Alissa Pili's game-winning shots give No. 9 Utah comeback win over No. 8 UCLA

SALT LAKE CITY — The odds were stacked against No. 9 Utah women's basketball team late in a game against No. 9 UCLA at the Huntsman Center on Sunday afternoon.

After a back-and-forth first half, Utah controlled a 5-point lead early in the third quarter and looked like it would pull away from UCLA. And then it was as if a lid was put on the basket for the home team.

Utah couldn't get a shot to fall for the final 6:11 of the quarter as UCLA went on a 15-2 run to take its largest lead of the game in a big momentum swing. Utah managed to survive the long scoring drought based on UCLA's penchant for fouling, where the Utes went a perfect 6-of-6 from the line during the stretch.

Dasia Young finally ended Utah's scoring drought with a 3-pointer with 7:43 left in the fourth quarter to cut UCLA's lead to 62-57. But Utah wasn't out of the weeds just yet as UCLA continued to fight back against every Utah attempt.

And with less than a minute left to play in the game, with Utah down by 3 points, Kennady McQueen forced a steal and Alissa Pili made a transition 3-pointer at the top of the key to tie up the game with 33.5 seconds left to play as a raucous Huntsman Center crowd cheered on the effort.

"We had a chance to to call timeout when we got the rebound down three, and we had a little bit of advantage," Utah head coach Lynne Roberts said. "That's where if you recruit good players, as a coach, you can just get out of the way and let them do their thing."

On the other end of the floor, Isabel Palmer played locked down defense and forced a missed layup by Gabriela Jaquez. Utah called a timeout with 20.8 seconds left to play and a chance to win the game. After wasting much of the clock, Pili took the ball at the top of the key and then drove in for what would be a game-winning layup.

Robert said the first option was to go with Gianna Kneepkens on a curl cut with about nine seconds left to play; but if the defenders went with Kneepkens, they'd find a way to get into Pili's hands, who would do the rest. And Pili delivered the way Utah hoped, much like she has all season for the team.

UCLA had 0:00.8 seconds left to get a shot up after a quick timeout, but the shot failed to drop (and likely not before the clock expired anyway) and Utah came away with a 71-69 win at home.

"I'm so proud of our team — just wow," Robert said. "We didn't make that was not easy. I'm tired, and I didn't play."

Pili led all scores with 23 points and nine rebounds, despite the team shooting just 38% from the field for the game. Palmer added 14 points, five assists and three rebounds; and Young added 11 points, which included three made 3-pointers.

Though Utah struggled from the floor, especially in the second half, the team finished strong at the free-throw line, where it made 95% of its 19 shot attempts. Conversely, UCLA struggled from the line and finished 63%, which included several missed opportunities late in the game to give Utah a chance for a comeback.

Emily Bessoir finished with a team-high 17 points and six rebounds, and Kiki Rice added 11 points and five rebounds before she fouled out of the game with 4:28 after a charging call.

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