by SEATTLE – Gianna Kneepkens scored 18 points and Alissa Pili added 17 points and a team-high eight rebounds as No. 11 Utah pulled away in the fourth quarter to defeat Washington 61-53 on Sunday afternoon at Alaska Airlines Arena and remain undefeated on the season. Utah (14-0; 3-0 Pac-12) is one of just five remaining unbeaten teams in the nation. Washington fell to 9-4 (1-2 Pac-12).
Utah pulled off its fifth consecutive road win despite enduring its lowest shooting percentage since last year’s Pac-12 championship game against Stanford. Utah shot 35.7-percent today (20-56), including 31.8-percent from three-point range (7-22).
The Utes extended their season-opening winning streak to 14 games, the longest in their Pac-12 era, and second-longest in school history (16-0 in 1997-98),
Kneepkens scored the Utes’ first nine points of the fourth quarter, including two three-pointers, contributing to a turnaround that saw Utah ultimately turn a 38-37 deficit at the quarter break into a 51-44 lead it would not relinquish. Washington cut it to four points on several occasions, but Utah turned up the defensive pressure and clamped down on the boards.
The rebounding battle ended even at 36-36, but the Huskies, who led by as many seven points in the third quarter, made their hay down low, outscoring Utah 44-24 in the paint.
The Utes made just three of their first nine shots of the game and trailed 13-7 late in the first quarter before mounting a 6-0 run to end the quarter tied 13-13. Pili poured in six first-quarter points to lead the Utes in what was their lowest-scoring first quarter of the season, and tied for its lowest-scoring quarter overall this year.
Utah led just 27-25 at halftime, after putting up its lowest-scoring half of the season, behind the 33 scored in the first half against Ole Miss on Nov. 23. Pili scored nine first-half points to pace the Utes, who shot just 40 percent (10-25), including 2-for-10 from three-point range, after missing their first eight three-point attempts.
Washington came out of the halftime break firing on all cylinders, using a 9-0 run to take a 34-27 lead before Kneepkens drained a three-pointer, her second of the game, to stop the run and cut the deficit to 34-30 at the 6:34 mark of the third period, and keep Utah within striking distance, setting the stage for its fourth-quarter surge to maintain its unblemished record..
