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- Utah women's basketball team defeated Cincinnati 92-65 with 16 3-pointers.
- Gianna Kneepkens led Utah with 25 points, while Kennady McQueen scored 17 points.
- Utah remains in contention for a top-four seed in the Big 12 Tournament.
CINCINNATI — With a chance to remain in contention for a top-four seed in next week's Big 12 Tournament, the Utah women's basketball team wasted little time showcasing its shooting prowess on the road Sunday afternoon.
Kennady McQueen hit a 3-pointer just 30 seconds into the game, which jumpstarted a 9-2 Utah run against Cincinnati and the Utes were off and running. Gianna Kneepkens led Utah with 10 first-quarter points, which included two 3-pointers, and Utah rolled to a 26-10 lead to end the first quarter.
That early momentum propelled Utah to a 92-65 win over Cincinnati to keep the Utes two games back from first place and in a tie with Oklahoma State in fourth.
"Winning on the road is always difficult, so you have to enjoy it," Utah head coach Gavin Petersen said. "I don't care who it is, there's always adversity that comes up. I was proud that we were able to come together and respond after the Oklahoma State loss and put that behind us. It was good to get off to a good start on this road trip before we head to Morgantown to take on West Virginia."
Utah (21-6, 2-4 Big 12) finished the matinee game with a 16 made 3-pointers on 50% shooting from behind the arc to overwhelm a Cincinnati (15-1, 7-9 Big 12) team unable to contend with the hot shooting.
Kneepkens led the charge for the Utes with six made 3-pointers en route to a team-high 25 points, four rebounds and three assists. McQueen, who broke the all-time Utah record for most games played (139) as a Utes player, was close behind with 17 points — including five made 3-pointers — and four assists.
Maye Toure added 14 points and six rebounds, while Maty Wilke contributed 13 points, which included four made 3-pointers, four rebounds and three assists off the bench to round out Utah's top scorers.
As a team, Utah assisted on 26 of its 34 made baskets, while shooting 51% from the field.
The Bearcats, who attempted to rally in the two middle quarters — including outscoring Utah 25-21 in the third quarter — had two players finish in double-digit scoring while shooting 44% from the field as a team.
Tineya Hylton led Cincinnati with 16 points and three rebounds, while A'riel Jackson added 12 points, five rebounds and four assists.
The Bearcats struggled to hit shots at a consistent rate against Utah's defense, which limited the home team to just three made 3-pointers on 30% shooting.
Utah continued to build on its score in the second quarter, adding to its lead, but came out of the halftime break in a bit of a fight with Cincinnati. But the fight was short-lived as Utah jumped on Cincinnati in the final quarter.
The Utes made five 3-pointers in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter to jump to a 25-point lead and ended all hopes of a Cincinnati comeback that already felt hopeless.
Utah has two more games — a road game against West Virginia and a home game against BYU — this week to finish out the regular season before entering postseason play.
