I would have bet money on Shona Thorburn hitting both those freethrows and putting Utah in the Final Four. She missed and they lost 75-65 to Maryland in overtime.
There's no other Ute player I would want on the line if I were a Utah fan or coach.
Mike Roberts was with me on this one, but credit Jeff Carlton for predicting she would miss at least one freethrow.
His logic was Thorburn was too nice to hold up under the pressure.
ESPN commentators said all Thorburn will remember from the Utes' Elite Eight run is missing that shot.
I wouldn't be quite that dramatic.
I think she'll hurt for a long time, but she is pretty comfortable with her legacy. She achieved some remarkable things for Utah and the Mountain West Conference.
Her bond with Kim Smith and most of the top players on Utah's team will continue with their growing roles on the Canadian national team.
Here's our recap of the game and Jeff Carlton's story on what Utah's postseason run means for the women's basketball in the Mountain West Conference.
In other news, Wyoming's Joe Legerski got a two-year contract extension. He's done a great job breathing life into the Cowgirls program, and I think the school should reward him for his efforts in Laramie.

Posted by ilimon at 12:33 PM | Permalink