The Utes swept Big Ten Northwestern 91-66 at the Huntsman Center on Sunday, avenging a loss to the Wildcats in a non-conference game last season.
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This time, Utah pulled away in the second and third quarters after a tight first quarter.
Team getting into shape ahead of Big 12 game
The Utes have taken some time to find a rhythm with a new group that does not include former Ute greats like Gianna Kneepkens, Jenna Johnson, Kennady McQueen and Ines Vieira.
In the win over Northwestern, senior guard Lani White continued to solidify her position as someone the Utes will rely on this season as they attempt to make a fifth straight NCAA tournament appearance.
After going 5-for-5 on 3-pointers last week in a win over Boise State, White improved on that performance and was a perfect 7-for-7 on 3-pointers against Northwestern, including 4-for-4 in the third quarter when Utah outscored Northwestern 32-13.
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White scored a career-high 26 points and added seven rebounds and three assists, while junior forward Reese Ross added a season-high 20 points, eight rebounds and two assists.
The Utes followed their veterans to victory, including a tough 11-point, five-rebound, four-assist day from Maty Wilke, who is playing with a shoulder injury.
Utah shot an astonishing 76.5% in the third quarter, made 53.8% of its shots in the game and had 24 assists against its powerful conference opponent.
The Utes made 13 3-pointers, a staple of their recent run of success in the Petersen and Lynne Roberts era, while holding Northwestern to two 3-pointers.
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It all led to a dominant victory over a Wildcats team that brought a 6-3 record to Salt Lake City.
Utah endured some early adversity and thrived
As good as things went in the final two quarters for Utah (the Utes outscored Northwestern 45-30 in the second half), the home team had to fight a tight contest from the start.
The Wildcats led by as many as five points in the first quarter, thanks to 14 first-quarter points from Grace Sullivan, and were up 24-23 after one quarter.
Northwestern even had it in a 34-34 game with just over three minutes left in the second quarter, before Utah began to pull away.
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The Utes outscored the Wildcats 12-2 to end the second quarter and entered the half up 46-36, then extended that to a 38-8 run by scoring 26 of the first 32 points of the third to go up 72-42.
It was more than enough to annihilate the Wildcats, who were led by 21 points from Sullivan.
What it means for Utah
The Utes (8-3) have won by an average of 24.6 points per game during their five-game winning streak, besting Weber State, Montana, Colorado State, Boise State and Northwestern in that stretch.
Utah will finish the non-conference portion of its schedule with a home game this Wednesday (7 p.m. MST) against UC Riverside, which is 2-7 on the season.
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Utah is just eight days away from the start of Big 12 play, with a Dec. 22 game at Arizona before the Christmas break.
The Utes will then host undefeated Arizona State on December 31 in the team’s conference home opener.
Coming off a three-game losing streak earlier this year against three teams currently projected as NCAA Tournament teams in Washington, Syracuse and defending national champion UConn, the Utes have responded well and begun to show the type of efficiency Utah fans have been familiar with in recent years.
Can young players like LA Sneed, Avery Hjelmstad and Evelina Otto continue to develop as the conference season progresses?
There is one more opportunity to further that development before Big 12 play arrives.