UCLA Women's Basketball: Bruins Suffer Second Loss of Season in Crushing Overtime Defeat at Utah
The Bruins were upset by Utah in a 94-81 overtime clash on Monday evening. Utah controlled the flow of the game for much of the evening until the Bruins came back in thrilling fashion during the fourth quarter to take the lead. UCLA's Camryn Brown hit the two-pointer -- on her birthday -- that gave the Bruins their first lead in the fourth quarter, but unfortunately for UCLA, the game was far from over.
With less than two seconds left in the fourth, Utah tied the game at 72 thanks to the shot from Ines Vieira, forcing overtime between the two Pac-12 rivals.
In overtime, Utah took control again and ended up winning 91-84 as UCLA was unable to keep up in the final minutes. The occasion was especially momentous for Utah, who beat the highest-ranked team in school history.
The No. 16 Utes have now earned the right to rise in the rankings after three consecutive wins, including their last two over USC and UCLA.
Utah put in one of their best -- if not the best -- games of the season as they took down the Bruins. The Utes did a great job shooting, even with 2023 Pac-12 Player of the Year Alissa Pili being held scoreless through the beginning of the game. Utah's ability to hit threes and consistently score helped separate them for much of the game before they ultimately won in overtime.
Meanwhile, UCLA was unable to make some of their normal shots, which proved costly in this game. The Bruins put up their highest point total versus conference opponents this season but still had plenty of missed opportunities. UCLA's top scorer in this game was Gabriela Jaquez, who put up 21 points and six rebounds. Kiki Rice finished second with 16 points, seven rebounds and two assists.
This is just the second loss of the season for the Bruins, and their second over the last two games. After UCLA beat Colorado to move back up to No. 2 in the AP Top 2 rankings, they sustained another loss.
The loss not only hurts UCLA in the overall NCAA rankings but in the Pac-12. UCLA will drop to 4-2 in conference play, while 14-5 Utah moves to 4-3.
The good news for UCLA is they will return home for their next two games against Washington and Washington State. This loss to Utah was part of UCLA's three-game road stretch against three ranked opponents, so hopefully coming back home will help UCLA get back on track.