(6) Utah vs (11) Arizona State | 2024 Pac-12 Tournament: First Round | 3.6.24

LAS VEGAS - March 6th, 2024
The No. 6 seeded Utah Utes took down the No. 11 seeded Arizona State Sun Devils 71-60 in the opening round of the Pac-12 Tournament.
Utah's 14-2 run in the second quarter propelled the Utes to a four-point lead at the half. Utah's third quarter brought some spark to the Utes. Kennady McQueen drew an and one for her 1,000th career point that helped spark the Utes. Ines Vieira ended the third quarter with a made bucket from beyond half court shot at the buzzer. With huge momentum from the buzzer beater the Utes pushed ahead in the final quarter of play to pull out the 71-60 victory.
Utah is now 22-9 overall on the season and are set to play the No. 3 seed UCLA Thursday, March 7 at 9:30 p.m. (MT).
GAME SUMMARY
Arizona State had a strong start over the Utes jumping to an 11-5 lead early in the first. The Utes were able to chip away at the deficit but still trailed 17-15 going into the second quarter.
Utah found a groove and ran with it in the second quarter going on a 14-2 run to take an eight point lead. The Utes ended the first half with a made three by Lani White that helped keep the lead going into the halftime break with a 34-30 score.
Consistency was key for the Utes in the third quarter. With 7:40 on the clock, Kennady McQueen drove to the hoop for a layup and drew the foul for a bonus free throw attempt, which she made. McQueen's layup marked her 1,000th career point. Both teams went back and forth in the third but Alissa Pili and Ines Vieira were able to execute key free throws to help the Utes maintain the edge over ASU. With 0.03 seconds on the clock, Vieira launched a deep shot from far beyond half court that sunk as the backboard lit up with red to change the energy for Utah going into the final quarter of play.
ASU tried to keep the score deficit in single digits in the fourth quarter but Utah answered every attack. As the final buzzer sounded Utah walked away with the 71-60 win over ASU to advance to the quarterfinal round of the Pac-12 Tournament.
LEADERS
Utah had four Utes score in double figures and were led by Alissa Pili who had her fifth double-double of the season with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Ines Vieira posted 18 points and played all 40 minutes for the Utes. Kennady McQueen posted 11 points going 7-7 from the free throw line for a career-high in free throws made. Matyson Wilke was the final Ute to post double figures with an even 10.
Pili and Wilke led the Utes with four assists each. Wilke also had three steals for the Utes.
COMPARISON
Utah ended the game shooting 45.6 percent from the field while Arizona State shot 40.4. Utah knocked down six from beyond the arc for 27.3 percent while the Sun Devils hit four from deep for 26.7 percent. Utah shot an impressive 92.9 percent from the free throw line going 13-14 while ASU shot 66.7 percent going 10-15.
Utah pulled down 39 rebounds to Arizona State's 26. Utah posted 40 points in the paint to ASU's 26.
HEAR FROM THE UTES
Head Coach Lynne Roberts
Opening statements
"I want to give credit to Arizona State. They came to compete and they played really hard. They definitely didn't make it easy on us. The first half we were kind of sputtering. We weren't executing offensively and had too many turnovers. We have to clean that up and fast. Teams never make it easy on Alissa [Pili] but she rebounded with authority tonight which was huge for us defensively. She was double teamed and put up 20 points despite it being physical. Ines [Vieira] is the engine that makes us go and even with two fouls for 18 minutes in the first half I trust her. We move on now. We have UCLA next and the last time we played them we did not play well. I am looking forward to playing better tomorrow night."
On Ines Vieira 's half court shot . . .
"Those are momentum shots. We do a shooting drill in practice where they have to hit a half court shot. I don't think she's hit one all year but she saved it for today. It was a big momentum play and drew our fans back into the game. It's nice to go into a timeout with momentum."

[@amariemakes]

I have really enjoyed watching Vieira play this year.

[@WomensBasketballAlliance]

Lightening strikes with each step she takes! So fast 💨

[@raylouison7571]

Portuguese legend like Ticha Penicheiro.