The Utes got their chance to play at the Delta Center, and they took advantage of it in rolling past Utah State

For the third time this season, a Utah basketball team won at the Delta Center on Wednesday night.

No, it wasn’t the Jazz — the score wouldn’t have been so lopsided.

Instead, it was the Utah women’s basketball team, who rolled to a 87-34 victory over Utah State in a rare women’s matchup at the home of the Utah NBA franchise.

3 takeaways

Utah looked sharp after an emotional week. The Utes were coming off a week where they went 1-1 at the Cayman Islands Classic — they nearly completed a 24-point comeback before losing to Mississippi State, then Utah knocked off No. 3 Notre Dame behind several star efforts.

It would have been understandable if Utah were a bit emotionally spent going into the matchup against Utah State, but the Utes didn’t show any signs of a letdown.

After the Aggies scored the game’s first four points, Utah went on a 19-0 run to put the contest away as the Utes led 28-9 after one quarter. Kennady McQueen hit three 3-pointers during that stretch to help the Utes take control of the contest.

“I told these guys, we just got to set the tone early. And I think that’s every game we play, especially at home, just in Salt Lake City,” Utah coach Gavin Petersen said.

“I mean, we play a tempo and a style of play that you can practice against and you can sustain, you know, over minutes in a game, but sooner or later, we’re gonna go on a run. So it’s really good to see us start that way.”

Utah, for the most part, kept up that precision and energy the rest of the night in beating Utah State by 53.

The Utes were balanced offensively with five players in double-figures, living up to Petersen’s assertion after the game that “on any given night, anybody can go and be a superstar.”

McQueen led the way with 17 points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals.

Sophomore Reese Ross came off the bench and added 14 points — on 6 of 6 shooting — while also posting five rebounds, a block and a steal.

Gianna Kneepkens (13 points, six rebounds, five assists, four steals), Maye Toure (14 points, four rebounds, three blocks) and Maty Wilke (13 points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals) also found ways to contribute across the stat sheet.

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What the Utes thought of playing at the Delta Center. The game originally was supposed to be played at the Huntsman Center, but it was moved to the Delta Center — and the contest was moved up a day as well.

Instead, the Huntsman Center will play host to NCAA volleyball tournament matchups over the next two days, with the volleyball Utes earning a No. 4 seed and a chance to play at home — and the Utah basketball team was more than okay to switch venues.

“I just want to shout out to our administration for making this happen, all in the terms of team play — we want volleyball to go and kick butt tomorrow, and we’re so proud that they’re hosting,” Petersen said.

“But with all of that said, we got a really cool deal to come here and play in the Delta Center, and I told our kids, ‘Just look around and enjoy the moment, because these experiences will be ones you’ll remember forever.’”

It’s not every day that the Utes get to go down the road and play at the home of the Utah Jazz.

For McQueen, who grew up in Henefer and starred at North Summit High, it was a special experience.

“I would say definitely, for me, just growing up in Utah and coming to Jazz games, what a surreal moment for me to play in the same arena I was at so many Jazz games growing up courtside,” McQueen said. “... To be able to play on the same court as some of the best basketball players in the world, it’s a really cool opportunity. And what a moment for women’s sports. I’ve never done that since I’ve been here. So yeah, just a cool opportunity.”

The moment wasn’t lost on Ross, too, who hails from Rapid City, South Dakota.

“I come from South Dakota, so there’s not much of that opportunity to play in those big arenas,” she said. “It’s cool to be able to be a part of women’s sports in this generation, and just getting this experience, it’s super cool. It was fun to play on a different court, and just go out there and get an opportunity to play somewhere different.”

Utah dominated in a variety of statistics. Going into the game, Utah was 32nd in the newly released NET rankings, while Utah State was No. 320 — that just shows the lopsided competitive levels of the two teams.

The stat sheet also showed off the disparity between the two in-state programs who played for the first time since 2017.

Utah outshot Utah State 55.7% to 16.3% from the field, and made 14 3-pointers to the Aggies’ three.

The Utes outrebounded their in-state foe 43-29 and own a 32-12 advantage in points off turnovers.

Utah also had 22 assists, compared to six for the Aggies, and owned a 37-17 edge in bench points.

Perhaps the most impressive stat, though, was this: The Utes had a 40-2 advantage in points in the paint.

“One of our keys was dominate the paint. And there’s a lot of little bullet points under that, but I think the message was sent, and I think we established some inside presence tonight,” Petersen said. “And then that just opens it up, because you have to guard the 3-point line against us, and we’re going to shoot them.”

What’s next

The Utes (7-2) will have a relatively quick turnaround, as they host the Ivy League’s Princeton at the Huntsman Center on Sunday.

That game will tip off at 2 p.m. MST — it will be streamed on ESPN+ and can be heard on 700 AM.

After that, Utah will finish the nonconference portion of its schedule by playing at former Pac-12 foe Washington on Dec. 14.