Utah WBB Makes History With OT Win Over #2 UCLA

The Utah women pulled off a historic feat with a crucial win against powerhouse UCLA.

The historic Huntsman Center was home to some heavy-hitting Pac-12 action and the Utes didn't disappoint, besting the Bruins in overtime 94-81 making the victory the highest-ranked win in Utah history. 

History in the Huntsman tonight #goutes pic.twitter.com/ucFxS7bysZ

— Utah Women’s Basketball (@UTAHWBB) January 23, 2024

Going into the matchup against USC on January, 19th, the Utah women had yet to beat a ranked opponent after four tries. After bucking the trend with a home win over the 6th-ranked Trojans 78-58, the Utes have seemingly found their stride now with two straight wins against high-ranked conference opponents. 

Kennady McQueen led the way in points and rebounds as she posted a season-high 21 points going a perfect 6/6 from the line and 6/11 from the field while also grabbing 9 boards, 8 of them on the defensive end of the court. Meanwhile, Ines Vieira dished out 5 assists in the win which led the team. McQueen had help in the scoring department as Vieira, Dasia Young, Alissa Pili, and Matyson Wilke all put up numbers in the double-digits. 

For the Bruins, Gabriela Jaquez finished as the top scorer going 7/9 from the line and 6/10 from the field for 21 points. Kiki Rice led the team in rebounds with 7 and Londynn Jones was UCLA's top dime-disher with 3. 

The Utes outscored the Bruins 22-9 in the overtime period signifying a determined team effort that the box score backs up. This historic win caps off a successful four-game homestand as the team won three of the four matchups. The 16th-ranked Utes now sit with a 14-5 overall record and a 4-3 conference record, 2 games behind Stanford and Colorado. Next up, the Utes will travel to Eugene, Oregon to face the rival Ducks on January 26th at Matthew Knight Arena.