It felt really good," Vermunt said. "When we execute and move the ball we can get anything we want.
PROVO — The BYU women's basketball team built a crucial second-half cushion, then withstood a final flurry by Utah to earn its eighth straight victory, 63-58, Saturday at the Marriott Center.
Cougar sophomore Stephanie Vermunt nailed a trio of three-pointers over a stretch of five minutes in which BYU outscored the Utes 14-2. The scoring spurt turned a 35-34 tight game into a comfortable 49-36 advantage.
"We had to rest Michelle (Plouffe) sometime," Utah head coach Anthony Levrets said, of his 6-foot-4 forward who led all scorers with 21 points, and also pulled down nine rebounds. "So when we sat her, it was a good move (by BYU) to bring (Vermunt) in and go small. She's a good player and she hit some shots."
BYU head coach Jeff Judkins was proud of Vermunt's performance.
"She was on fire; she played big tonight," he said. "When she's like that, she's instant offense."
Vermunt finished with a team-high 14 points for the Cougars, including a scorching 4-of-4 from behind the three-point arc.
"It felt really good," Vermunt said. "When we execute and move the ball we can get anything we want."
Even with the substantial lead, there was still plenty of time left, and Judkins knew Utah wasn't going to give up.
"Getting a little bubble like that was big, because I knew they would come back," Judkins said.
Levrets agreed that BYU's scoring run was key, and ultimately, something his team couldn't recover from.
"I think we just kind of got stagnant," he said. "We stopped cutting and screening."
That run came in the game's final minute, when Plouffe hit a pair of three-pointers and Iwalani Rodrigues connected on another to make it 62-58 with 14 seconds remaining.
Haley Steed burned some clock with her quickness, and hit one-of-two free throws to seal the win with nine seconds left. Steed came close to posting a triple-double, with 12 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
"My job is to move the ball," she said. "I know that when I have a lot of assists, I had a good game. The maturity of this team showed, because we were able to take care of the ball at the end."
The Cougars did a good job of protecting the ball the entire game, committing just seven turnovers, although Steed felt that the team improved after halftime.
"This is a hard game to play in because it's a rivalry game," Steed said. "We had some jitters in the first half, but I think we played better in the second half."
Vermunt helped BYU to a big advantage in bench points, as the Cougars won that battle 24 to 7.
Dani Peterson contributed 10 points, including going 2-of-2 from three-point range. Kristen Riley had nine points and five rebounds, and Lexi Eaton added eight points.
Utah's Janita Badon had 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while Rodrigues chipped in with nine points.