No. 17 Women's Basketball Falls To UCLA, 100-90

Sunday, February 10

Salt Lake City, UT

12:00 PM

University of Utah

100

UCLA

100

Utah

Photo by: Steve C. Wilson

No. 17 Women's Basketball Falls To UCLA, 100-90

2/10/2019 3:01 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – A fourth quarter run by the UCLA Bruins proved costly for the University of Utah women's basketball team today in the Jon M. Huntsman Center as the Utes lost 100-90, falling to 18-5 on the season and 7-5 in Pac-12 play.

UCLA went on a 12-2 run to take an 85-68 lead with 4:19 left in the game, but the Utes fought back late in the fourth on two huge three-pointers from Megan Huff to make it a seven-point game with just 40 seconds remaining. The Bruins were able to convert on some key free throws down the stretch despite Utah cutting it to seven again with 22 seconds on the clock, escaping Salt Lake City with a 100-90 victory.

"They shot 73-percent in the fourth quarter, they just weren't missing shots," head coach Lynne Roberts said. "Part of that was a reflection of our defensive intensity, but also I think UCLA did a nice job. They have some players that can shoot and they weren't missing there in the fourth quarter and they made a lot of contested jump shots. So, you have to give them some credit. When you score 90 points, you think that should be good enough, but it was our defense that wasn't great."

"We have to come to the awareness that we have a target on our back now. Teams get focused to play us. We have to have a little bit more of a fight to us. I though Huff was great today. She played like a senior and was fearless. But if you would have asked me if we would have had more offensive rebounds than them and if I thought we'd win, I would have said absolutely."

It was the first time since 1986 that the Utes have given up 100 points in regulation despite scoring in the 90-point range for the second time this season. Utah had five double-digit scorers for the second straight game, led by Huff who had 23 points, 13 rebounds and three assists.

Dre'Una Edwards added a career-high 21 points, also chipping in six rebounds. Kiana Moore put up 17 points and three assists along with Dru Gylten's 14 points and seven assists while Erika Bean rounded out Utah's double-digit performers with 10 points and a team-high eight assists.

The Utes shot 60-percent from the field in the first quarter, but quickly dropped to a six-point disadvantage after UCLA went on a 6-0 run to take a 10-4 lead. Utah had an answer though, going on a 7-0 run themselves, capped off by a three-pointer from Moore to give Utah a 13-12 lead with 4:05 to go in the quarter.

Utah entered the second quarter with a three-point lead, jumping out to a seven-point advantage with 6:42 remaining, but UCLA was able to cut it close once again, making it 30-28 with less than five minutes on the clock. The Utes only shot 35-percent from the floor in the second but were able to head into halftime with a 39-37 lead.

The shooting woes continued for Utah into the third quarter, only shooting 28-percent from the floor, allowing UCLA to once again whittle away the lead to 52-21 before taking a one-point lead with 2:21 on the clock. The Utes and the Bruins traded the lead late in the third with UCLA eventually taking a four-point lead into the final quarter on a buzzer beating three-pointer.

UCLA jumped out to an early 10-point lead in the fourth on a 6-0 run before Moore hit a pivotal three-pointer with 8:38 left to play to make it a seven-point game. It was then a 12-2 run by the Bruins that broke the game open with UCLA taking a 17-point lead with less than five minutes to go in the game.

Heading into the final minute of the game, Huff cut the UCLA lead to nine points on a four-point play after draining a three and getting fouled. On the next play, she knocked down another contested three to make it 95-88, but the Utes were then forced to foul with UCLA jumping back out to a nine-point advantage with 38 seconds remaining.

Bean was able to sneak in a layup at the 22-second mark, but once again the Bruins were clutch from the charity stripe down the stretch, claiming the 10-point win.

The Utes will return to action when they head to Arizona on Friday, Feb. 15 to take on the Arizona Wildcats. The game will tip off at 6 p.m. MT and will be streamed live on Pac-12.com/Live.