Yet another Utah opponent found itself wishing Ute coach Elaine Elliott had never gone to her bench.
Freshman center Lauren Beckman, whose 19-point effort led Utah against 15th-ranked Colorado State on Thursday, came off the bench to pace Utah to a 67-50 win over previously unbeaten Saint Mary's College Saturday in the Huntsman Center.Beckman led the Ute scorers for a second straight game, this time hitting 5 of 6 field goal attempts and scoring 13 points. She also had five rebounds, four blocks, an assist and a steal in the victory, which improved Utah's record to 4-2. In the last two games, the 6-2 rookie from Elko, Nev., has connected on 12 of 15 field goal shots, averaging 16 points and five rebounds.
Utah trailed just once in the game, 2-0, but didn't begin to pull away from the Gaels until starting center Kristi Rose made a layup with 5:19 remaining in the first half to give the Utes a 21-14 lead. After freshman Lindsay Herbert sank a 3-pointer at 2:56 to put the Utes up by 12, they never lost their double digit cushion. St. Mary's managed just 18 points in the first half. Kristina Andersen (11 points) was Utah's only starter in double figures. Amy Ewert came off the bench to score 10 points.
SANTA CLARA 76, BYU 64: Despite a slim three-point half-time lead, BYU's women's basketball team could not sustain their advantage and dropped a 76-64 decision to Santa Clara, Saturday.
The loss puts the Cougars' record at 3-4 on the season.
"We played one hundred percent better today than two nights ago. Santa Clara is a nice team. In the second half, they (Broncos) got a 10 point lead and sustained it and kept matching us down the stretch," said BYU coach Trent Shippen.
At intermission, the Cougars had a 38-35 advantage and a one-point lead with 14 minutes left in the game. Down the stretch BYU kept their hopes alive down by eight 68-60, with just under two minutes left in the game.
(12) COLORADO ST. 72, WEBER ST. 57: Becky Hammon scored 32 points, including four three-pointers, to lead No. 12 Colorado State to a 72-57 win over Weber State Saturday night in Ogden.
SUU 87, OAKLAND 78: Junior center Melissa Hines led for Thunderbirds in double figures as Southern Utah's women's basketball team defeated Oakland University, 87-78, in Mid-Continent Conference action Saturday night in Cedar City.