Gylten Picks Up 500th Assist As Utes Hang On To Win In Overtime
Feb 13, 2022, 4:24 PM
Dru Gylten #10 of the Utah Utes brings the ball up the court against the Oregon Ducks during the Pac-12 Conference women’s basketball tournament quarterfinals at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on March 6, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Ducks defeated the Utes 79-59. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – Gianna Kneepkens scored the final seven points and got a block down the stretch as Utah won their sixth in seven games, besting Cal in overtime 80-75.
Utah traveled to Berkley, CA where they faced the Cal Bears at Haas Pavilion on Sunday, February 13.
Winners of five of their previous six, the Utes had made a habit of getting off to fast starts, building early leads and forcing opponents to play catch-up. Cal wasn’t having any of that as they jumped out to an 11-0 lead before Utah could get on the board thanks to a Maka Jackson three.
.@makajackson1 gets the Utes on the board!
💻 https://t.co/JtYtFsUuRU#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/UPo9AWIvnt
— Utah Basketball (@UTAHWBB) February 13, 2022
The Utes shot 0-5 and had three turnovers during the 11-0 Cal run.
Cal finished the first quarter with a 22-11 lead. They shot 64.3 percent from the field and had six assists on nine made field goals.
In the second quarter, Dru Gylten got her 500th career assist on a Dasia Young layup. Gylten is just the fifth Ute to hit the 500 assist mark in program history.
5️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐑 𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐒. @druu_marykayy becomes just the 5th player in Utah Women’s Basketball history to reach this milestone.
Congrats Dru! pic.twitter.com/0XBzf3Czmo
— Utah Basketball (@UTAHWBB) February 13, 2022
Utah completely flipped the script to begin the second, scoring the first 19 points and opening up a 30-22 lead.
A Leilani McIntosh three gave Cal their first points of the period with 4:07 left.
The Utes would go on to outscore Cal 24-8 in the quarter, heading into the break with a 35-30 lead.
Utah turned the basketball over six times in the first five minutes of the second half, allowing Cal to take a brief 44-42 lead.
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Cal went cold to close the third, scoring one field goal over the final 4:08. Utah went on an 11-3 run to enter the final period up 53-48.
After Cal scored the first six points of the fourth, taking a 54.53 lead. Utah scored 10 of the next 14, highlighted by a three from Kennady McQueen.
💥 @KennadyMcqueen for 👌!
💻 https://t.co/JtYtFsUuRU#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/kfTFGUgXa4
— Utah Basketball (@UTAHWBB) February 13, 2022
Neither team gained any advantage in the final four minutes as they went to overtime knotted up at 68.
With the Bears leading 75-73, Kneepkens knocked down a three and followed it up with a block on the defensive end. Possibly the two biggest plays of the game for the Utes.
Kneepkens iced the game with four straight free throws, finishing with a game high 21 points. She scored the final seven points in overtime for Utah.
💥 @giannakneepkens from downtown!
💻 https://t.co/JtYtFsUuRU#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/AMTRtxgdBM
— Utah Basketball (@UTAHWBB) February 13, 2022
Kennady McQueen scored 18 points and Dasia Young came off the bench to score 13.
Cal had four players score in double figures, led by Dalayah Daniels’ 17.
The win moves Utah into sole possession of sixth place in the Pac-12, just two games behind the UCLA Bruins.
Utah remains on the road next week as they will face the USC Trojans on Friday, February 18 at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, CA. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. (MDT).
