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Utes Make History in Road Victory as Part of Pac-12/SWAC Legacy Series

by Utah Athletics
Dec 1, 2022

ITTA BENA, Miss. – The nation's second-highest scoring team topped the century mark for the second time this season Thursday, as Utah's women's basketball team earned a 109-42 victory over Mississippi Valley State in the Pac-12/SWAC Legacy Series. The 67-point differential was the largest margin of victory for the Utes in a road game in program history.
 
Junior forward Alissa Pili led the Utes with 28 points on 12-of-16 shooting, and added six rebounds, two steals and an assist. She was joined in double figures by four other teammates, among 11 total Utes to score in the game.
 
After a sluggish start, the Utes turned up the heat on the Devilettes, beginning to hit from the floor and locking down on defense to produce turnovers. That effort resulted in a dominant 24-0 run from 2:56 of the first quarter until 4:59 of the second quarter, a span of 7:57 without a point for MVSU. After seven minutes of action, Utah led just 7-5 before finding their rhythm at both ends of the floor.
 
Utah shot just 38.9 percent in the first quarter, but improved to 50 percent in the second and 65.2 percent in the third, and finished the game at 53.9 percent on 41-of-76 shooting. The Utes won the rebounding battle 50-31 and assisted on 22-of-41 made baskets. True to its style of play, 107 of Utah's 109 points were scored from either the paint, from three, or from the free-throw line.
 
Nine Utah players scored in the first half, led by Pili with 10 points, and Isabel Palmer with eight points off the bench, as the Utes took a 44-14 lead to the locker room at the half. Utah began the second half with an 8-0 run to stretch its lead to 52-14 and never looked back.
 
The student-athletes, coaches and staff will embark on the educational component of the Pac-12/Legacy Series on Friday, with a planned visit to the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, before flying back to Salt Lake City on Saturday.
 
The Pac-12/SWAC Legacy Series, an educational and basketball scheduling partnership between the two collegiate athletics conferences, brought the Utes to the Mississippi Delta to play the Devilettes for the first time in program history. The Legacy Series is the first-of-its-kind pact between Autonomy 5 and HBCU leagues that aims to create both a forum for competition, as well as promotion and education around issues of anti-racism and social justice. The Utah and Mississippi Valley State teams joined one another for their pregame meal in the cafeteria on the MVSU campus Thursday afternoon.

 
GAME LEADERS
Alissa Pili led all players with 28 points, while Kelsey Rees paced the Utes on the boards, pulling down eight caroms. Gianna Kneepkens' three three-pointers (on five attempts) were a game high, as five Utah players hit three-pointers. Ines Viera had a game-high five assists, while Isabel Palmer had a game-high six steals, contributing to a 29-11 advantage in turnovers for the Utes.
 
TALKING ABOUT THE GAME: HEAD COACH LYNNE ROBERTS
On Alissa Pili's performance
"Her efficiency is unbelievable. To shoot 12-16 in 16 minutes, that's just incredible efficiency. We're putting her in the right spots to be successful, and she is doing what she does. She's not trying to do too much. She's just playing at such a high level right now. The first half we didn't shoot it great. We shot it well in the second half. When you have someone who can be so efficient inside it really makes a difference.
On the Pac-12/SWAC Legacy Series
"I'm grateful for this experience, and I'm grateful for our administration, to be able to extend our trip an extra day so we can do some cultural things in Memphis tomorrow. The chance to interact and personalize, we got to know the Mississippi Valley State coaches and players. It just makes it much more humanizing, and a perspective change that's healthy. I think that's what it's about. Like I said (at the team meal), we're all from different places with different experiences, but basketball is the common thread. It's a really cool series, and we're very grateful to be a part of it."
 
STANDOUT STAT
Alissa Pili, the nation's sixth-most accurate shooter, who came into the game shooting 68.1% for the season, shot 12-of-16 from the floor in just 16 minutes, en route to a season-high 28 points.

 
UP NEXT
Utah will have its longest break between games this season before returning to action on Saturday, Dec. 10 at BYU. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. MT. Tyson Ewing and Milee Enger will have the call of the contest on ESPN700. Live Stats can be found at UtahUtes.com.
 
Follow the Utes!
Fans can follow along during the 2022-23 season on social media (Twitter: @UtahWBB | Instagram: @UtahWBB | Facebook: Facebook.com/UtahWBB).
 

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