Utah Posts 89-65 Win Over Pepperdine

Tuesday, December 5

Salt Lake City, Utah

6:00 PM

University of Utah

7-1

Pepperdine

4-4

Pepperdine

UTAH

12/5/2017 8:35 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

SALT LAKE CITY – The University of Utah women's basketball team improved to 7-1 on the season with an 89-65 over Pepperdine in the Huntsman Center tonight, finishing the game with four players in double figures.

Utah put in a balanced game against the Waves, scoring 80-plus points for the fifth time this season, but also forcing 19 turnovers and only allowing Pepperdine to shoot 27-percent from the three. For the second game in a row, the Utes relied on its inside presence, outscoring Pepperdine 64-30 in the paint.

"I thought we did a really nice job for three quarters and then we just lost our intensity," head coach Lynne Roberts said. "I think we are a team that needs to mature and take the next step in being great. It doesn't matter who you are playing or what the score is, you need to do what you do and I think we did that for 30 minutes and then we took our foot off the focus gas."

The Utes were led in points by redshirt junior Megan Huff with 16 points and 12 rebounds for her first double-double in the crimson and white. Emily Potter scored 15 points with Daneesha Provo chipping in 13 along with five rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. Tori Williams rounded out the Utah double figure scorers with 12 points after shooting 50-percent from the field.

"This is all part of maturing as a team and taking the next step," Roberts said. "Clearly, we aren't there yet, but I think we will get there and these are the learning experiences that will make us better. For us to win in the Pac-12 you have to play an entire 40 minutes, you can't be good for 30."

Utah dominated the first quarter, quickly jumping out to a 16-6 lead with 4:48 on the clock on a 7-0 run with five of the seven points coming from Potter. Pepperdine made it a six-point game with 3:07 left to play in the first quarter, but Utah answered by going on an 11-2 run to end the quarter and head into the second up 29-14.

It was a game of runs in the first half for the Utes, opening the second quarter on a 6-0 run to take a 17-point advantage with 6:21 remaining. Utah scored eight of its 21 second quarter points off turnovers with Provo scoring seven of her 13 points in the quarter, pushing Utah into halftime up 50-29.

Tough defense remained steady in the third quarter as the Utes forced seven turnovers and held Pepperdine to just 12 points. Huff came out on fire in the third, shooting 4-for-5 from the field for eight points, helping the Utes to lead by as many as 33 points late in the third quarter.

Utah entered the fourth with a 71-41 lead, but struggled to keep its composure, allowing Pepperdine to go to the free throw line 17 times while also committing seven turnovers. Despite the foul trouble, Williams put in seven of her 12 points, helping the Utes to shoot 53-percent from the floor in the final quarter to seal the 89-65 win.

The Utes return to action as they hit the road to face in-state foe BYU on Saturday, Dec. 9. The game is set for a 2 p.m. tip on BYU TV.