Women's Basketball Beats BYU 77-73 In Overtime

Friday, November 29

Provo, UT

7:00 PM

University of Utah

4-3,0-0Pac-12

Brigham Young

3-2,0-0WCC

OT 1

Utah

BYU

11/29/2019 9:58 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

PROVO, Utah – In a game that saw 18 lead changes and 12 ties, the University of Utah women's basketball team gritted out a 77-73 overtime win on the road against in-state rival BYU. The Utes improved to 4-3 overall this season.

BYU led the game for over 29 minutes, but the Utes never backed down, going shot-for-shot with the Cougars for four quarters and one overtime period. Despite being outscored in the paint tonight, the Utes were outstanding from the arc, knocking down a season-high 14 threes, which counts as the second-most made in a game in school history.

"That was a really great game," head coach Lynne Roberts said. "It took both teams a little bit to get going, but I though in the second half and in overtime both teams played their hearts out. Kids were making shots both ways and it was one of those games where it was unfortunate one of the teams had to lose, because I thought both teams played their hearts out."

Brynna Maxwell put together a complete performance on both sides of the ball, scoring a team-high 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting while grabbing a career-high seven rebounds. Ola Makurat scored 13 points, shooting 4-of-8 from the floor and 3-of-5 from the three, adding six rebounds.

Julie Brosseau reached double-digits for the second straight game, scoring 11 points while also dishing out a season-high five assists. Andrea Torres rounded out Utah's double-digit scoring with 10 points, also contributing five rebounds and two assists.

"This is great win for our team," Roberts said. "This is a great confidence booster because BYU is always good. This is a tough place to win, so this is big. It is a genuine win against a tough opponent on the road."

The first quarter was a back-and-forth affair with both teams taking the lead multiple times with both teams shooting exactly 50-percent from the floor in the quarter. Maxwell, Makurat and Torres all had five points each in the first quarter with Torres hitting all five of her points in the final two minutes to cut the BYU lead to 20-17 heading into the second quarter.

BYU was able to jump out to a six-point lead on a 6-0 run in the second quarter, holding a 28-22 advantage with 4:56 left to play in the period. Utah continued to find answers though, ending the quarter on a 10-2 run that included two threes from Maxwell to send the Utes into halftime with a 32-30 lead.

The Utes and the Cougars went shot for shot to start the third quarter with seven lead changes in the first five minutes of the period. The scoring shootout continued as time started to tick away with the Cougars pulling away to a four-point lead with less than 30 seconds to play, but Brosseau was able to knock down her second three of the game with 10 seconds remaining, making it a one-point game (52-51) to start the fourth quarter.

BYU would stretch its lead by five points with 5:53 left to play in the fourth quarter, but the Utes refused to stop fighting, clawing back to take a one-point lead on a three-pointer from Brosseau to give Utah a 66-65 lead with 41 seconds to go in the game. BYU was able to retake a one-point lead on a layup with less than five seconds on the clock, but Dru Gylten would convert one of her two free throws with three seconds to go to send the game into overtime.

After trailing by two with 2:51 remaining in the game, Torres hit a pivotal three-pointer to give the Utes the lead for good and sparking a 6-0 run that would give the Utes a 75-71 lead with less than a minute to go. Maxwell would go on to hit two clutch free throws with 12 seconds to go, also getting the final defensive rebound to give the Utes the 77-73 overtime victory.

The Utes will return to action on Thursday, Dec. 5 when they start their five-game home stand against Oral Roberts. The game is set to tip at 7 p.m. MT in the Jon M. Huntsman Center.