Utah Women’s Basketball Drops To No. 8 Colorado Following Late Run
Dec 30, 2023, 3:03 PM | Updated: Jan 2, 2024, 2:05 pm
BOULDER, Colo. – The No. 12 Utah Women’s Basketball team fell to the No. 8 Colorado Buffaloes, 76-65, on the road to open Pac-12 play.
Utah led by eight early in the fourth but a late run from the Buffaloes shocked the Lady Utes.
The game was the 43rd all-time matchup between Colorado and Utah. The Buffaloes took the advantage in the series, winning their 22nd game.
Final Score:
Utah – 65
Colorado – 76#goutes pic.twitter.com/jxJQSFZDBE— Utah Women’s Basketball (@UTAHWBB) December 30, 2023
First Half
The first quarter saw a lot of defense from both sides. Five minutes into the game, the score was tied at 6.
Alissa Pili kept the Utes in the game as Colorado looked to build a lead at home.
Pili scored 10 of Utah’s first 19 points.
Lethal@alissa_pili #GoUtes
🎥Pac-12 Network
📺 https://t.co/rXbdznrYiI pic.twitter.com/Hkdo4cM8eC— Utah Women’s Basketball (@UTAHWBB) December 30, 2023
The first quarter ended with Colorado up one, 16-15.
The second quarter was just as back-and-forth as the first was.
Colorado and Utah were tied five separate times in the second quarter.
Neither side could build much momentum without the other team quickly responding.
In the first half, both Utah and Colorado had one player carry the offensive load. Jaylyn Sherrod led the Buffaloes with 15 points. Pili led all scorers with 17.
🔴🔴⚫⚫
Utah – 33
Colorado – 33#goutes pic.twitter.com/rYRRAGLDIy— Utah Women’s Basketball (@UTAHWBB) December 30, 2023
The first half came to an end in a tie, 33-33.
Second Half
The Buffaloes came out of halftime on fire.
They jumped out to a 7-point lead after just three minutes.
Utah responded with a 10-0 run to take their first lead of the second half.
Jenna Johnson stepped u for the Utes as the third quarter came to a close. Back-to-back easy looks at the rim put Utah up three going into the fourth.
🔴🔴🔴⚫
Utah – 54
Colorado – 51#goutes pic.twitter.com/FszEKVZRIw— Utah Women’s Basketball (@UTAHWBB) December 30, 2023
The Utes expanded their lead to eight early in the final quarter.
With the home fans behind them, Colorado went on a 12-0 run and quickly built up momentum.
With six minutes left, the Buffaloes tied the game at 61.
But, the run didnt stop there. Utah went on to get outscored 25-11 in the fourth.
The Colorado Buffaloes took care of business at home and defeated the Utah Utes, 76-65, behind a dominant fourth quarter.
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Chandler Holt is a co-host for the Jazz Notes podcast and a Digital Sports Producer for KSLSports.com, specializing in all things basketball and football. Follow Chandler on Twitter @ChandlerHoltKSL or on Threads @chandlerho1t.