Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus Western Colorado (EXHIBITION) on October 27, 2025 at 7:00 PM
7:00 PM
Women's Basketball
vs Western Colorado (EXHIBITION)
Monday, December 16
Salt Lake City, UT
7:00 PM
University of Utah
6-4,0-0Pac-12
60
vs
67
Providence
8-1,0-0Big East
1
2
3
4
F
Providence
24
17
8
18
67
Utah
9
17
21
13
60
Women's Basketball Rally Comes Up Short Against Providence, Falling 67-60
12/16/2019 9:44 PM | Women's Basketball
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The University of Utah women's basketball team's third quarter rally fell short tonight against the Providence Friars, falling 67-60. The Utes are 6-4 overall this season with one game remaining in non-conference play.
Utah trailed by as many as 22 in the second quarter, but stormed back in the third after holding the Friars to just eight points in the period, taking a one-point lead early in the fourth. The game of runs turned against the Utes in the fourth quarter though with Providence taking off on a late run with Utah unable to make up the full difference.
"We started competing in the second half," head coach Lynne Roberts said. "I challenged them at halftime to play with some fight, regardless of outcome. I am proud of the way they responded. They scored eight points in that third quarter and I thought we had the momentum entirely to start the fourth, and then we just couldn't convert. It was a tough night to not shoot it well."
"Providence is going to win some games, so it is not a bad loss, it just sucks to lose. They are a very balanced team, they are going to do very well in the Big East. That was very much like a Pac-12 game. This is going to be a season of learning with all of these young players. We just need a more complete, total team effort."
Despite the loss, freshman Lola Pendande put together a solid performance from start to finish, scoring a career-high 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting. She added 10 rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block for her second double-double of the season.
Brynna Maxwell reached double-digits for the ninth time this season, contributing 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the floor while going 3-of-6 from the three-point line. Dru Gylten also added nine points to the stat line, shooting 50-percent from the floor (4-of-8) for a season-high tying point total.
Tying for its lowest point total in a quarter this season, Utah came out in the first quarter cold, only putting up nine points on three made field goals and three free throws to trail by 15. Utah shot just 21-percent from the floor in the quarter with Providence countering at 60-percent to take a 24-9 lead into the second quarter.
Utah trailed by as many as 22 points in the second quarter, its largest deficit of the season, after Providence went on an 11-0 run. The Utes were able to start chipping away late though with Pendande scoring eight of her 11 first half points in the quarter as the Utes went on a run of their own, scoring seven unanswered points to end the half down 41-26.
It was a tale of two halves to start the third quarter with the Utes gaining fire power, taking off on a 10-0 run to start, making it a 17-2 run overall to tie the game 43-43 with 3:40 on the clock. Utah outscored the Friars 21-8 in the third quarter with Pendande scoring eight points on perfect 3-for-3 shooting from the field and 2-for-2 from the free throw line with Maxwell putting up seven of her 13 points in the period.
Utah took a one-point lead with 8:03 remaining in the game when Pendande scored on a fast-break layup, but Providence would answer with back-to-back threes to give them a five-point lead and spark their big run. The Friars would go on to score a 9-2 run to take a 64-52 lead with under two minutes to play, and despite a late five-point surge from the Utes to cut it to seven, Providence would walk away with the seven-point win.
Utah will return to action on Friday, Dec. 20 when they host the Weber State Wildcats for its final non-conference game. The game will tip off at 12 p.m. MT in the Jon M. Huntsman Center and will be streamed live on UtahUtes.com.
Utah trailed by as many as 22 in the second quarter, but stormed back in the third after holding the Friars to just eight points in the period, taking a one-point lead early in the fourth. The game of runs turned against the Utes in the fourth quarter though with Providence taking off on a late run with Utah unable to make up the full difference.
"We started competing in the second half," head coach Lynne Roberts said. "I challenged them at halftime to play with some fight, regardless of outcome. I am proud of the way they responded. They scored eight points in that third quarter and I thought we had the momentum entirely to start the fourth, and then we just couldn't convert. It was a tough night to not shoot it well."
"Providence is going to win some games, so it is not a bad loss, it just sucks to lose. They are a very balanced team, they are going to do very well in the Big East. That was very much like a Pac-12 game. This is going to be a season of learning with all of these young players. We just need a more complete, total team effort."
Despite the loss, freshman Lola Pendande put together a solid performance from start to finish, scoring a career-high 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting. She added 10 rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block for her second double-double of the season.
Brynna Maxwell reached double-digits for the ninth time this season, contributing 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the floor while going 3-of-6 from the three-point line. Dru Gylten also added nine points to the stat line, shooting 50-percent from the floor (4-of-8) for a season-high tying point total.
Tying for its lowest point total in a quarter this season, Utah came out in the first quarter cold, only putting up nine points on three made field goals and three free throws to trail by 15. Utah shot just 21-percent from the floor in the quarter with Providence countering at 60-percent to take a 24-9 lead into the second quarter.
Utah trailed by as many as 22 points in the second quarter, its largest deficit of the season, after Providence went on an 11-0 run. The Utes were able to start chipping away late though with Pendande scoring eight of her 11 first half points in the quarter as the Utes went on a run of their own, scoring seven unanswered points to end the half down 41-26.
It was a tale of two halves to start the third quarter with the Utes gaining fire power, taking off on a 10-0 run to start, making it a 17-2 run overall to tie the game 43-43 with 3:40 on the clock. Utah outscored the Friars 21-8 in the third quarter with Pendande scoring eight points on perfect 3-for-3 shooting from the field and 2-for-2 from the free throw line with Maxwell putting up seven of her 13 points in the period.
Utah took a one-point lead with 8:03 remaining in the game when Pendande scored on a fast-break layup, but Providence would answer with back-to-back threes to give them a five-point lead and spark their big run. The Friars would go on to score a 9-2 run to take a 64-52 lead with under two minutes to play, and despite a late five-point surge from the Utes to cut it to seven, Providence would walk away with the seven-point win.
Utah will return to action on Friday, Dec. 20 when they host the Weber State Wildcats for its final non-conference game. The game will tip off at 12 p.m. MT in the Jon M. Huntsman Center and will be streamed live on UtahUtes.com.
Team Stats
PROV
Utah
FG%
.429
.328
3FG%
.500
.174
FT%
.833
.875
RB
37
38
TO
18
16
STL
7
7
Game Leaders
Pts
21
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
4
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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