The University of Utah women’s basketball team put on quite a performance Wednesday night in a 105-56 dismantling of the Lipscomb Bison. The Utes set a program record with 19 three-pointers made en route to scoring the third most points in a single game in program history and most since 1984. 

Facing the Xavier Musketeers (0-1) for the second time ever, the Utes played their second of four consecutive home games to begin the 2021-22 season. 

Xavier came into the Jon M. Huntsman Center on the heels of a 20-point road loss to the Memphis Tigers and are looking to right the ship after a 5-10 finish last year. 

Xavier Musketeers: 71, Utah Utes: 106

Not even Athos, Porthos and Aramis themselves, the original three Musketeers, could have helped Xavier overcome another hot shooting game from the Utes on Saturday afternoon. 

Shooting better than 52% from the field and 41% from beyond the arc, Utah once again broke the century mark en route to scoring the third most single-game points in program history for the second time this season. 

In another first for Utah during the Lynne Roberts era, they finished with three 20-point scorers as Brynna Maxwell and Jenna Johnson each scored 21 and Kennady McQueen added 20 of her own. 

”We’re sharing it well, and I love it,” Roberts said. “We only had four turnovers in the last five minutes of the game, and when we were taking care of the ball, we ended up shooting it well. I was pleased with the intensity and hustle. I loved seeing Kennady dive for the ball at the end of the second half when we were up big. I thought Jenna was fantastic today — 9-of-13 shooting and seven rebounds, certainly a breakout game for her. We need to work on our fouls, but other than that, I’m really happy with our effort.”

After missing the first game of the season due to injury maintenance, Peyton McFarland and Kemery Martín made their season debuts and each had a little rust to knock off.

“Kemery had the knee injection and had to sit out 12 weeks. It didn’t look like she was playing at full speed, but that’s understandable,” Roberts said. “I thought Peyton was super aggressive. She was crashing the boards and flying around. It’s easier to dial down than dial up. It was nice to have those two back.”

“I felt really good,” McFarland said. “I was nervous because I might be out of shape, but it felt good to be back out there.”  

By the Numbers

In the win, the Utes 106 points is the third-most points in a single game in program history. 105 and 106 points respectively in each of the Utes first two games marks the first time Utah has scored 100 or more points in back-to-back games since the 1978-79 season and is only the second time in program history that they have scored 100 in back-to-back games. 

With seven assists, Dru Gylten moved up to 8th all-time on the Utah career assists list, passing Reggie White.

Coming Up

The Utes host the Saint Mary’s Gaels on Tuesday night with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m. MST. This is the third of four consecutive home games to begin the season for Utah. The game can be streamed here and can also be found on ESPN700.

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