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BERKELEY, Calif. - The eighth-ranked Utah Utes established momentum early and captured an 87-62 win over Cal on Sunday afternoon at Haas Pavilion.
Utah has advanced to 16-2 overall on the season and 6-2 in the Pac-12, while Cal drops to 10-9 overall and 1-7 in Pac-12 play.
It didn't take the Utes long to control the pace of the game by going on a 12-2 run to propel them to a 21-11 lead at the end of the first quarter. Cal hung tight in the second quarter only allowing the Utes to outscore them 18-17 but the Utes still held a 39-28 lead at halftime.
Utah shot 70 percent from the three point line in the first half of action, going 7-10. Utah quickly established dominance in the third quarter by going on an early 9-2 run. The Utes outscored Cal 30-19 in the third quarter, their biggest quarter of the game to go ahead 69-47 entering the fourth.
Utah continued to push in the final frame, and with one minute remaining Dasia Young drained a three-pointer to give the Utes their largest lead of the game of 27. Utah ended up capturing the win with a final score of 87-62, the most points scored by the Utes in a Pac-12 game this season.
LEADERS
Utah was led by Gianna Kneepkens who recorded a career high and her first career double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Alissa Pili also put up 20 points for the Utes. Jenna Johnson added 15 points and had the game high with five assists.
COMPARISON
Utah doubled Cal's in-the-paint efforts 44-22. The Utes also outrebounded the Bears 41-27.
Turnovers were evenly matched, with both teams recording 14.
Utah excelled in second-chance points, outscoring Cal 16-1.
Utah ended the game shooting 53 percent from the field, 47 percent from beyond the arc, the second-highest three percentage on the season, and 66 percent from the line. Cal finished the game shooting 40 percent from the field, 33 from the three and 58 from the line.
TALKING ABOUT THE GAME - HEAD COACH LYNNE ROBERTS:
"I thought we played well. I think it was a must-win for us to stay in the hunt for the championship. Cal has been so close in so many games, so I was nervous coming into this one, just how we would respond after such an emotional loss at Stanford, where we played hard. But I thought we answered the bell and did a really nice job. We didn't have Kennady McQueen (in the starting lineup), and she's our starting two guard. She played a couple minutes in the first half, but I thought our bench stepped up. Lani White did a nice job, and Dasia Young in her first start was really effective. They were locked into the game plan. I thought we had a comfortable lead but kind of had the knockout punch there in the third quarter."
STANDOUT STATS
Utah shot better than 50% for the 12th time this season (53%). The Utes made 11 three-pointers (23 att.), bringing their season total to nine games, exactly half, this season making eight or more three-pointers in a game. In Roberts' eight seasons as head coach it's the 95th time Utah has hit eight or more threes in a game, going 69-26 in such games.
The Utes' 87 points are the most scored in a Pac-12 road game with Roberts at the helm.
Today's game was Utah's 12th this season scoring 80 or more points, all Utah victories, and the 14th time in the last 22 games, dating back to the 2021-22 season. The Utes are now 52-5 when reaching the 80-point mark in Roberts' tenure.
The double-double by Kneepkens (20/10) was the first of her career, and the fourth this season by a Utah player (first since Nov. 23; Jenna Johnson vs. Ole Miss).
21 сен 2024
