LAS VEGAS — Utah freshman guard Brynna Maxwell continues to make Washington pay for letting her get away.
The native of Gig Harbor, Washington, made several clutch 3-pointers in the third quarter and tied fellow freshman Lola Pendande for team-high scoring honors as eighth-seeded Utah took control in the third quarter and downed ninth-seeded Washington 72-63 in a Pac-12 women’s basketball tournament first-round game Thursday afternoon at Mandalay Bay Events Center.
“It’s definitely a different vibe for me, playing against Washington,” Maxwell said. “But it is really fun.”
“It’s definitely a different vibe for me, playing against Washington. But it is really fun.” — Utah freshman Brynna Maxwell
The Utes improved to 14-16, but their reward for getting only their third Pac-12 tournament win in school history is a date with one of the top teams in the country. Utah will meet No. 1 seed Oregon (28-2), ranked third in the AP Top 25 poll, at 3 p.m. MST Friday in a quarterfinal game.
Oregon walloped Utah 88-51 in Eugene and 90-63 in Salt Lake City earlier this season.
“It’s what March Madness is,” said Utah sophomore Dru Gylten, who chipped in 12 points and eight rebounds. “We look at it as an opportunity to play the top team in the country, and we have nothing to lose. … Just bring it on.”
Added Maxwell: “We are going to show the world what Utah is all about.”
Sophomore Andrea Torres added 10 points for Utah as coach Lynne Roberts’ freshmen and sophomores continue to account for almost all of the team’s scoring.
“We just signed a top 20 recruiting class, too,” Roberts said. “It is exciting to think about the future.”
For a lot of Thursday’s game of evenly matched teams, neither squad executed like it wanted that future to include a shot against the Ducks. The Utes finished with 19 turnovers, the Huskies 16.
“The second quarter, we were awful,” Roberts said.
The seesaw game turned in Utah’s favor for good with five minutes remaining in the third quarter when Washington’s leading scorer, Amber Melgoza, went to the bench with her third foul. Melgoza, who averages 17 points per game, finished with 30 points on 9 of 20 shooting.
Utah pounced on the opportunity and went on a 14-0 run, thanks to big baskets by Maxwell, Pendande and Kiana Moore, to get the lead.
The Huskies trimmed what was once a nine-point Utah lead to two early in the fourth quarter, only to see Torres hit a 3-pointer to right the Utes. Gylten and Maxwell followed with buckets, and the Utes led 60-52 with 7:17 remaining.
Pendande scored six straight points inside midway through the fourth to thwart UW’s comeback attempt.
It was Utah’s first Pac-12 tournament win in six years; the Utes downed Washington 65-53 in the first round in Seattle on March 6, 2014.
“It is kind of a monkey off your back,” Roberts said.
The Utes found the rims at the facility on the famed Las Vegas Strip to their liking early in the game, making 3 of 5 3-point attempts in the first quarter. They powered their way to a 16-8 lead on Pendande’s putback basket midway through the first quarter and led 21-17 after one period.
But Washington, and Melgoza in particular, found its groove in the second quarter. The two-time All-Pac-12 player scored six straight points to fuel a 10-0 run — Haley Van Dyke and Mai-Loni Henson added 3-pointers — and Washington surged ahead.
Melgoza, who entered the game with a 16.7 scoring average, had 13 of her 19 first-half points in the second quarter.
“Man, she’s tough to stop, and we didn’t do a good job of it in the first half,” Roberts said.
When Utah started what would become the 14-0 run, Melgoza was on the bench. But when she returned, Gylten and others forced her into a couple missed shots, and that was all the Utes needed to hold onto their momentum.
“Brynna Maxwell is a talent,” Roberts said. “She kinda got us going in that third quarter.”