by SALT LAKE CITY – The Jon M. Huntsman Center crowd held their breath as Dasia Young drove to the hoop with just three seconds left in the game. The No. 22 Utah Utes were trailing by just one as Young laid the ball up, bouncing it off the back of the rim and in as the buzzer sounded ensuring a Ute win. The Utes rushed the court as the crowd went wild and Utah women’s basketball picked up its third Top 25 upset win this season, downing No. 8 Colorado 77-76 Friday night.
Utah had a dominant lead for the majority of the game until Colorado made an 8-0 run in the final minute to take its first lead of the game. Ines Vieira drained a pair of free throws to give Utah the lead back and despite the Buffs answering with a made layup, Utah pulled out the win thanks to Young’s attack in the final seconds.
Utah is now 19-7 overall on the season and 9-5 in Pac-12 play.
GAME SUMMARY
Utah started the game with a made three pointer by Alissa Pili that helped the Utes jump out to an early 7-2 lead. Utah then went on a 12-3 run and held Colorado scoreless for over three minutes. The Utes had a 23-14 lead and the momentum as the first quarter ended.
Utah continued the charge in the second quarter by holding the Buffs to just 10 points in the 10 minutes of play. Utah pushed out for a 17-point lead with just under a minute left in the half. Colorado was able to sink a jumper in the paint with five seconds left but Utah still had a 39-24 lead at the half.
Colorado ended up outscoring Utah in both quarters in the second half but the Utes held on. Late in the third quarter Colorado went on an 8-0 run in just one minute of play. Daisa Young broke the drought with a layup and Ines Vieira followed it up hitting her first pair of free throws in the game. Utah was able to get a stop on the next possession and sent Kennady McQueen down court for a fast break three. McQueen’s three gave Utah a 62-50 lead going into the final quarter of play.
The Buffs slowly chipped away at the Utes’ 12-point lead in those final 10 minutes. With just under two minutes the Buffs went on an 8-0 run to take the lead for the first time in the game with just 19 seconds left. Utah trailed 74-73 when Vieira stepped up to the line sinking her second pair of free throws to give Utah a 75-74 lead.
With eight seconds on the clock, Colorado hit a layup to give them the one point edge. With the basketball in her hands, Young didn’t hesitate as she attacked the hoop, laying it up and in as the clock struck zero and the crowd of nearly 6,000 fans erupted.
Despite Colorado cutting an 18-point score deficit in the second half Utah pulled out the 77-76 victory.
LEADERS
Utah had four Utes score in double figures and were led by Alissa Pili’s 18 points
