SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Despite having 17 points each from Brenna Chase and Paisley Johnson, BYU women’s basketball fell to the University of Utah 78-67 in the Deseret First Duel Saturday.

BYU vs. Utah Final Box Score

"We played well for most of the game. We just had a moment in there where we let them get easy baskets and second chances," BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. "We need to get better at competing hard, we need to rebound better and not give teams easy shots."

Brenna Chase and Paisley Johnson led the Cougars with 17 points each, and Shaylee Gonzales contributed 11 points and five assists. Sara Hamson led the charge down low with five rebounds and four blocks.

Utah got out to a 10-4 lead early, but a 3-pointer from Chase and a series of fast-break points tied the game at 12 with 3:30 left in the first quarter. The Cougars then took their first lead, 14-12, off a Gonzales jumper. The Utes kept it close and held BYU without a field goal in the final two minutes to take an 18-16 lead after one quarter.

Utah opened to a 26-20 lead in the second quarter, but Chase’s second 3-pointer of the night capped off a comeback to bring the Cougars back within one, 28-27. Hamson got on the board with a layup to give BYU the lead, 31-30, with 1:27 left in the half. A quick Utah run gave the Utes the lead, 34-31, heading into the break.

Despite the Cougars shooting over 50 percent from the field in the first half, the Utes were able to control the paint with an advantage in rebounds and second-chance points to lead at the half. Johnson led the Cougars with nine points on 4 of 5 shooting in the first half.

Johnson reached double digits early in the second half off a layup to give her 11 points. Utah hit a trio of 3-pointers midway through the third quarter, but Chase responded with a three for BYU to keep it within five, 50-45, with 3:40 left. Gonzales also reached double digits in the third quarter with a layup in the final minutes. The Utes went on a 7-0 run late in the quarter to take their first double-digit lead, 58-47, heading into the final period.

Utah opened the fourth quarter on a 7-2 run to take a commanding 16-point lead, 65-49, with 8:35 left in the game. Chase hit a layup to end the Utah run and put her in double digits with 11 points. Caitlyn Alldredge then hit her first 3-pointer of the season to bring BYU within 12, 69-57, with 5:20 left.

Chase went on a personal 6-0 run, including her fourth 3-pointer to bring BYU within eight, 71-63, and get her to 17 points on the night. A 3-pointer from the Utes with under a minute to go brought the lead back up to 13, however, and all but sealed the rivalry win.

BYU returns to the Marriott Center for its first home game in over a month, taking on Colorado State University Saturday, Dec. 15 at 2 p.m. MST. The game will be broadcast live on BYUtv.

Postgame Notes at Utah (Saturday, Dec. 8, 2018)

Team

• BYU is now 6-3 on the season after the road loss at Utah.
• The Cougars shot 45.0 percent from the field, 29.4 percent from 3-point range and 72.7 percent from the free-throw line.
• For the third time on the year, three players for the Cougars finished with double-digit points. Brenna Chase (17), Paisley Johnson (17), Shaylee Gonzales (11).
• In the game, the Cougars recorded 16 points from Utah turnovers while the Utes collected eight points from BYU miscues.
• The BYU bench contributed 11 points in the road contest. The Utes got eight points from their bench.

Player

• Sara Hamson led the way in blocks in the first half of play with two. She finished the game with a team-best four blocks along with a team-best five rebounds and tallied four points.
• Sophomore guard Paisley Johnson led the Cougars in points with nine heading into halftime.  She picked up her eighth game with double-digit points, tying for a team-high 17.
• Freshman Shaylee Gonzales had eight points, two assists and one steal at the break. She finished the game with her ninth-straight double-figure performance with 11 points, a team-best five assists along with two steals.
• Junior Brenna Chase went 2 of 4 from behind the arc for her six points in the first half. She went 4 of 8 from 3-point range and tied for team highs in points with 17 for her seventh game with at least 10 points.

PROVO, Utah— Playing its sixth-straight road game, BYU (6-2) women’s basketball travels north to Salt Lake City for a game against in-state rival Utah (7-0).

The Cougars and Utes play in the Deseret First Duel matchup, Saturday, Dec. 8, at 7 p.m. MST. from the Huntsman Center. The game will be carried on the Pac-12 Network.

BYU at Utah Game Notes

ABOUT BYU

• The Cougars have had at least two players score in double figures in all but one game, at UVU, where just one player put up double-digit points; in four games they had four players finish with double digits
• BYU is putting up 68.0 points per game while shooting 40.9 percent from the field, 30.1 percent from the 3-point line and 71.0 percent when shooting from the free throw line.
• Freshman Shaylee Gonzales leads the team in scoring with a 16.9 average. Junior Brenna Chase is next with 12.9 points with teammate Paisley Johnson contributing 12.6 points.
• Junior forward Shalae Salmon tops the leaderboard in the rebounds category pulling down 6.8 boards a game. Chase tops the stat sheet in two categories. In assists, she averages 4.8 per contest and in steals, she gets 2.9 per game.
• BYU was selected to finish third in the West Coast Conference preseason poll. Brenna Chase and the reigning defensive player of the year, Sara Hamson, made the WCC preseason team.
• The Cougars have played two common opponents so far this year. Both beat Eastern Washington and UVU.

ABOUT UTAH

• The University of Utah has compiled a 7-0 record to date, playing just two road games - at Nevada and at Eastern Washington.
• Utah returns five letterwinners and three starters from last year’s team that went 18-14, 8-10.
• The Utes score 81.6 points, pull down 41.0 rebounds, shoot 48.5 percent from the field, 37.4 percent from behind the arc and 82.3 percent from the free throw line.
• Similar to the Cougars, Utah has three players that are chipping in double digits in points. Senior Megan Huff leads the way with nearly 20 points, 19.6 a game. Another senior,  Daneesha Provo follows with 14.0 points. Freshman Dre'Una Edwards rounds out the scoring with 11.9 points. Huff also tops the list in rebounds with a 9.5 average and she ties for the most blocks on the team with 1.7 a contest. Provo and Edwards are tied for the most steals with 17 each.
• Utah was selected to finish eighth in the 2018-19 Pac-12 preseason poll. The Utes finished in eighth place last season and advanced to the second round of the WNIT.

UP NEXT FOR BYU

For the first time in nearly a month, BYU women’s basketball is back home in the comfort of the Marriott Center. The Cougars host Colorado State on Saturday, Dec. 15, at 2 p.m. MST. The game will be carried live on BYUtv and online at byutv.org.