Utah women's basketball to face No. 2 Oregon in Conference Semifinals after routing No. 3 Washington State

Courtesy of a record-setting 29-point first quarter, Utah women's basketball defeated No. 3 Washington State 70-59 to advance to their first-ever Conference Semi-finals against No. 2 Oregon.

After a momentous victory in quarterfinal round of the Pac-12 tournament, the Utah women’s basketball team will be advancing to the semifinals for the first time in the program's history after upsetting No. 3 seeded Washington state 70-59.

The Utes and Cougars had a steady battle at the start of the first quarter, which included several lead changes. However, after claiming a one-point lead, the Utes orchestrated a 15-0 run over the course of roughly five minutes to take a 29-13 advantage. This set a Pac-12 tournament record for most points scored in a single quarter.

Into the second, Kennady McQueen and Gianna Kneepkens hit back-to-back threes, increasing the Utes lead to 38-19. While the Cougars did answer back and cut Utah’s lead to just 13 points, the Utes went on a small run before halftime and reclaimed a 20 point lead going into the locker room.

Washington continued to chip away at the Utah lead, eventually closing the gap to just 12 points. But with a layup by Johnson, combined with four free-throws by Brynna Maxwell and Isabel Palmer, Utah built an insurmountable 59-41 lead to end the third.

Into the fourth and final quarter, it was all Utah as they eventually extended their advantage to 22 points after a layup from Jenna Johnson with ten minutes to go. Unable to keep up, and with a forecast of crimson rain in Las Vegas, Utah shot an impressive 42% from the floor en route to a 70-59 victory.

“I'm incredibly proud of our team. I thought our defense was fantastic. We certainly shot the ball great in the first half and threw the first punch there offensively, but then we hung in there defensively. Washington State made a run in the second half, which we knew they would, but we answered the bell and won it handily. It's a great day to be a Ute," said head coach Lynne Roberts.

In terms of notable contributions, freshman Jenna Johnson continued to dominate the court with 19 points, three rebounds and one block. Brynna Maxwell followed with 11 points and Isabel Palmer had 10.

Utah will continue their impressive postseason performance as they face No. 2 Oregon in the semifinals with a tip-off of 9:30 p.m. MST. The game will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network.

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