Women's Basketball Unable To Slow Down No. 9 UCLA, Falling 92-67
LOS ANGELES – Despite a strong second half, the University of Utah Women's Basketball team fell to the No. 9 UCLA Bruins on the road today, 92-67. Utah is 3-7 overall this season and 2-7 in Pac-12 play.
UCLA's high-powered offense proved troublesome for the Utes as the Bruins shot 56-percent overall and 52-percent from the three, also scoring 25 points off turnovers. Utah shot 45-percent from the three, knocking down nine from beyond the arc, but shot just 35-percent overall while committing 15 turnovers.
The Utes found themselves in a hole early with the Bruins shooting 76-percent from the floor and 66-percent from the three in the first quarter. Utah would only make four field goals in the quarter with UCLA heading into the second quarter with a 21-point lead after scoring 14 of their 36 points off turnovers in the first.
Despite out-rebounding the Bruins in the first half, including 6-1 on offensive boards, turnovers would be a big difference as UCLA would only commit two compared to Utah's nine. The Utes continued to struggle to find the basket in the second quarter, shooting just 28-percent from the floor, heading into halftime down 52-28.
The Utes found some momentum in the third quarter, going 3-for-3 on their first shots to make it 54-35, which translated into a 6-0 run to cut it to a 17-point game with 6:27 on the clock. Utah outscored the Bruins in the third quarter, but their field goal with 8:07 remaining would be their last of the period, going 11-for-12 from the free throw line to outscore UCLA 18-16.
Sophomore Kemery Martín scored 13 points in the fourth quarter, shooting 5-for-6 from the floor and a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. The Utes shot 57-percent overall in the fourth, but it wasn't enough to close the gap as UCLA finished with the 25-point victory.
GAME LEADERS
Martín scored a career-high 18 points against the Bruins, shooting 6-of-11 overall and 3-of-4 from the three-point line, also going 3-of-4 from the charity stripe.
Dru Gylten reached double-digits for the third straight game, putting up 13 points, which included a career-high 11-of-14 outing from the free throw line. She added a team-high six assists to her stat line.
Andrea Torres also had a strong game, shooting 3-for-5 from the three for nine points, adding three rebounds, one assist and a steal.
TALKING ABOUT THE GAME: HEAD COACH LYNNE ROBERTS
"We had a horrendous first half because we came out soft and UCLA took it to us. We did a much better job in the second half, but it was just a little too late."
"My message at halftime was that we just needed to toughen up and play with pride. Play for the name on the front of your jersey and not the one on the back. They did a nice job in the second half of doing that."
STANDOUT STATS
- Kemery Martín has eight career games in double-digits, including four this season. Five of her eight career double-digit games have come against top-15 ranked teams.
- Utah has hit 15-or-more free throws in the last three games, including 20+ in two of them. Utah was 20-of-25 from the free throw line today and is 63-of-75 in the last three games (.840).
- Dru Gylten has scored in double-digits in three straight games (10 vs. Washington, 15 at USC, 13 at UCLA). It is the second time in her career that she has reached double-digit scoring in three straight games.
- Sixty-eight percent of Utah's made buckets came off assists today (13 assists, 19 field goals). It is the second straight game the Utes have made 60-percent or higher of their made baskets off assists.
- Utah has knocked down eight-or-more threes in six of its 10 games this season, including its nine today.
UP NEXT
Utah will return to the Jon M. Huntsman Center for a pair of games against the Bay Area schools, starting on Friday, Jan. 15 against the No. 1 Stanford Cardinal at 1:30 p.m. MT. The game is set to air on Pac-12 Networks.