Utah Starters Score Big in 77-60 Win Over BYU

Saturday, December 10

Salt Lake City, UT

5:30 PM

University of Utah

9-0

Brigham Young

5-4

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Brigham Young	20	10	7	23	60
Utah	13	20	27	17	77

12/10/2016 8:10 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score WBB_GameNotes_BYU

SALT LAKE CITY – The Utes opened the second half with a 17-0 run on their way to a 77-60 victory over in-state rival Brigham Young Saturday night at the Jon M. Huntsman Center.

Four Utes scored in double figures as the starters tallied 66 of team's points on their way to a 9-0 undefeated mark. In a close rivalry battle that had five lead changes and was tied five times in the first half, Utah (9-0) outscored BYU (5-4) in a dominated third quarter, 27-7.

"Our players did so well tonight," head coach Lynne Roberts said. "It was a great team effort. Look at our starting five and how they played, and our bench came in and did a really nice job. BYU sets a lot of screens every possession and you have to be tough. It was just a really great team win and it feels good."

Junior forward Emily Potter scored a team-high 21 points, with 14 points coming in the third quarter, while pulling down 10 boards for her fifth double-double of the season.

Junior wing Malia Nawahine poured in 16 points for her eighth double figure game, and seventh in as many games. Fellow junior wing Tanaeya Boclair completed her sixth double figure scoring game of the season with 15 points while senior wing Paige Crozon knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers on her way to 13 points and six rebounds.

Sophomore guard Erika Bean dished out seven assists with seven defensive rebounds as Utah tallied 14 second chance points compared to BYU's six.

BYU got out to a 6-2 lead, but Crozon tied it up at eight a piece with a pair of free-throws. The Cougars broke the tie on back-to-back 3-pointers followed by a steal with a drive inside for an 8-0 run and a 16-point lead forcing a Utah time out. The Cougars grabbed a pair of foul shots before junior forward Joeseta Fatuesi grabbed her first points of the game on a second chance opportunity, but BYU led at the end of the first quarter 20-13.

Utah answered back early in the second quarter as Nawahine knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers forcing BYU to call a time out as the Utes climbed within one, 22-21. Utah headed into the locker room with a 33-30 lead over the Cougars at the half.

Utah opened the second half on a 17-0 run, stifled by a pair of free-throws from BYU. The Utes paced the quarter, outscoring the Cougars 27-7 while holding BYU to 16.7 percent shooting from the floor on 2-12 field goal attempts.

The Cougars made a 23-point effort in the fourth quarter, but Utah's defense had already made its mark on the game.

"We've been winning this year because of our defense, Roberts said about a Utah team that is No. 1 in the Pac-12 and No. 5 in the nation in field goal percentage defense. "I thought our team did a nice job, making BYU move a little bit defensively before we looked to score, which was effective."

The Utes host Weber State Saturday, Dec. 17 at 1 p.m. MT at the Jon M. Huntsman Center. Utah leads the series 45-6 all-time. You can watch the stream and follow live stat at utahutes.com, while Tyson Ewing will have the play-by-play call on ESPN 700 at ESPN 700.