Ines Vieira Provided Utah A Burst Of Energy Off Third Quarter Half-Court Buzzer Beater
Mar 7, 2024, 1:51 AM
LAS VEGAS – Like most sports, basketball is a game of momentum and Utah point guard Ines Vieira provided a ton of that off a half-court buzzer beater to end the third quarter.
The Utes went on to win their first-round Pac-12 Tournament game against ASU, 71-60. Vieira’s shot may have been just the last little bit of juice the team needed to put the Sun Devils away for good.
The No. 22 Utah Utes are now tasked with trying to take down No. 7 UCLA in the quarterfinal round of the Pac-12 Tournament Thursday night. Who knows, maybe Vieira will have another half-court shot in her for the Bruins?
That’s a W for @UTAHWBB.#GoUtes #LightTheU pic.twitter.com/DjseM7Y02P
— Michelle Bodkin (@BodkinKSLsports) March 7, 2024
Lynne Roberts, Ines Vieira Talk Half-Court Shots
There is nothing like a momentum shifting play at just the right time. That is what half-court shots can provide when they land.
Utah head coach Lynne Roberts revealed the Utes have a drill for precisely the moment Vieira found herself in during the end of the third quarter. It’s not something they practice religiously, but just something they do a little prep for when and if the moment arises.
“Those are momentum shots,” Roberts said. “I’ve been on the other end of those. We do that actually in practice- it’s not like we practice half-court shots, but we do a shooting drill where they have to- the first person to make a half-court shot. I don’t think Ines has made it all season- she saved it for today, but those are big momentum plays and got our fans back in it. I think that put us up eight? It’s nice to go into a timeout with a little momentum.”
Incredible.#GoUtes https://t.co/eVqpfa8bfF
— Michelle Bodkin (@BodkinKSLsports) March 7, 2024
Vieira indicated she threw it up not necessarily expecting it to go through but was happy to have the crowd pleasing shot that really helped her team in the end.
“At first I was surprised,” Vieira said. “I don’t know. I throw the ball sometimes not thinking it’s going to go in, but hopefully it went in and then I was just happy for the team.”
The 5’6″ point guard finished the night as Utah’s second leading scorer behind Alissa Pili. Vieira put up 18 points while going 7-12 from the field, 1-3 from the three (what a three to make), and 3-4 from the line. Additionally, Vieira posted five rebounds and three assists as well.
Michelle Bodkin is the Utah Utes Insider for KSLsports.com and host of both the Crimson Corner Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and The Saturday Show (Saturday from 10 a.m.–12 p.m.) on The KSL Sports Zone. Follow her on X, Instagram, and Threads: @BodkinKSLsports
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