Although the Utah Utes were down to only seven players in uniform for a Pac-12 women’s basketball contest against Washington State on Sunday, the home team still had a reliable one-two punch from what was left.
And the Utes needed it.
The inside scoring from senior Megan Huff and the outside offensive pop from junior guard Kiana Moore led the way as Utah knocked off the Cougars 75-67 at the Huntsman Center.
"I thought Huff was great down the stretch, she hit some key baskets - got some key rebounds," Utah coach Lynne Roberts said. "And Kiana Moore obviously shot the ball great."
Moore finished with a game-high 26 points while Huff had 25 points while gathering 12 rebounds as the Utes kept their NCAA Tournament hopes alive.
Utah (20-7, 9-7), which has won its last two games after dropping six in a row, held a 13-point lead in the third quarter after a 14-4 run. But Washington State (9-18, 4-12), led by Borislava Hristova (22 points), chipped away at that lead and got the deficit down to one — 66-65 — with 3:16 left in the game.
UTAH 75, WASHINGTON STATE 67
• Utah, down to only seven players, got 26 points from Kiana Moore and 25 more from Megan Huff in the win.
• A 13-point third quarter lead was reduced to one before the Utes grabbed control for good in the last three minutes.
• After losing six in a row, Utah has now won its last two games.
However, Utah’ freshman post player Andrea Torres scored a layup after a zipped pass from Dru Gylten and, with 1:25 remaining, Torres hit a clutch 3-pointer from the corner for a 71-65 lead. The Utes were never threatened again.
While Moore and Huff had the lion's share of offensive activity for Utah, the Utes also got critical contributions from the bench in building up their double-digit lead after halftime.
Trailing 39-38 in the third quarter, Utah jumped in front on a Moore 3-pointer, which was followed by a basket in the paint by Huff.
Then came the first scoring contributions from Sarah Porter and Niyah Becker. Though ill leading up to the game, Becker hit a pair of free throws and Porter swished a long-range shot as Utah eventually worked its way to a 56-43 advantage.
"We are down to seven [players]. And Niyah Becker's been vomiting the last 24 hours — an hour before the game throwing up," Roberts said. "She didn't have her best game, but we needed her to play and she showed some guts — no pun intended."
Utah suffered another injury setback in Friday’s home win against Washington when frosh Dre’una Edwards went down. She did not play on Sunday.
Though the Utes had a limited number of players, foul trouble was not an issue until Torres got her fourth personal in the final quarter. Utah managed to go through the entire first period without having a foul called against them.
The Utes finish the regular season with a road trip to UCLA and USC this coming weekend. With a possible at-large bid to the NCAA tourney still in play, it was not lost on Huff and company how important it was to get to the 20-win plateau.
"That's a big thing. That's a key factor for getting into the NCAA tournament — and that's one of our goals," Huff said.
“It doesn’t matter what league you’re in, what level you play, in college basketball if you get 20 wins, it’s a sign of a great season,” Roberts added.
