BYU beats Utah 60-56 in Deseret First Duel

SALT LAKE CITY – Morgan Bailey’s double-double led BYU women’s basketball to a 60-56 victory over Utah in the Huntsman Center on Saturday.

“I thought it was great for us to come in, buckle down and execute," BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. "I'm proud of us. I have to give Utah credit, they never quit. They came back fighting. But this team knows how to win in different ways. No matter where these two teams are, it is always a great game. We knew we didn’t play our best basketball tonight, and to come out here with a win is a great feeling.”

With the win over Utah, BYU picks up three points in the Deseret First Duel. 

Bailey scored a game-high 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Cougars. Kylie Maeda scored a career-high 16 points and dished out five assists. Lexi Eaton added 13 points in the winning-effort over the Utes.

Utah (4-5) started off the game with a 5-2 lead after a 3-pointer from Danielle Rodriguez, but BYU (7-3) answered back. The Cougars went on a 7-0 run that included a wide-open three from Eaton to take the 16-8 lead with 14:02 left in the first half.

Turnovers by the Cougars gave the Utes room to come back in the game. Seven points in a row from Nakia Arquette reduced BYU’s lead to just two, 21-19 with 7:52 remaining in the first half. Both teams traded points, with the Cougars holding onto the lead despite runs from the Utes.

BYU went on a 4-0 run to end the half before Utah’s Tanaeya Boclair hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to end the half. The Cougars went into the locker room with the 32-29 lead. Bailey led BYU with eight points and seven rebounds after playing all 20 minutes of the first half.

Utah began the second half with a 4-0 run to take the lead, but Eaton answered with a shot from beyond the arc to take back the lead, 35-33 with 18:15 left in the game. Bailey made a left-handed hook shot to push the Cougars’ lead. A trey from Maeda capped off a 5-0 run to go up 45-39 with 11:47 remaining.

Two 3-pointers in a row from Paige Crozon tied up the game at 47 all, but a bucket in the post from Bailey took back the lead with 8:00 left in the game. The two teams traded points, keeping the game close down to the wire.

Ashley Garfield made a huge jump shot with one second left on the shot clock, but Taryn Wicijowski, who led Utah with 15 points and 13 rebounds, answered with a layup. Maeda drilled a three to push BYU’s lead to 58-54 with 2:10 left in the game. BYU came up big in the last minute with a defensive stop. Maeda was fouled with less than a second left and made both free throws to seal the 60-56 win against Utah.

BYU is off until Dec. 22 when it will travel to Logan to take on Utah State at 7 p.m. MST. The game will be broadcast live on BYU Radio – Sirius XM 143.

Postgame Notes

Team

BYU took its first lead of the game with 17:07 showing on the clock after a layup by Morgan Bailey. The Cougars led the rest of the first half by as many as nine with 11:29 remaining before the break. BYU took a three-point, 32-29 lead into the locker room.

With the win over the Utes, the Cougar women extend their win streak to four-straight games. The win at the Huntsman Center snapped Utah’s four-game home win streak.

The Cougars grabbed 26 rebounds in the game and dished out 12 assists, one more than the Utes. BYU has now recorded more assists than its opponents in all games to date.

Player

Kylie Maeda recorded a new career-high in points with 16 against Utah. She also tied for team-bests in assists with five.

Makenzi Morrison and Morgan Bailey led the BYU effort in the first half of action with eight points each.  Bailey had also pulled down seven rebounds. With 16:37 on the clock, Bailey’s tip-in gave her 10 points recording her ninth double-digit outing in points on the year. She ended the contest with a game-high 18 points and with 10 rebounds tallied her third double-double of the season.

Ashley Garfield dished out five assists in the game tying for team-bests in that category.

With 17:29 left in the game Lexi Eaton made her second 3-pointer of the game and picked up her eighth straight double figure outing in points with 10. She finished the game with 13 along with two rebounds, one assist and one steal.