How defense set tone for Utah women’s basketball in preseason finale

Led by its veteran players, No. 11 Utah women’s basketball eased through its final nonconference game of the season in an 89-36 win over Weber State on Thursday afternoon at the Huntsman Center.

That set the stage for conference play beginning after Christmas.

Defense leads the way

Utah’s defense kept Weber State from ever getting much rhythm going, particularly during the first half.

While it took a few minutes for the Utes to get some shots falling, they put this one away early by using a 17-0 run in the first quarter to go into the second period with a 22-5 lead.

During that stretch, Jenna Johnson scored eight points as Utah shook off some early shooting struggles before hitting 9 of 11 shots during one stretch. The Wildcats, meanwhile, missed six straight field goals and finished the first quarter with five turnovers.

“Before the game, we were talking a lot about defensively how that gets us going — when we get stops, we can run, and that’s what we love to do,” Johnson said. “It was nice to start so well defensively and have that carry over into our offense.”

Utah extended its lead in the second quarter with a 14-2 run and the Utes led by as many as 31 and 58 in the game against the overmatched Wildcats.

The Utes finished the game shooting 51.5%, while holding Weber State to 26.3%.

Inês Vieira had four of Utah’s nine steals.

“I think we’ve improved defensively. I think our effort has gotten better,” Utah coach Lynne Roberts said. “We had a different system last year defensively, so there was a little bit of a learning curve this year. Our returners and everybody understands it a little bit better.”

Other key takeaways

Stars of the day: Alissa Pili scored 19 points and made 7 of 12 from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers, while adding seven rebounds, five assists, two blocks and a steal.

Fellow vets Kennady McQueen and Johnson also had solid days. McQueen made five 3-pointers, all in the first half, and finished with 17 points, six rebounds, two assists and a steal, while Johnson put up a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds while adding three assists.

“Kennedy and Jenna here are playing at just a really high level, which is what we need, with Gianna (Kneepkens) out,” Roberts said.

Dasia Young scored her 1,000th career point in the third quarter and was Utah’s fourth player in double-figures with 10 points.

Kendra Parra had eight points and three assists to pace Weber State.

Rebounding: The Utes cleaned up on the glass, holding a 47-27 rebounding edge. Utah had a 12-7 advantage in offensive rebounds.

Turnovers: Both teams struggled with turnover issues in the game. Weber State turned it over 18 times, leading to 18 Utah points, while the Wildcats turned 13 turnovers from the Utes into 10 points.

Assists: Utah, one of the nation’s best at sharing the ball, had 24 assists on 34 made field goals, or 70% of its makes. Vieira had nine of those assists to just one turnover, which matched the assist total for Weber State as a team.

What’s next?

The Utes (10-2) have a little over a week off before tipping off Pac-12 play, though it will be a few weeks before they are back in the Huntsman Center.

Utah opens league action at No. 8 Colorado on Dec. 30, then plays at Arizona State (Jan. 5) and Arizona (Jan. 7) the next weekend.

The Utes’ next home will be against No. 9 Stanford on Jan. 12, the first of four straight at the Huntsman Center.