Anteaters Can’t Hold Off the Utes’ Thill of Victory

The lesson Friday night for the UC Irvine women’s basketball team was that for every action there is a reaction. Angie Thill made that point in Utah’s 71-56 victory.

The Utes, who are now 37-3 at home since 1994, have guard Julie Krommenhoek. She ranked second in the nation in three-pointers per game last season. The Anteaters knew this.

The Utes (2-0) have guard Alli Bills. She led the nation in assists last season. The Anteaters (1-1) knew this.

Overlooked for the Anteaters and the 1,014 in the Huntsman Center, was Thill. She finished with a career-high 23 points and blunted every Irvine run.

“We talked about Bills and we talked about Krommenhoek,” Irvine Coach Mark Adams said. “We wanted everyone to be aware of those two. But we also talked about not letting someone have a career night.”

Still, who could have guessed it would be Thill?

She had never scored more than 11 points in a game. She missed the entire 1995-96 season because of surgery in her right knee. She averaged two points last season. On top of that, she was listed as only a tentative starter Friday because of a torn muscle in the same knee.

Thill did start and made eight of 11 shots. She also had eight rebounds, five offensive.

“We’ve been drilling into her head the past week that she needed to be more offensive-minded,” Utah Coach Elaine Elliott said.

Krommenhoek scored 16 points and Bills 15. But it was Thill, a 6-foot senior forward, who made the key shots.

--Irvine took a 20-19 lead with nine minutes left in the first half. Thill led a 13-2 run by scoring seven points.

--The Anteaters rallied, cutting the deficit to 34-29 with three minutes left in the half. Thill scored six points in a 8-0 run and the Utes had a 42-31 halftime lead.

--The Anteaters rallied again, cutting the Ute lead to 56-48 with 8:40 left. Thill accounted for every point in a 10-2 run.

“Oh my gosh,” Irvine center Chelsea Mackey said, “we had no idea she could play like that.”

Mackey could, as well. She scored a career-high 21 points, but received little help.