Utah Edges Washington State On The Road, 72-68

Friday, January 11

Pullman, WA

8:00 PM

University of Utah

Washington State

Utah

Washington St.

Photo by: Steve C. Wilson

1/11/2019 10:27 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

PULLMAN, Wash. – It was a tale of two halves for the Utah women's basketball team tonight as they took on Washington State on the road, but were still able to come away with a win, edging the Cougars 72-68. The Utes improved to 14-1 overall and 3-1 in Pac-12 play.

Utah held a comfortable lead in the first half, but ended up only scoring 26 of its 72 points in the second, allowing Washington State to get back in the game. The Cougars were able to take a one-point lead with 4:10 remaining in the game, but the Utes stuck in it and showed some grit, fighting back to take a five-point lead with 2:27 on the clock.

Washington State was able to make it a one possession game again, but thanks to some made free throws down the stretch and key defense from Erika Bean, Utah was able to come away with its four-point victory and second Pac-12 road win of the season.

"I think first and foremost, you have to give Washington State credit because they could have folded," head coach Lynne Roberts said. "We were up 20 in the second quarter and I think that speaks volumes to where this program is headed and I am really impressed with their fight, so you have to give them credit."

"Particularly in the second half, we just couldn't get things going, but we shot 56-percent for the game, we had more assists than turnovers and we still out-rebounded them. We can learn from this and we will learn from it, but anytime we can win in the Pac-12 it is great."

Megan Huff led the Utes with 21 points, going 7-of-13 from the floor while adding eight boards. Dre'Una Edwards scored a career-high 20 points along with six rebounds, a block and two steals. Dru Gylten and Bean both had eight points with Gylten putting up six assists and Bean chipping in four and two blocks.

Heading into the first media timeout, the Utes had five assists on five made shots, taking an early 14-8 lead that included six points from Gylten. The Utes shot 52-percent from the floor in the first quarter, holding Washington State to one three-point attempt and 10 points, taking a 22-10 lead into the second quarter.

Utah led by as many as 21 points and was 11-of-12 from the floor in the second quarter, but the hot shooting took an abrupt halt late in the period. The Utes were held scoreless for over three minutes while committing four turnovers, allowing Washington State to make it a 14-point game heading into halftime.

The shooting woes continued for the Utes into the third quarter as Washington State went on a 15-4 run, cutting the Utah lead to 52-47 with 5:14 on the clock. It was Kiana Moore who brought some life back to Utah on both ends of the court, forcing Washington State to a 10-second violation, then sparking a 6-0 run to take a 58-47 advantage late in the quarter.

Washington State was able to take a 66-65 lead with 4:20 left in the game after Utah went on another scoring drought. Despite poor shooting, the Utes continued to press on defense, which transitioned to another run on offense.

Utah held a 71-66 lead with 2:27 remaining thanks to strong post play from Edwards, but a pair of free throws from the Cougars cut it to three with less than a minute to go. The Utes kept its composure with Edwards hitting one of her final two free throws while Bean came up with two key blocks on the Cougars' final shot attempts, sealing the win.

Utah will return to action on Sunday, Jan. 13 when they head to Seattle to take on the Washington Huskies. The game is set for a 3 p.m. MT tip on Pac-12 Networks (Pac-12 Mountain, Pac-12 Washington).