime at the end of April 2023. Adobe Inc. reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children via CyberTip that a user had uploaded files containing depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct on their account.

The CyberTip also included account information regarding the suspect user, including an IP address and email address that belonged to a teacher within the Alpine School District. Detectives used geo-location to trace the suspect’s IP address and found it was located within or near the city limits of Provo.

The school district confirmed to investigators that Adamson was still an employee within the district.

On Monday, detectives interviewed Adamson at the school where he confirmed that he was the sole user of the Adobe account and admitted to viewing child sexual abuse material.

Adamson also told detectives that he had downloaded several thousand images and videos onto his hard drive which is located at his home. He denied ever photographing or doing anything sexual or inappropriate with his students or other kids.

Detectives are now working to get access to Adamson’s hard drive and more charges could be coming.

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Utah cracks AP Top 25 Women’s Basketball poll before key matchups

Published

20 hours ago

January 7, 2025

Press Room

Utah cracks AP Top 25 Women’s Basketball poll before key matchups

The Utah Utes have made headlines by cracking the AP Top 25 at No. 22 for the first time this season, following a hard-fought 75-67 win over Iowa State. This marks Utah’s third consecutive season being ranked, despite an unexpected coaching change early in the season. Head coach Lynne Roberts departed for the WNBA, leaving longtime assistant Gavin Petersen to step in. Under Petersen’s leadership, Utah has thrived, demonstrating resilience and cohesion.

Petersen credited the team’s ability to stay focused and overcome adversity. “Our resilient crew has stepped up and faced the adversity that’s in front of them,” Petersen said. Utah’s win over Notre Dame during a Thanksgiving tournament was a pivotal moment that signaled their strength and potential.

Utah has ‘big money’ problem with a billionaire calling NIL shots for rival

The competition for dominance in women’s college basketball continues to intensify as the Big Ten and SEC assert themselves as the sport’s premier leagues. This week’s Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll highlights the strength of both conferences, with each boasting seven ranked teams, including four in the top 10.

The Big Ten’s recent expansion with the addition of No. 1 UCLA and No. 4 USC has bolstered its claim as the top league. UCLA’s consistent performances, including a victory over South Carolina, solidify their place at the top of the rankings, earning 30 of 32 first-place votes. Meanwhile, the SEC has also grown stronger with No. 5 Texas and No. 10 Oklahoma joining the conference. South Carolina, a perennial powerhouse, remains No. 2 and will face Texas in a highly anticipated showdown.

This week, the Utes prepare for a marquee matchup, hosting No. 12 Kansas State at the Huntsman Center. This game not only pits two top-25 teams against each other but also serves as a litmus test for Utah’s aspirations in the Big 12.

As Utah continues its unbeaten run in conference play, upcoming matchups against No. 11 TCU and No. 17 West Virginia will provide further opportunities to climb the rankings and solidify their standing among the nation’s elite.

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