Utah women erase halftime deficit to beat Colorado on the road in penultimate game

BOULDER, Colo. — Facing a 5-point halftime deficit on the road to Colorado, and foul trouble to three of its starters in the first half, the Utah women used a strong third quarter to turn the tide of the game.

Utah outscored Colorado 23-15 in the third quarter and held onto a 1-point lead going into the final 10 minutes of action. With the help of a pair of 3-pointers by Maty Wilke and Grace Foster to start the quarter, Utah build up a 7-point lead en route to a 67-64 victory over the Buffaloes on their home court.

It was a much-needed win for a Utah (18-11, 9-8 Big 12) team on a two-game skid going into its final road contest of the regular season.

Though a win, Utah had to fight to the bitter end to secure the victory. With 2:45 left to play, Colorado's Desiree Wooten drained a 3-pointer to make it a 1-point game before the two team went scoreless over the next two minutes.

Lani White finally got a second-chance layup to fall for Utah with 33 seconds left to play to reclaim a 3-point lead. Both teams traded a pair of free-throw makes before Colorado (20-9, 11-6 Big 12) made it a 1-point game again with two more made free throws.

Colorado opted to foul Wilke with five seconds left to play, but the senior guard missed the first attempt and drained the second. It was a glimmer of hope for the Buffaloes, who immediately called their final timeout to advance the ball to halfcourt.

But the ensuing inbounded pass slipped through the hands of the Colorado players, and Utah's Chyra Evans quickly recovered the ball before being fouled. Evans missed the first free throw but made the second to give Utah some cushion for the final 1.7 seconds.

With no timeouts remaining, Colorado was forced to go the full length of the court. But the final heave at midcourt went long and Utah held on to claim a win on the road.

White led all scores with 21 points, including three made 3-pointers, and four rebounds in the win, while Reese Ross was the only Utah player in double figures with 10 points and seven rebounds before fouling out with 4:40 left to play.

Starting guard LA Sneed only played 12 minutes due to three first-half fouls that limited playing time, but drained two pivotal free throws with 21 seconds left in the game to maintain Utah's 3-point lead.

Colorado, who coming into the game had a two-game bye going into next week's Big 12 Tournament before Tuesday's result, had three players finish in double figures, with Wooten coming off the bench for 16 points, five rebounds and two assists.

Starters Zyanna Walker and Jade Masogayo each added with 10 points apiece, though on a combined 8-of-24 shooting. In all, Colorado shot just 34% from the field and got much of its scoring (34 points) from its bench.

Utah returns home for its final game of the season Saturday (5 p.m. MST, ESPN+) against Arizona before next week's Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City, Missouri.

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