RENO, Nev.--A dominating second quarter helped the Utah women's basketball team blow past Nevada 80-50 and remain undefeated. The Utes (8-0) trailed 17-13 after the first quarter, but blew the game open with a 28-6 second-quarter run.
"Our depth played a key role in that second quarter," head coach
Lynne Roberts said. "We were able to get out and run, which turned into a lot of points off transition."
Junior forward
Emily Potter controlled the paint, scoring 20 points, pulling down nine rebounds. She also blocked three shots to move into second place in school history with 150 career blocks. Junior wing
Malia Nawahine contributed a career-high five steals to go with 17 points and two assists.
The Utes got off to a slow start, trailing Nevada 8-3 at the first media timeout. Utah took its first lead when Nawahine stole the ball under the Utes' basket and dished it to senior forward
Paige Crozon, whose layup gave Utah a 9-8 lead. Six lead changes ensued, with Nevada taking a four-point lead into the first quarter break.
In the decisive second quarter, Utah stifled the Wolf Pack defensively, holding them to 15-percent shooting from the floor and forcing eight turnovers. Even with a comfortable 41-23 halftime lead, the Utes didn't let off the gas in the third quarter, out-scoring the Wolf Pack 25-14.
Crozon found her rhythm in the third quarter knocking down three 3-pointers to give Utah a 30-point lead (60-30). Crozen finished with 11 points, joining Potter and Nahawhine in double figures.
In addition to Utah shooting 48-percent from the floor and holding Nevada (4-4) to 29-percent field goal shooting, free throws played an impact in the outcome.
"Coming into this game, Nevada got to the free-throw line a lot, which was helping them win," Roberts said. "A key for us was to keep them away from the foul line and we were really disciplined defensively, which will help us moving forward."
The Wolf Pack shot just nine shots from the charity stripe, making eight. In contrast, Utah was a perfect 11-11 from the free-throw line.
The Utes return home to play Brigham Young Saturday, Dec. 10 at 5:30 p.m. The rivalry will be aired on the Pac-12 Network.