The University of Utah women’s basketball team traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada this week for the annual Pac-12 Tournament. As the No. 6 seed, they knocked out Arizona State on Wednesday before losing to UCLA on Thursday.
The Utes opened the tournament on Wednesday night against the No. 11 Arizona State Sun Devils. The Utes got off to a sloppy start, as turnovers prevented the Utes from finding an offensive rhythm early. Arizona State also did a great job converting with their offense. They won the opening tip and hit a 3-pointer on their first possession, but Maty Wilke responded with a three off of an Alissa Pili offensive rebound. ASU slowly built up a 9-3 lead over the next few minutes before Inês Vieira scored to end the run. The teams went back and forth throughout the rest of the first quarter, but Utah closed out the period on an 8-3 run. This cut the Arizona State lead to just 17-15 at the end of one.
Utah took their first lead of the game early in the second quarter on another Wilke 3-pointer. Arizona State briefly jumped back ahead, but the Utes went on an 8-0 run over the next couple of minutes, with four of those points coming from Vieira. After the two teams traded baskets, a Lani White 3-pointer extended Utah’s lead to 34-28 at halftime.
Pili only scored four points in the first half, but she came alive in the second half, helping keep Utah’s lead steady. After the Sun Devils scored the first basket of the third quarter, Utah responded with a Vieira free throw and a Kennady McQueen 3-point play. Arizona State eventually cut it to 40-38, but a 9-2 Utah run built the lead back up to 49-40. Pili scored five of those nine points. After Pili scored another basket, she got a defensive rebound and threw it ahead to Vieira, who hit a buzzer-beater from a few steps beyond half court. This brought tons of energy into MGM Grand Garden Arena and extended Utah’s lead to 54-45 heading into the final quarter.
The lead stayed pretty steady from there. Jenna Johnson scored Utah’s first basket of the fourth quarter, followed by a shot from Pili. She then hit a three a couple of minutes later to extend Utah’s lead to 63-49 with seven minutes left, and that’s when the game started to feel comfortable. Pili scored a couple more times, along with a Johnson basket and a pair of McQueen free throws, finishing off Utah’s 71-60 victory.
Pili led the team in scoring with 20 points on 8/12 shooting along with 11 rebounds. Vieira was pivotal as well, putting up 18 points on 7/12 shooting with the deep third quarter buzzer beater. McQueen and Wilke scored in double figures as well. The Utes won despite only shooting 27% from three, but they shot 45% overall and an efficient 93% from the free throw line.
The win allowed Utah to move on and face the No. 3 UCLA Bruins on Thursday evening. The game was physical right from the start, as the first quarter was largely dominated by defense. UCLA scored first, but Utah took the lead on a 3-pointer from McQueen. McQueen’s second three made it 10-6 Utes a couple of minutes later. The Bruins took the lead late in the first quarter, but a basket from Pili made it 14-12 UCLA at the end of one.
Dasia Young scored to tie the game early in the second quarter. UCLA jumped ahead a minute later, but Johnson responded with a layup to even the score. Then, the Bruins started to build their lead. A 7-0 UCLA run made it 23-16 with about six minutes to go in the half. Pili scored to end the run, then Vieira hit a three to cut it to three. The Utes and Bruins traded baskets for the rest of the half, and UCLA went to halftime up 32-27.
It was a slow start to the second half. Utah played great defense, but the shots weren’t falling on the other end. UCLA opened the scoring a little more than two and a half minutes in, followed by a McQueen basket. The two teams kept going back and forth throughout the third quarter. Utah would score and UCLA would match, and vice versa. Vieira and Pili hit back-to-back threes to cut the deficit to 43-38, but UCLA responded and finished the third quarter with a 49-41 lead.
It was much the same in the fourth quarter. The Utes just weren’t able to make up the ground on the Bruins. Wilke nailed a three to open the period, but UCLA quickly responded with a jumper. They then hit back-to-back threes to go up 57-44 with about seven minutes left, and things started to feel bleak. McQueen hit a three and Vieira followed with a layup to cut it to eight, but once again the Bruins responded with six straight points and held a 14-point advantage with two minutes left. The Utes scored a few more times, but it was too little too late. UCLA won 67-57 and advanced to Friday night’s semifinals.
It felt like everyone for the Utes had a bit of an off night, at least on offense. Pili led the team with 16 points. McQueen, Vieira, and White also scored in double figures, but everyone shot below 50% from the field. Utah was held to just 35% shooting from the field and 30% from three. On the bright side, the Utes were able to limit the turnovers on Thursday, recording just eight as a team.
The Utes now head home to Salt Lake to await their bid in the NCAA Tournament.
