Utah fell to BYU 86-74 in a women’s basketball game on Saturday afternoon in Salt Lake City. The loss moves Utah’s season record to 17-11 overall and 8-8 in Big 12 conference play.
Senior Lani White led the Utes with 20 points. Reese Ross contributed 11 points and collected a game-high nine rebounds, while Grace Foster added 10 points.
The game began with BYU hitting an early three-pointer, but Utah responded with an 8-2 run that included five points from Ross. Lani White then scored a corner three-pointer, giving Utah a brief lead at 10-7. The first quarter ended with BYU ahead, 19-16.
In the second quarter, BYU went on a 10-0 run and held Utah scoreless for four minutes. Despite some late defensive efforts by Utah, BYU maintained its lead at halftime, going into the break up 36-29.
After halftime, BYU continued its momentum by scoring nine unanswered points and extended their control of the game to take a 56-41 lead entering the fourth quarter.
Utah made an effort early in the fourth quarter with a 7-0 run that cut the deficit to nine points. However, BYU held on for the win as Utah was unable to overcome the gap before time expired.
Utah had three players score in double figures: Lani White (20), Reese Ross (11), and Grace Foster (10). Ross also led with seven rebounds and had three assists. Chyra Evans added three assists as well.
BYU outshot Utah from the field at 53.7% compared to Utah’s 33.3%. From beyond the arc, Utah made eight of its twenty-eight attempts (28.6%), while BYU converted eleven of twenty-four (45.8%). At the free throw line, Utah shot better than BYU—87.5% versus BYU’s 70.8%.
Both teams finished with thirteen assists each; however, Utah outrebounded BYU by one board, finishing with thirty-four rebounds to thirty-three for BYU.
Next up for Utah is their final road trip of the regular season against Colorado on Tuesday, February 24th. The Utes will then return home to face Arizona in their last home game of the regular season at Huntsman Center.
Fans can follow along during the rest of the season on social media channels: Twitter (@UtahWBB), Instagram (@UtahWBB), and Facebook (Facebook.com/UtahWBB).
