SALT LAKE CITY – With a high decibel blasting through the rafters of the Jon M. Huntsman Center, the ninth-ranked Utah Utes defeated No. 8 UCLA 71-69, thanks to clutch performance from Alissa Pili in the final minute of the game. 

Utah advanced to 18-2 overall on the season and 8-2 in Pac-12 play. UCLA now sits at 17-5 and 6-4 in the Pac-12. Utah remains undefeated at home and sits at 10-0. This is the best start to a home season since 2015-16 when the Utes also started 10-0.

The Bruins got the jump on the Utes starting the game off on an 8-0 run. Jenna Johnson sank a pair of free throws to put Utah on the board. It wasn't until five minutes into the game that Utah made a field goal. Utah came back and tied it up at 16-16 as the first quarter came to an end. 

UCLA pushed ahead in the second quarter and made the Utes battle to trail by three at half.  With the score at 39-36, Utah entered the second half going on a 9-2 run to take a 46-41 lead. UCLA answered with a 13-0 run and held Utah to just six free throws throughout the remaining six minutes in the third quarter.

The Bruins pushed out for an eight point lead early in the fourth quarter and Dasia Young hit a clutch three pointer to keep the Utes in it. Utah later trailed by five with one minute left, Gianna Kneepkens sank a pair of free throws and the Utes trailed 69-66. Utah then forced a turnover to get the ball back with 41 seconds left. On the Utes' possession, Pili found herself open outside the arc and fired off a three ball to tie the game at 69-69. 

Utah got a big stop on the defensive end and regained possession with 20 seconds left. After some ball movement from the Utes, Pili found an open lane and attacked the hoop. With 0.8 seconds on the clock, Pili laid the ball up and in for the Utes' 71-69 victory. In that final minute of action, Utah went on a 7-0 run. 

LEADERS
Utah was led by Alissa Pili who had 23 points going 9-16 from the field. This was Pili's fifth consecutive game scoring 20 or more points. She led the team in rebounding pulling down nine total boards, four of which were offensive. 

Issy Palmer put up 14 points and led the team with five assists. Young also put up double figures with 11 points including three made from beyond the arc. 

COMPARISON
Utah ended the game shooting 38 percent from the field, 26 percent from beyond the arc, and 94 percent from the line, going 18-19. This is the most free throws and highest percentage Utah has made in Pac-12 action this season. 

UCLA finished the game shooting 40 percent from the field, 45 from the three and 63 from the line. UCLA maintained the lead for over 30 minutes while Utah had the lead for only six. 

Utah surpassed UCLA on the boards 36-30 and held the Bruins to just eight offensive boards. Utah outscored UCLA in the paint 32-22.
 
TALKING ABOUT THE GAME – HEAD COACH LYNNE ROBERTS:
"Wow. What a crazy game. UCLA is really good and I felt like it was hard. They are so well-coached. I felt like everything we played, they knew, which made it really hard. It was just a really hard-fought game. They're eighth in the country for a really good reason. They're hard to beat and I don't know if we really helped ourselves out a lot. We didn't play super connected in the first half, but I thought we had a good second half. I stress enough how much respect I have for UCLA and the way they are coached, how they play and compete, so we just beat a really, really good team. I thought that Dasia Young was huge today. If she doesn't play, we don't win. She plays the way she plays and she carried us through the first half, defensively down the stretch she was phenomenal, so I just wanted to give her a shout out about just how important she was to us winning. That's the sign of a great team. You have players who fill needs when you need it."

STANDOUT STATS

• The Utes are 3-1 vs. ranked opponents this season after today's win over UCLA. Earlier this season Utah downed No. 14/10 Arizona  80-79. The Utes also came away victorious on Nov. 16 with a win over then-No. 16 Oklahoma, Utah has defeated multiple ranked opponents in the same season for the first time since 2005-06 (5-3).
• Today's win was Utah's fourth against a Top-15 team under Lynne Roberts. Before this season, the most recent was over No. 15 Oregon State (12/8/20), and the first was over No. 6 Stanford (1/27/19).
• This is the highest ranked opponent Utah has beaten since 2018-19. 
• Utah's 18-2 start to the season, and 8-2 start in Pac-12 Conference play is the Utes best 20 game start since 2018-19 (19-1). 
• This was the first time in school history Utah has swept USC and UCLA in a single weekend.
• Utah is 3-0 in single possession games this season. 

THE SIXTH MAN
This is the second game in a row over 3,200 fans have packed into the Huntsman Center. Today was the second highest recorded attendance since the 2019-20 season when 3,374 fans showed up for a matchup with Arizona on Feb. 21, 2020. 

"It makes a difference," Roberts said. "I'm telling you it matters. It matters in winning. You can feel it, and I've been on the other end of that in arenas with crowds like this and it makes you tighten up a little bit. We had a great crowd for Sunday at noon in the snow. I appreciate everyone coming out and I hope they're enjoying what they are seeing. We just need to keep building it. It matters."

UP NEXT
The Utes are back on the road to take on Oregon State Friday, Feb. 3 and Oregon on Sunday, Feb. 5. Tyson Ewing and Milee Enger will have the Utah radio call on ESPN700, and live stats can be found at UtahUtes.com.
 
FOLLOW THE UTES!
Fans can follow along during the 2022-23 season on social media (Twitter: @UtahWBB | Instagram: @UtahWBB | Facebook: Facebook.com/UtahWBB).