Utah relies on its strengths to roll past Cincinnati
The Utah women's basketball team will head into the final week of the regular season with some momentum after picking up a 92-65 road victory at Cincinnati on Sunday.
The Utes built a 16-point lead through one quarter at Fifth Third Arena and led by as many as 30 points to roll to their seventh win in their past eight games, while bouncing back from a four-point loss at home against No. 24 Oklahoma State.
Utah coach Gavin Petersen said his team responded well after the rare loss in the back half of the Big 12 schedule.
'Good road win. Like I've always said, winning on the road is hard, so you've got to enjoy it,' he told reporters after the game.
Utah attacking the paint opened up 3-point possibilities. The Utes got Maye Toure going early, as she made 4 of 5 field goals and had eight points in the first quarter to lead Utah to a 16-0 edge in points in the paint through one period.
The Utes ended up owning a 36-16 advantage in the paint by game's end. They also outrebounded the Bearcats 34-28 and had an 18-11 edge in second-chance points.
That, in turn, helped open up 3-point range, and Utah went 16 of 32 from beyond the arc.
Utah had three players make four or more 3-pointers — Gianna Kneepkens made 6 of 10, Kennady McQueen hit 5 of 8 and Maty Wilke was 4 of 7, including 3 of 3 in the second quarter.
The Utes finished strong from 3-point range, making 6 of 9 in the fourth. That was paced by good ball movement, a hallmark of the Utah offense.
The Utes ended up with 26 assists on 34 made buckets.
'The ball was moving exceptionally well, and when that happens, we get open shots,' Petersen said.
It was a strong start again for Utah, but did they finish strong? Utah has had several games in Big 12 play wherein it got out to solid starts, particularly against teams it was the favorite over.
That happened again against Cincinnati, as Utah shot 64.7% from the field and led 26-10 after one quarter.
The Utes have also been prone to take their foot off the gas at times and let teams battle back. Cincinnati had a solid spurt in the third quarter and was able to cut the Utah lead to 12, but the Utes responded.
Utah, which had a double-digit lead over the last three-plus quarters, shot 62.5% in the fourth quarter and 50.7% for the game in rolling to their sixth road win during league play.
Utah's star power delivered again. The veteran Utes had several standout efforts across the board. They were paced by Kneepkens, who had a game-high 25 points to go along with four rebounds and three assists while shooting 9 of 14 from the floor.
'I think it has to do a lot with how well we were moving the ball,' Kneepkens said of her solid offensive day. 'When you move the ball, it's hard because the defense has to communicate on screens and the extra pass, so that probably helped a little bit.'
McQueen added 17 points, four assists and two rebounds, while Wilke splashed in 13 points, four rebounds and three assists.
Utah also had a pair of front court players toss in double-figure efforts. Toure had 14 points and a team-high six rebounds along with two blocks, while Reese Ross came off the bench and added 12 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals.
McQueen set the Utah program record by playing in her 139th career game Sunday.
'I've loved playing with Kenn, and it's sad it's coming to an end here, but she's someone I look up to and the fact she is very, very tough. People say that a lot about her, but I get to see it every day,' Kneepkens said.
Tineya Hilton scored 16 points and added three rebounds and two steals to lead the Bearcats.
Utah (21-6, 12-4 Big 12) kicks off the final week of the regular season with a game at No. 17 West Virginia on Wednesday (5 p.m. MST, ESPN+).
The Mountaineers (21-6, 11-5 Big 12) lost 71-50 at No. 10 TCU on Sunday.
Following the road trip to West Virginia, the Utes will host BYU in the regular-season finale on Saturday (1:30 p.m. MST, ESPN+).
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