Utah Falls To USC, 58-47

Sunday, January 14

Salt Lake City, Utah

12:00 PM

University of Utah

12-5, 3-3

USC

13-4, 3-3

USC

UTAH

Photo by: Steve C. Wilson

1/14/2018 2:42 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

SALT LAKE CITY – The University of Utah women's basketball team fell to the USC Trojans on Sunday afternoon, 58-47. Utah is 12-5 overall this season and 3-3 in Pac-12 Conference play.

It was a low scoring affair in the Huntsman Center with Utah being held to its lowest point total this season, shooting 37-percent from the floor. Despite the struggles offensively, Utah presented a balanced offense with nine different players scoring in the game.

"I thought they played harder than we did," head coach Lynne Roberts said. "You have to give them credit. I thought they outplayed us today in every way and they were the better team. We have to regroup."

The Utes were led by Megan Huff, who scored 10 points, adding eight rebounds, two assists, three blocks and a steal. Tori Williams added eight points with Emily Potter just missing a double-double with eight points and 11 rebounds.

Utah came out in the first quarter shooting 50-percent from the floor and 66-percent from the three. There were four lead changes in the quarter, keeping the game close with USC taking a six-point lead late, but a key three-pointer from Williams with less than a minute left on the clock sent the Utes into the second quarter down just 17-14.

The Utes were only able to score nine points in the second quarter, but strong defense came into play, holding USC scoreless for the first five minutes. Tilar Clark found her way into the paint for a layup with 6:04 on the clock to give the Utes an 18-17 lead, but USC was able to score four unanswered points to make it 21-18 with 4:05 to go.

Utah started the third quarter trailing 30-23, but forced three quick turnovers and made it a three-point game after Williams hit another huge three-pointer and Provo added a free throw. The Trojans took a 37-31 lead on a three-pointer with 4:59 remaining in the quarter, but Utah stayed in it, heading into halftime down 43-37.

The Utes continued to fight in the fourth quarter with Huff scoring six of her 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting, but USC answered by going on a 7-0 run to gain a 50-39 advantage with 8:13 left to play. Huff stopped the run with another set of points in the paint with Erika Bean cutting it to an eight-point game at the 5:05 mark.

It was Huff again that was able to whittle away at the USC lead, making it 53-47 with 2:54 left to play, but with it being late in the game, the Utes were forced to foul down the stretch with USC pulling away for its 58-47 victory.

Utah returns to action when they hit the road on Jan. 19 to take on the Arizona State Sun Devils in Tempe, Ariz. The game is set for an 11 a.m. MT tip.