On Saturday afternoon, the Utah Women’s Basketball Team secured a massive win in enemy territory as they headed down to Provo to take on Brigham Young University. Gianna Kneepkens had a career-high night with 32 points just days after her 30-point performance vs. Kansas last week. The Utes won 81-76.
First Half
The Utes’ first basket didn’t come until three minutes into the game with a jumper by Mayè Tourè. Tourè started the game with back-to-back baskets to put the Utes on the board as both teams struggled offensively. Kneepkens drained a three a bit later in the game to give the Utes some momentum and secured two more points at the free-throw line. Towards the end of the first quarter, Ines Viera scored a driving layup, cutting the early BYU lead to just five. Tourè ended the quarter draining back-to-back mid-range jump shots, but the Cougars quickly answered, taking a 21-15 lead into the second quarter of action.
The second quarter started with free throws for the Utes, followed by another BYU three to push the Cougar lead to seven. Fortunately for the Utes, a jumper by Jenna Johnson, two deep threes by Kneepkens, and another three-pointer by Kennedy McQueen highlighted a quick 11-point run that saw the Utes take back the lead, 28-27. BYU didn’t go down without a fight, however, as the two rival schools exchanged baskets down the stretch of the first half with the Utes taking a 37-35 lead into halftime thanks to a layup from Kneepkens late in the second quarter.
Second Half
Tourè started the first half strong, and that continued in the second as a 3-pointer to open up the third quarter followed by back-to-back long-range shots from Kneepkens gave the Utes a 4-point advantage with 5:58 remaining in the quarter. Despite Utah’s hot shooting, BYU hung around throughout the rest of the third quarter as the Utes carried a slight 54-55 lead heading into the final quarter of play.
To start the fourth quarter, a quick layup by Johnson followed by a Matyson Wilke 3-point bomb gave Utah yet another 4-point advantage. As the Utes began to tighten up defensively, the offensive side of the ball started to see some fireworks as back-to-back threes from Tourè and Kneepkins, followed by a Reese Ross layup, gave Utah their biggest lead of the game, 68-59, with just 3:20 remaining. Down the stretch of the fourth quarter, BYU attempted to mount a comeback, but stellar free throw shooting from Kneepkens and Vieira helped close this game out as the Utes took down the Cougars, 81-76.
Upcoming
The Utes will take on Arizona at home in the John M. Huntsman Center this Friday, Jan. 31 at 6:30 p.m. MST.
