Despite three girls in double figure points, Cougar women fall to Utah 78-67 in Deseret First Duel

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.