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Warburton's encore
by By Michael C. Lewis The Salt Lake Tribune , The Salt Lake Tribune
"It just sort of happened," Warburton said. "We all just came together and realized, you know, 'this is it.' What's good about this team is we find ways to win at the end of games. I'm so proud of everybody."
As soon as the final horn sounded, the Utes raced to swarm junior forward Kalee Whipple for a wildly bouncing group hug at midcourt, where they donned championship caps while raising fingers to the sky to signal they're No. 1.
The 22-9 Utes earned an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament, where they hope to avenge a first-round loss last season after dispatching the team with which they shared the league's regular-season championship and split both regular-season meetings.
"It was like we were on the playground and we each had H-O-R-S,"
The Utes trailed closely most of the game, and 54-50 with four minutes remaining. That's when Warburton took over, keying an 11-0 run until the waning seconds that left the Aztecs stunned at seeing the end of their six-game winning streak.
It all started when Warburton hit two free throws and a three-pointer from at least a foot outside the men's line. Then, she whipped a pass inside to Whipple just barely in time for her teammate to tip the ball up and in before the shot clock expired. The basket gave the Utes a 57-54 lead with 2:10 left, as well as all the momentum.
"Me and Morgan had that look," Whipple recalled. "She looked at me, and I cut to the basket and she gives that squint-eyed look, like, 'you're going, right?' So I went to the basket, and it was a really big" momentum shift.
Warburton also rebounded the next Aztec miss -- one of four in a row -- and fouled out
She finished with eight rebounds, four assists, two blocks shots and a steal to go with her best offensive performance in nearly a month. She also made all 14 of her free throws.
"It's nothing I hadn't seen her do before," Burns said. "When great players make great plays, great players make great plays."
Whipple added 21 points for the Utes -- all in the second half -- while Katie King had 12 and eight rebounds. Morris scored 22 points to lead the Aztecs, who fell to 23-7 but are still expecting to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1997.
Meanwhile, coach Elaine Elliott was happy to admire the way her team rebounded from its tough start with freshman point guards -- losing six of its first 10 games, against a tough schedule -- and matured into a championship team.
"They were so resilient," she said. "They believed in themselves because they were competitive, and they didn't put it all on whether they won [all of their hard early games]. So when it was really time to start blossoming, they really grew into a great group."
mcl@sltrib.com Storylines
IN SHORT ? The Utes win their third Mountain West Conference championship in nine years, defeating co-regular-season champion
KEY STAT ? The Utes hit 22 of 28 free throws, while the Aztecs make only 3 of 8.
KEY MOMENT ? Utah's Kaylee Whipple tips in a pass from Morgan Warburton to beat the shot clock and give the Utes a 54-51 lead with 2:10 left that is never challenged. All-MWC tournament team
? Morgan Warburton, Utah
? Kalee Whipple, Utah
? Amy Beggin, New Mexico
? Jene Morris,
? Shemela Hansen, UNLV
MVP ? Warburton, Utah
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