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SALT LAKE CITY — Second-seeded Utah knew it was going to be in for a rock fight against a 10th-seeded Princeton team that prides itself on a stingy defense.
But with a Sweet 16 berth on the line — the first for the Utes since the 2005-06 season — Utah had the best player on the court in Alissa Pili, and it mattered when Utah went an uncharacteristic 1-of-15 from 3-point range and needed points in the post.
The Alaska native bullied her way in the post, attacked the basket against double and triple teams, and finished with a game-high 28 points and 10 rebounds to lead Utah to a 63-56 victory over Princeton in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at the Huntsman Center.
Survive and advance, in every sense of the phrase.
"I'm very impressed with them; that was hard," Utah head coach Lynne Roberts said, stressing how difficult the game was against a Princeton team that held Utah to 40% shooting and forced 20 turnovers. "They are tough, and you can see why they are such a good program."
Utah (27-4) needed a couple minutes to settle into the game, but then quickly took control and eventually built up a 13-point lead just minutes into the second quarter, largely behind a double-digit scoring effort from Pili. Princeton (24-6) had no answer for the Pac-12 Player of the Year, even with multiple players collapsing on defense to stop her.
"She's a full-team responsibility; it's not just on one player," Princeton head coach Carla Berube said of Pili.
But Princeton refused to concede the game so early in the contest and locked into its defensive strategy that has shaped the makeup of Berube's team and held opponents to 52.8 points per game this season — the second best average in the country.
Princeton put steady pressure on Utah and forced 13 first-half turnovers and cut Utah's lead to six at the halftime break.
"I think we finally clicked a little bit better defensively toward the end of the second quarter, and started really helping each other out, helping inside, doing a better job of containing," Berube said. "I thought they were getting to the rim on us a lot."
What a SWEET feeling 😋#GoUtes | #MarchMadnesspic.twitter.com/tbVj0upfhx
— Utah Women's Basketball (@UTAHWBB) March 20, 2023
Princeton dialed up the pressure even more in the third quarter and took advantage of a Utah team that looked tired and out of sync against the Tigers' defense that forced five turnovers in the quarter. Princeton cut Utah's lead to 2 points with just over a minute left to play in the third quarter before Kennady McQueen hit a pair of free throws to end Utah's dry spell.
But Utah was not in the clear just yet.
"They are a good team and they are tough as nails," Roberts said. "They are not going to — I said it in every timeout: They are not going to go away; they are not going to quit. You have to give them credit in that equation. I just thought we got a little sloppy. The turnovers, I about lost my mind. I don't know how many were just not smart decisions."
To open up the fourth quarter, the Tigers employed a press defense on Utah's inbound plays and made the home team work for everything it wanted. And for the most part it worked as Utah failed to hit jumpers or get easy looks at the rim. For a team that shot 71% midway through the second quarter, Princeton took Utah out of its comfort zone.
Despite the rising pressure that was palpable in the Huntsman Center, Utah did just enough to keep the Tigers away. Utah built up a 6-point lead with just over a minute left to play in the game, and Princeton had to play the foul game in hopes that Utah would miss its shots.
Jenna Johnson went to the free-throw line to start the end-of-game series and calmly hit both shots to give Utah some breathing room. In total, Utah went 7-of-10 from the free-throw line in the final minute to stave off the upset bid from the Tigers and advance to the Sweet 16 round in Greenville, South Carolina.
"We feel like we came up short of our goal but I think we battled from minute 1 to minute 40, and I couldn't be prouder of my team and how hard we played," Berube said. "Some shots just didn't fall for us, they (Princeton) fouled a little bit too much. Utah is a very, very good team, very talented, hard to guard, really great at every position. We had our work cut out for us, but I think we were right there."
Kaitlyn Chen led the Tigers in scoring with 19 points and six rebounds, but needed 27 shot attempts to get her points. She was joined by Grace Stone, who was the hero in Princeton's win over NC State on Friday night with a go-ahead 3-pointer, with 16 points, which included four of the team's five 3-pointers made for the game.
Utah's Jenna Johnson, who continued to find success with the high-low action off passes from Pili, finished with 15 points and six rebounds. Johnson and Pili were, once again, a big factor in Utah outscoring Princeton 32-18 in the post.
"Sometimes it is a rock fight," Roberts said. "Like sometimes that does happen, but it's nice to still win. That's the sign of a great team. I think we still played the way we want to play."
