Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus Western Colorado (EXHIBITION) on October 27, 2025 at TBD
TBD
Women's Basketball
vs Western Colorado (EXHIBITION)
Sunday, January 15
Salt Lake City, UT
12:00 PM
University of Utah
13-4, 2-4
63
vs
57
California
14-4, 2-4
1
2
3
4
F
California
10
18
16
13
57
Utah
13
22
14
14
63
Utes Outlast No. 24 California
1/15/2017 2:29 PM | Women's Basketball
SALT LAKE CITY – University of Utah's women's basketball team snapped a three-game losing streak and claimed its second Pac-12 Conference win, defeating No. 24 California 63-57 Sunday afternoon at the Jon M. Huntsman Center.
Utah (13-4, 2-4) held California (14-4, 2-4), a team that averages 76.5 points per game, to just 57 points on 35-percent shooting from the floor.
"It feels great to get the win," head coach Lynne Roberts said. "In our six conference games that we have played so far, this was the fifth ranked opponent. It is a tough conference and I am proud of our team for chipping away and sticking with it.
"Today, the energy we came out with didn't look like a team that had lost three in a row. That shows toughness, composure and belief in themselves. For me, it is rewarding to see that and for us to put four complete quarters together."
Utah never trailed despite California's best effort, climbing within one point in the final two minutes of the game.
Junior forward Emily Potter and junior wing Malia Nawahine poured in 15 points each to lead the Utes. Nawahine also dished out five assists and grabbed four rebounds. Senior wing Paige Crozon scored 10 points for the second-consecutive game while also grabbed four rebounds and two steals.
Junior forward Wendy Anae led Utah on the boards with eight rebounds while also scoring eight points as Utah's bench tallied 13 points.
"Every game Wendy has been getting more and more confident," Crozon said about her teammate. "We knew she could play like this all along. She's come in and really done her role in making all the hustle plays and working really hard. She is the hardest working player on the court. In the first half, she made some huge, huge plays for us defensively and that really got us going."
California won the tipoff, but Crozon tipped a pass and Utah took advantage as Potter connected under the basket for the first points of the ball game, 2-0. California first got on the board on a split from the foul line to cut into the Ute's 4-1 lead, but Utah continued to dominate from the floor.
Utah's defense held Cal scoreless from the floor for more than half of the first quarter as the Bears went 0-for-8 on their first attempts forcing a timeout from the visitors. The Bears came out of the timeout and connected on their next three attempts, 13-6. The Bears found the bottom of the net two more time before the end of the first quarter as the Utes led, 13-10.
Junior wing Daneesha Provo came off the bench and scored the first four points of the second quarter - the first came on her own steal and a drive to the basket while the second came on an assist from freshman wing Megan Jacobs.
Utah climbed out to an 11-point lead on a basket from Potter, but California hit the next two buckets to cut into the Ute's lead, 25-19. The Bears continued their push to make it a one-possession game, but Nawahine hit both foul shots for a 29-24 lead with three minutes to play in the first half. Junior wing Tanaeya Boclair picked up three points in the final minute of the half, taking advantage of an and-one opportunity and Crozon sunk two foul shots to give the Utes a 35-28 lead heading into the locker room.
The Utes held California's leading scorer Kristine Anigew - who averaged 23.6 points per game entering Sunday's matchup – to 2-of-10 shooting from the floor in the first 20 minutes of action. Potter and Nawahine had eight points each to pace the Utes in the first half.
Both teams opened with four points, but Cal went on a quick 5-0 run after a 3-point-play and a break-a-way to trail by one, 39-38. Crozon connected on her second 3-pointer of the game to spur a 10-0 run for the Utes for a 49-38 lead before the Bears hit a 3-pointer. The Bears would make it a 5-point game before the end of the third quarter, 49-44.
Utah scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to jump out to a 10-point advantage over the Bears before Anigew put Cal on the board, 54-46. The Utes saw its largest lead of the game when they took at 12-point lead on a basket from Anae. Cal came back with a 9-0 run for a 58-55 Utah lead before Coach Roberts called a timeout to regroup.
California, once again, made it a one-point ball game with under a minute to play and Potter split a pair of free-throws for a Utah 59-57 lead. With 31.7 seconds on the clock, California called a time out to advance the ball. Sophomore guard Erika Bean grabbed a steal and dished it to Nawahine who picked up a foul, connecting on both foul shots and a 61-57 lead. Crozon scored two more free-throws for Utah as the team collected its second Pac-12 win of the season.
"Cal is really good and they made a run at the end, but we kept our composure. We knocked down free-throws when we had to. We kind of pushed it right to the end there and I thought Wendy was huge today," Roberts said.
