Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus Western Colorado (EXHIBITION) on October 27, 2025 at TBD
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Women's Basketball
vs Western Colorado (EXHIBITION)
Tuesday, November 5
Cincinnati, OH
5:00 PM
University of Utah
0-1,0-0Pac-12
62
at
68
Cincinnati
1-0,0-0AAC
1
2
3
4
F
Utah
14
11
17
20
62
Cincinnati
18
7
25
18
68
Women's Basketball Falls In Gritty Battle At Cincinnati, 68-62
11/5/2019 8:00 PM | Women's Basketball
CINCINNATI, Ohio – The University of Utah women's basketball team played a gritty game to the final minute tonight against the Cincinnati Bearcats, but were defeated 68-62 on the road to fall to 0-1 to start the season.
True freshman Brynna Maxwell was on fire late in the fourth quarter, hitting back-to-back three pointers with less than 30 seconds to play in the game, making it a three-point game. The Utes were then forced to foul with the Bearcats converting on five free throws, and despite a late layup from Kemery Martín, Cincinnati was able to take the win.
Utah struggled offensively throughout the game, shooting 37-percent from the floor (21-of-56) and 29-percent from the three (7-of-24) while giving up 20 turnovers. Cincinnati finished the game shooting 41-percent from the floor with the Utes holding them to just 31-percent shooting in the second half.
"You have to give Cincinnati credit because they are a good team and they are experienced," head coach Lynne Roberts said. "We are on the road and it is the first time that most of these guys have put on a Utah uniform, not trying to give them an excuse, but it showed. We never really got into a rhythm."
"We will watch film and get better. They are going to have a great year and this isn't a bad loss. We hate losing, but we just have to move on. We play on Thursday, so we will wake up tomorrow and it will be all about Xavier. We have to learn from today."
Utah was led in scoring by sophomore Niyah Becker contributing a career-high 13 points, adding three steals. Maxwell added 11 points, three rebounds and two assists while true freshman Lola Pendande chipped in 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
It was a back and forth affair to start the first quarter with the Utes taking a 12-10 lead on five unanswered points from Maxwell with 3:39 on the clock. The Utes were able to hold Cincinnati scoreless for over three minutes toward the end of the quarter, but the Bearcats took off on a 6-0 run to end the quarter with an 18-14 lead.
Utah's defense was solid in the second quarter, holding Cincinnati to just 16-percent shooting from the floor and only seven points, but the Utes' offense struggled with turnovers (5 in the quarter). The Utes got some rhythm with a 6-0 run to tie the score 20-20 with 4:09 left to play in the quarter with the game eventually heading into halftime all tied up at 25-25 thanks to a jumper from Becker with under a minute to play.
Becker had a strong third quarter, scoring eight of her 13 points in the period. Cincinnati shot 64-percent from the floor in the third quarter, leading by as many as 11 points late, but a key three-pointer from Becker at the third quarter buzzer sent the Utes into the fourth quarter down only eight (50-42).
The Utes continued to whittle away at the Cincinnati lead, making it a six-point game with less than five minutes to play on the game off a layup from Kiana Moore. A three-pointer from Ola Makurat with 3:10 on the clock would make it 58-53, giving the Utes momentum heading into the final minutes of the game.
Maxwell drained a three-pointer with 52 seconds left to play to make it 61-57 and after the Bearcats converted two free throws, the true freshman would strike again with a three at the 24 second mark to make it a three-point game.
Despite the late effort from the Utes, Cincinnati would go on to covert integral free throws to give them the win.
The Utes will have a short turnaround, taking on Xavier on Thursday, Nov. 7 at 5 p.m. MT. The game will be streamed live with live stats also available at UtahUtes.com.
True freshman Brynna Maxwell was on fire late in the fourth quarter, hitting back-to-back three pointers with less than 30 seconds to play in the game, making it a three-point game. The Utes were then forced to foul with the Bearcats converting on five free throws, and despite a late layup from Kemery Martín, Cincinnati was able to take the win.
Utah struggled offensively throughout the game, shooting 37-percent from the floor (21-of-56) and 29-percent from the three (7-of-24) while giving up 20 turnovers. Cincinnati finished the game shooting 41-percent from the floor with the Utes holding them to just 31-percent shooting in the second half.
"You have to give Cincinnati credit because they are a good team and they are experienced," head coach Lynne Roberts said. "We are on the road and it is the first time that most of these guys have put on a Utah uniform, not trying to give them an excuse, but it showed. We never really got into a rhythm."
"We will watch film and get better. They are going to have a great year and this isn't a bad loss. We hate losing, but we just have to move on. We play on Thursday, so we will wake up tomorrow and it will be all about Xavier. We have to learn from today."
Utah was led in scoring by sophomore Niyah Becker contributing a career-high 13 points, adding three steals. Maxwell added 11 points, three rebounds and two assists while true freshman Lola Pendande chipped in 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
It was a back and forth affair to start the first quarter with the Utes taking a 12-10 lead on five unanswered points from Maxwell with 3:39 on the clock. The Utes were able to hold Cincinnati scoreless for over three minutes toward the end of the quarter, but the Bearcats took off on a 6-0 run to end the quarter with an 18-14 lead.
Utah's defense was solid in the second quarter, holding Cincinnati to just 16-percent shooting from the floor and only seven points, but the Utes' offense struggled with turnovers (5 in the quarter). The Utes got some rhythm with a 6-0 run to tie the score 20-20 with 4:09 left to play in the quarter with the game eventually heading into halftime all tied up at 25-25 thanks to a jumper from Becker with under a minute to play.
Becker had a strong third quarter, scoring eight of her 13 points in the period. Cincinnati shot 64-percent from the floor in the third quarter, leading by as many as 11 points late, but a key three-pointer from Becker at the third quarter buzzer sent the Utes into the fourth quarter down only eight (50-42).
The Utes continued to whittle away at the Cincinnati lead, making it a six-point game with less than five minutes to play on the game off a layup from Kiana Moore. A three-pointer from Ola Makurat with 3:10 on the clock would make it 58-53, giving the Utes momentum heading into the final minutes of the game.
Maxwell drained a three-pointer with 52 seconds left to play to make it 61-57 and after the Bearcats converted two free throws, the true freshman would strike again with a three at the 24 second mark to make it a three-point game.
Despite the late effort from the Utes, Cincinnati would go on to covert integral free throws to give them the win.
The Utes will have a short turnaround, taking on Xavier on Thursday, Nov. 7 at 5 p.m. MT. The game will be streamed live with live stats also available at UtahUtes.com.
Team Stats
Utah
UC
FG%
.375
.410
3FG%
.292
.250
FT%
.722
.625
RB
35
35
TO
20
12
STL
6
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
W
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
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