SALT LAKE CITY – The University of Utah women’s basketball took down Gardner-Webb 103-77 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Friday night.
Utah’s 103 points is the most scored by the Utes in an NCAA Tournament game. Utah now boasts a 26-4 overall record on the season. Utah will advance to the Second Round where they will take on No. 10 Princeton Sunday, March 19 at 5 p.m.
Early in the first quarter, Utah captured the momentum going on an 11-2 run. The Utes persisted and pushed on for a 9-0 run to end the first quarter to take a 27-14. Utah continued to control the pace of the game in the first half pushing their lead to as much as 18 points. Going into the halftime break, the Utes had a 49-34 lead.
Gardner-Webb found some momentum in the third quarter by cutting the lead to eight. The Utes refocused to push out for a 76-61 score going into the final quarter. Utah didn’t let off the gas in the fourth quarter. The Utes outscored the Bulldogs 27-16 and pushed out for a 29 point lead in the final minute. With the final buzzer Utah came away with a 103-77 win to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
LEADERS
Utah had fourUtes score in double figures and were led by Alissa Pili who had a career high of 33 points. She went 12-17 from the field and 9-11 from the line. Pili also had eight rebounds and a career high of eight assists.
Jenna Johnson had 20 points with 10 of those coming in the first quarter. Gianna Kneepkens added 17 points for Utah and had the game high rebounds of nine. Lani White ended the game with 10 points going 4-4 from the field including 2-2 from the three.
COMPARISON
Utah ended the game shooting 59 percent from the field, 44 percent from beyond the arc, and 79 percent from the free throw line.
GWU shot 41 percent from the field, 32 percent from the three and 82 percent from the free throw line.
Utah dominated the paint outscoring Gardner-Webb 60-26. Utah pulled down 44 boards to 30.
STAND OUT STATS
Utah’s 103 points were its most in an NCAA tournament game.
Pili’s 33 points are the most by a Utah player in an NCAA tournament game since Kim Smith scored 35 in a 73-64 First-Round win over DePaul on March 23, 2003, as a No. 8 seed in Raleigh, N.C.
Utah hosted an NCAA tournament game at the Huntsman Center for the…
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