Utah hits the road to take on Oregon State Friday at 9 p.m. MT in Corvallis and Oregon Sunday at 2 p.m. MT to continue Pac-12 action.
Utah (13-4, 2-4) held California (14-4, 2-4), a team that averages 76.5 points per game, to just 57 points on 35-percent shooting from the floor.
"It feels great to get the win," head coach Lynne Roberts said. "In our six conference games that we have played so far, this was the fifth ranked opponent. It is a tough conference and I am proud of our team for chipping away and sticking with it.
"Today, the energy we came out with didn't look like a team that had lost three in a row. That shows toughness, composure and belief in themselves. For me, it is rewarding to see that and for us to put four complete quarters together."
Utah never trailed despite California's best effort, climbing within one point in the final two minutes of the game.
Junior forward Emily Potter and junior wing Malia Nawahine poured in 15 points each to lead the Utes. Nawahine also dished out five assists and grabbed four rebounds. Senior wing Paige Crozon scored 10 points for the second-consecutive game while also grabbed four rebounds and two steals.
Junior forward Wendy Anae led Utah on the boards with eight rebounds while also scoring eight points as Utah's bench tallied 13 points.
"Every game Wendy has been getting more and more confident," Crozon said about her teammate. "We knew she could play like this all along. She's come in and really done her role in making all the hustle plays and working really hard. She is the hardest working player on the court. In the first half, she made some huge, huge plays for us defensively and that really got us going."
California won the tipoff, but Crozon tipped a pass and Utah took advantage as Potter connected under the basket for the first points of the ball game, 2-0. California first got on the board on a split from the foul line to cut into the Ute's 4-1 lead, but Utah continued to dominate from the floor.
Utah's defense held Cal scoreless from the floor for more than half of the first quarter as the Bears went 0-for-8 on their first attempts forcing a timeout from the visitors. The Bears came out of the timeout and connected on their next three attempts, 13-6. The Bears found the bottom of the net two more time before the end of the first quarter as the Utes led, 13-10.
Junior wing Daneesha Provo came off the bench and scored the first four points of the second quarter - the first came on her own steal and a drive to the basket while the second came on an assist from freshman wing Megan Jacobs.
Utah climbed out to an 11-point lead on a basket from Potter, but California hit the next two buckets to cut into the Ute's lead, 25-19. The Bears continued their push to make it a one-possession game, but Nawahine hit both foul shots for a 29-24 lead with three minutes to play in the first half. Junior wing Tanaeya Boclair picked up three points in the final minute of the half, taking advantage of an and-one opportunity and Crozon sunk two foul shots to give the Utes a 35-28 lead heading into the locker room.
The Utes held California's leading scorer Kristine Anigew - who averaged 23.6 points per game entering Sunday's matchup – to 2-of-10 shooting from the floor in the first 20 minutes of action. Potter and Nawahine had eight points each to pace the Utes in the first half.
Both teams opened with four points, but Cal went on a quick 5-0 run after a 3-point-play and a break-a-way to trail by one, 39-38. Crozon connected on her second 3-pointer of the game to spur a 10-0 run for the Utes for a 49-38 lead before the Bears hit a 3-pointer. The Bears would make it a 5-point game before the end of the third quarter, 49-44.
Utah scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to jump out to a 10-point advantage over the Bears before Anigew put Cal on the board, 54-46. The Utes saw its largest lead of the game when they took at 12-point lead on a basket from Anae. Cal came back with a 9-0 run for a 58-55 Utah lead before Coach Roberts called a timeout to regroup.
California, once again, made it a one-point ball game with under a minute to play and Potter split a pair of free-throws for a Utah 59-57 lead. With 31.7 seconds on the clock, California called a time out to advance the ball. Sophomore guard Erika Bean grabbed a steal and dished it to Nawahine who picked up a foul, connecting on both foul shots and a 61-57 lead. Crozon scored two more free-throws for Utah as the team collected its second Pac-12 win of the season.
"Cal is really good and they made a run at the end, but we kept our composure. We knocked down free-throws when we had to. We kind of pushed it right to the end there and I thought Wendy was huge today," Roberts said.
Utah hits the road to take on Oregon State Friday at 9 p.m. MT in Corvallis and Oregon Sunday at 2 p.m. MT to continue Pac-12 action.
Team Stats
CAL
UTAH
FG%
.345
.386
3FG%
.300
.167
FT%
.647
.654
RB
39
42
TO
15
12
STL
6
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
15
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Pts
15
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
W
/ Women's BasketballW
/ Women's Basketball
W
/ Women's BasketballW
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
W
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