MA VoepelESPN.com7:44 AM IST4 Minute Read
Utah misses both FTs as LSU holds on to Sweet 16 win
Jenna Johnson misses both free-throw attempts for Utah as LSU holds onto promotion to the Elite Eight.
GREENVILLE, SC – The NCAA tournament puts players in the most stressful situations of their careers. It happened to two players in the final 10 seconds of No. 3 LSU’s 66-63 win over No. 2 seeded Utah in Friday night’s Greenville 2 regional semifinals.
LSU senior Alexis Morris made all four of her free throws. Utah sophomore Jenna Johnson missed her two, and the Tigers take on Sunday in an unexpected women’s basketball regional final against 9-seeded Miami.
The dramatic win puts sophomore coach Kim Mulkey in position to advance to the women’s Final Four with a third program. She’s come this far as a player and assistant coach at Louisiana Tech, where she won two NCAA titles, and as a head coach at Baylor, where she won three titles.
The Utes’ goal was to make the Elite Eight for the second time in program history; They made it this far in 2006 before losing to eventual champion Maryland. After an 11-2 run in the final 3.5 minutes of Friday’s game, Utah looked poised to win when LSU forward Angel Reese missed a shot with 13 seconds left and the Tigers trailed 63-62.
But Morris struggled for the ball and was fouled while going to the basket. She said she took a moment to collect herself before it was her turn.
“You have to breathe, breathe, breathe,” Morris said. “I look at Coach Mulkey, I look at my teammates, my little niece. That moment wasn’t just about me. It was about everyone, the program and the fans. That gave me peace of mind because I knew they believed in me.”
Morris made both free throws to put LSU at 64-63. Then Utah’s Gianna Kneepkens missed a shot, but Johnson got the offensive rebound and was fouled with 4 seconds left. The 6-foot-2 forward shot 72.8% from the foul line as he came into play.
Johnson airballed the first free throw.
“It was straight, really short,” she said.
The second free throw rattled and instead of a potential one-point lead in the closing seconds, the Utes were still a point down.
“I don’t think the noise affected me that much,” Johnson said of the LSU crowd’s cheers. “Perhaps I do not know [I was] in my head a bit of the first.”
Johnson went to the bench and couldn’t hold back the tears. She was comforted by her teammates and Utah coach Lynne Roberts.
Morris was then fouled again and hit two more free throws to put LSU at 66-63. The 5-foot-6 guard began her collegiate career as a player for Mulkey at Baylor, was released from the program and made two moves – to Rutgers and Texas A&M – before rejoining Mulkey at LSU.
“When it was my turn, it was pure focus,” Morris said. “You have to think of it like a shot that you practice every day. It’s muscle memory, repetition.”
Utah had a 3-point look to tie the game but missed and LSU prevailed. Morris finished the tournament with 15 points and seven assists to support LaDazhia Williams’ Reese’s 24 points and 17. Johnson finished with five points for the Utes.
“Of course I’m thinking about the last two free throws right now, but I have to understand that it was a 40-minute game,” said Johnson. “I did some good stuff on track so try to focus more on that and just go back to Salt Lake, maybe take some time off basketball and come back after that.”
Roberts praised Johnson as a competitor and said she will learn from a tough experience for a Utah team that was this year’s Co-Pac 12 regular-season champion despite not having seniors.
“She played her tail today. She left everything out there. I just told her I was proud of her,” Roberts said of what she told Johnson. “A game never goes to the last shot. I mean, we remember that, we talk about that, but before that, there’s so much going on.
“I love this kid. She is a fighter. It is difficult. These are pressure moments and it’s a growing experience for them. She’s only a sophomore. But I don’t think that will happen again if she gets this opportunity again. If you said Jenna Johnson is on the line to win this game. would you accept it Hell yes. And I would take it tomorrow.
ESPN’s Andrea Adelson contributed to this story.