SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Lauren Gustin and Kailey Woolston each scored 17 points as BYU women’s basketball fell to No. 12 Utah 87-68 at the Huntsman Center on Saturday night.
The Cougars shot 43.8 percent from the field, 37.5 percent from behind the arc and went 6-for-eight from the free throw line. The Utes offense was too potent, however as Utah made 17 three-pointers en route to the 19-point win.
Lauren Gustin and Kailey Woolston each finished with 17 points to lead the Cougars in scoring, shooting a combined 15-of-24 from the field. Gustin notched her nation-leading sixth double-double of the year, the 62nd of her career, with 13 rebounds, while also dishing three assists and registering a block and a steal. Woolston finished 7-of-10 from the floor, going 1-for-2 from deep and a perfect 2-for-2 from the line.
Emma Calvert was the third Cougar to finish in double figures as she scored 12 points on 6-of-13 shooting with four rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal.
BYU won the battle of the boards 34-32, registering 10 offensive rebounds to Utah’s four. They also led in points in the paint 40-26, bench points 18-11, second-chance points 9-6 and shot a higher free throw percentage at 75-73 percent.
First Quarter
Utah opened the scoring with a corner three before Gustin got BYU on the board with a nifty up-and-under to score off the glass. The Utes scored seven of the next nine points to take a six-point lead just 3:24 into the game.
Another post score from Gustin and scoop-and-score from Kailey Woolston cut the lead to four before Utah rattled off 10-straight points to take a 14-point advantage with 2:52 left in the first. Gustin again settled the Cougars down followed by a much-needed kick-out three from Lauren Davenport to cut the deficit to nine.
After the Utes again pushed the lead to 12, four-straight points from Woolston including a baseline jumper and a perfect trip to the charity stripe cut the lead to eight before a buzzer-beating jumper retook a 12-point advantage at the end of one.
Second Quarter
BYU scored the first three points of the second to draw within seven with a free throw from Smiler and a hook shot off-the-glass from Calvert after which Utah immediately pushed the lead back to 11.
After an Amari Whiting step-back triple, the Utes three-point barrage resumed with three of their next four possessions ending in made three-pointers to open a 17-point lead with 4:52 left in the half. Following an offensive board, Calvert found Woolston for a kick-out triple, followed by a backdoor to keep the Cougars within 16.
Utah hit back-to-back triples to take a 22-point lead, but a last-second layup from Calvert cut the deficit to 20 at the break, 52-32.
Third Quarter
After Falatea and Wolston traded buckets with the Utes, consecutive scores from Whiting and Woolston sparked a seven-point Cougar run over the next 2:13, capped by a kick-out three from Davenport to cut the Utah lead to 14 with 6:20 left in the third quarter.
Following a media timeout, Gustin found Calvert on a backdoor cut to draw within 12. The Utes buried back-to-back threes to retake an 18-point advantage. BYU was held scoreless over the final 2:21 of the third and trailed 70-51 headed to the final ten minutes.
Fourth Quarter
After a Ute layup, Gustin and Falatea scored five-straight to cut the once 21-point lead to 16 with 7:59 to play. BYU and Utah traded baskets over the final eight minutes with the Utes leading by as many as 24, but four-straight from Gustin and a late score from Woolston trimmed the deficit to 19. Utah won the game 87-68.
The Cougars will return to the Marriott Center on Tuesday, Dec. 5 for a date with the Utah State Aggies at 3 p.m. MT. The game will be streamed live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with Spencer Linton and Kristen Kozlowski on the call. BYU Radio will also carry the game on 102.9 FM, byuradio.org and the BYU Radio App with play-by-play from Jason Shepherd.