Utes Fall At BYU, 77-68

Saturday, December 9

Provo, Utah

2:00 PM

University of Utah

7-2

Brigham Young

4-5

UTAH

Brigham Young University

12/9/2017 5:04 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

PROVO, Utah – The University of Utah women's basketball team fell to the BYU Cougars on Saturday afternoon, 77-68. Utah is 7-2 overall this season.

In a game that saw 49 total fouls called, BYU and Utah struggled to find any kind of rhythm, turning the game into a defensive battle. The Utes only shot 33-percent from the floor, but countered by forcing 15 turnovers and outrebounding the Cougars 44-35.

"I thought it was a tale of two halves in terms of free throws," head coach Lynne Roberts said. "We shot 20 in the first half and then they shot 26 in the second and we shot nine, and I think that is where the game was won. Credit to BYU, I thought they played well and had a great second half."

The Utes were led by redshirt junior Megan Huff who recorded her second straight double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Tori Williams chipped in 14 points with Emily Potter turning in 11 points, nine rebounds and two blocks.

Utah started the game on a 9-0 run, holding BYU scoreless until the 5:07 mark, but BYU answered with a 6-0 run of their own to make it a three-point game. Despite the rough start on offense, Utah was able to go 9-for-10 in the first quarter from the free throw line with BYU getting into early foul trouble to head into the second quarter up 16-11.

BYU cut the Utah lead to just a point with 6:49 on the clock in the second quarter after starting on an 11-2 run. Utah was able to make it 30-24 with less than four minutes to play in the quarter, but both teams struggled to get into a rhythm with 27 fouls called in the first half. The Utes headed into halftime up 35-33 after shooting 29-percent from the floor but going 16-for-20 from the free throw line.

The Cougars took their first lead of the game in the third quarter, opening with a 5-0 run to make it 38-35 with 8:00 on the clock. Despite the offensive struggles, the Utes continued to fight with Williams silencing the crowd with a key three-pointer at the 6:44 mark to make it 38-38 all.

Utah was able to take a one-point lead off a pair of free throws from Potter and Williams, but the game of runs continued as BYU went on a 6-0 scoring drive to take a 47-42 lead, holding Utah scoreless for over two minutes before Erika Bean drained a three-pointer with less than 20 seconds to play in the third quarter to send Utah into the fourth quarter only down 49-45.

The Utes made it a two-point game on a jumper from Huff to start the fourth quarter, but it would be the closest the Utes would get to taking the lead for the remainder of the quarter. A three-pointer from Provo cut it to 60-56 with 4:18 left in the game, but BYU countered with an 8-0 run to make it a 10-point game.

Through the offensive struggles, Utah kept fighting. After BYU took a 12-point lead with less than two minutes remaining, Potter went in strong in the lane for a layup to cut it back down to a 10-point game. Williams also hit her third three of the game to make it an 11-point game with 1:35 on the clock. Utah cut it to within 10 again with 28 seconds left on a jumper from Megan Jacobs, but with the short amount of time left, the Utes couldn't come up with the difference, falling 77-68.

Utah will return to action on Monday, Dec. 18 when they travel to Utah State for another in-state match-up. The game is set for a 7 p.m. start.