Utah Fights Back For 81-79 Win At Washington State

Sunday, January 7

Pullman, Wash.

12:00 PM

University of Utah

12-3, 3-1

Washington State

8-8, 1-3

UTAH

Washington State

Photo by: Dean Hare

Utah Fights Back For 81-79 Win At Washington State

1/7/2018 3:10 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

PULLMAN, Wash. – After trailing for over 35 minutes of the game and being behind by as many as 13 points, the Utah women's basketball program fought back to earn an 81-79 win over Washington State. The Utes improved to 12-3 overall and 3-1 in Pac-12 play.

Through grit and determination, the Utes fought through foul trouble and offensive struggles to outscore Washington State 21-12 in the fourth quarter and take a 78-77 lead on a three-point play from Emily Potter with 1:36 remaining.

The Cougars were fouled with just eight seconds left on the clock and were able to convert two free throws to tie the score at 79-79, but with just :00.5 left to play, Tilar Clark was fouled and would take two free throws for the win. The Utes finished the game shooting 91-percent from the charity stripe with the senior converting both, securing the huge road victory for the Utes.

Utah finished the weekend with two conference road wins, the first time the Utes have come away with a road sweep since joining the Pac-12. With four players reaching double digits against the Cougars, it was a team win from top to bottom for the Utes.

"It was great to get this win on the road," head coach Lynne Roberts said. "I ripped them pretty good at halftime and they responded in that fourth quarter. We were down seven points to start the fourth quarter and I told them seven points was nothing, that we could beat this. I am proud of them. We weren't our best version of ourselves today, but we got the win. At the end of the year we aren't going to be talking about how we played in Pullman, we are going to be talking about how we got a win here."

Daneesha Provo led the Utes in points with 22, adding a career-best nine rebounds. Megan Huff brought in 14 points and seven rebounds with Potter adding 11 points and eight boards. Erika Bean rounded out Utah's double-digit scorers with 11 points, five rebounds, four assists and a team-high four steals.

The Utes came out in the first quarter struggling offensively, starting the quarter by going just 1-for-10 from the field. With nine fouls called in the first five minutes of the game, both teams had trouble getting a rhythm in the game, but Utah was able to stay in it with strong defense and strong free throw shooting, going 5-for-5 from the charity stripe.

Provo hit a much needed three with 4:04 on the clock in the first quarter to cut the Washington State lead to just two points, but Washington State answered with a three of their own to jump back out to a five-point lead. Utah kept fighting with Tori Williams hitting a huge three-pointer with less than 30 seconds remaining in the quarter to give Utah a 19-18 lead.

It was a lot of the same for the Utes in the second quarter, turning the ball over seven times while only shooting 33-percent from the floor. Washington State was able to make it a 10-point game late in the quarter on a 6-0 run, but Bean hit a critical three-pointer with six seconds left to send the Utes into halftime only down 42-34.

It was a quick turnaround for the Utes in the third quarter as they came out shooting 60-percent from the field with Provo scoring 12 of her 22 points after going perfect a perfect 3-for-3 from the field, 2-for-2 from the arc and 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Provo wasn't the only Ute to show up in the third quarter as Huff put in seven points, including five straight to make it a five- point game with 8:08 on the clock.

Provo continued to come up clutch for the Utes in the third quarter, hitting two key threes to stop Washington State runs and put the momentum back in Utah's hands. The third quarter came down to the wire with the Cougars holding a 67-58 lead, but Bean came up big with a three at the four-second mark to cut the WSU lead to 67-60 heading into the final quarter.

The close game continued after Huff and Provo scored four straight points for the Utes to quickly make it a three-point game to start the fourth quarter, but it was a corner three-pointer from Bean and an offensive put-back from Potter that tied the score 69-69 with 7:37 left to play.

It was a back-and-forth scoring affair late in the game, but Utah went on a 7-0 run late in the fourth quarter to take back the lead, sparked by a key three-pointer from Huff with 2:03 on the clock. After Washington State hit its two late free throws to tie the game with just eight seconds left, Utah relied on its already strong game from the line and Clark hit the two clutch points to send the Utes home with a victory.

Utah will return to action when they host UCLA on Friday, Jan. 12 in the Jon M. Huntsman Center. The game is set for an 8 p.m. tip on the Pac-12 Networks.