MISSOULA — Jordan Sullivan and the Utah Utes saw their remarkable season come to a close in heartbreaking fashion.
No. 2 Utah fell to No. 3 LSU 66-63 on Friday afternoon in the Sweet 16 at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina. Utah finishes the season 27-5.
In a back-and-forth game, Utah led 33-29 at halftime, but LSU turned it on in the second half. The Tigers led by as much as eight with 3:40 left in the fourth quarter before the Utes closed the distance quickly and grabbed a lead with 1:09 left to play.
LSU took a 64-63 lead with 10 seconds to play on a pair of free throws by Alexis Morris.
Down one, Utah missed their next shot, but Jenna Johnson grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled with four seconds to play. However, Johnson missed both free throws, and after two more free throws from Morris, Utah's buzzer-beater attempt at the end of the game was no good.
Gianna Kneepkens led Utah with 20 points and eight rebound while Isabel Palmer added 15 points for the Utes. LaDazhia Williams scored 24 points for LSU while Angel Reese added 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Sullivan, a Sidney native and former Montana Lady Griz player and coach, saw a lot of success in her first year as an assistant coach at Utah. The Utes No. 2 seed was the highest seed in program history in the tournament. Their advancement to the Sweet 16 was also the first time Utah went that far in the tournament since 2006.
