The No. 20 University of Utah women’s basketball team, coming off of two massive top ten wins, continued the Pac-12 gauntlet this past weekend. The Utes traveled northwest, taking down Oregon 58-48 on Friday. This win marked the 1,000th win for the program. They then faced No. 18 Oregon State on Sunday, but the Beavers got a 91-66 victory.
Oregon
Utah first went to Eugene to take on a struggling Oregon Ducks team. This game was a slugfest. The Utes, who have had a mostly consistent offense this season, struggled to find a rhythm. Oregon opened the game on an 8-0 run. Utah didn’t get on the board until over four minutes in, when Kennady McQueen scored to break the ice. The Utes only made two more shots in the quarter, both coming from Maty Wilke. After the Ducks nailed a three to end the first quarter, they led 13-7.
The second quarter saw a lot of the same. Utah again went scoreless for the first four minutes of the period. It was a mix of shots not falling as well as turning the ball over. Oregon built their lead up to 21-7, before Wilke drilled her second three-pointer to get the Utes back on the board. The shots finally started to fall after that. Inês Vieira and Jenna Johnson nailed back to back threes moments later, but the Ducks maintained their lead into halftime, leading 29-21 at the break.
Things finally started to click for the Utes in the third quarter. McQueen missed a layup but was able to tap the rebound out to Alissa Pili at the three point line. Pili swung it over to Dasia Young, who calmly nailed the three-pointer for the first points of the half. Johnson found McQueen in the corner on the next possession, who made another three-pointer to cut the lead to just two. The Utes finally took the lead a few minutes later, with another three from Wilke. Immediately afterwards, Vieira stole the ball and scored in transition. This was all part of a dominant 12-0 run that saw the Utes go from down four to up eight. Utah ended up scoring 22 in the third quarter, more than they did in the entire first half, and led 43-36 going into the fourth.
Oregon never really recovered from that third quarter run. Pili scored the first points of the fourth quarter on a mid range shot that hit nothing but net. It was all Pili in the final period, who scored Utah’s first twelve points in the fourth. These points were crucial, as Oregon got within three points in the final minutes. The Utes however were able to hold them off and secure a tough 58-48 victory.
Pili finished the game with 16 points and 8 rebounds. Young and Johnson joined her in double figures, with Johnson also recording a double double. She finished the game with ten points and ten rebounds.
Oregon State
The second game of the weekend did not go as favorably for the Utes. They went to Corvallis to take on the #18 Oregon State Beavers, who started off hot and stayed hot for the majority of the game.
The Beavers took a quick 2-0 lead, but then Pili matched with a bucket in the paint. Johnson hit a three a few possessions later to give Utah the lead. It was a back and forth first quarter, but Oregon State slowly built up a lead. They went on a 7-2 run in the final 90 seconds of the first and ended the period with a 28-19 lead.
That’s when things started to get out of hand. The Beavers started the second quarter on a 6-0 run, but Pili was able to hit a three to start the scoring for Utah. After Vieira scored, she found Young open for a three-pointer that cut the lead to 34-27. Oregon State responded with ten unanswered points of their own, and finished the second quarter on a 15-5 run. The Utes went into the locker room down a commanding 32-49.
The Beavers put it away in the third quarter, scoring seven straight points to begin the second half, making it a 22-5 run going back to the first half. Pili once again scored the first bucket in the quarter for the Utes at the 6:23 mark, but this quarter was dominated by Oregon State. Utah could not find an answer on defense, and the Beavers poured it on. The lead grew all the way to 27 before Sam Crispe and Isabel Palmer were able to score some baskets. The Beavers simply could not miss, and despite a nice basket from Pili to end the quarter, Oregon State led 78-42 going into the fourth.
Although the game was out of reach, Utah was able to put together a much better performance in the fourth quarter, which will hopefully build back some momentum moving forward. Pili got a couple of scores in the paint, then Wilke hit back-to-back threes. Utah closed the game on a 9-0 run, but it was too little too late. Oregon State ended up winning by the score of 91-66 run.
It was a sizzling shooting performance for the Beavers, who shot 69.4% from the field and 65% from three. Pili was able to score 28 points on 13/28 shooting from the field. Young and Wilke scored in double figures as well.
The Utes will look to put the loss behind them as they continue their tour through the Pacific Northwest. They have a similar slate this weekend, with a trip to Seattle to take on Washington on Friday night. They then will go to Pullman on Sunday to play Washington State.
