No. Utah 10 survives after Paris Clark, No. 14 Wildcats almost steal win in Salt Lake City

John Coon Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY — Paris Clark’s last-second heroics weren’t enough to give Arizona a win Sunday.

Alissa Pili scored 27 points, including the winning free throws with 0.3 seconds left, to lead no. 10 Utah to an 80-79 victory over No. 14 Arizona on Sunday.

Clark scored back-to-back baskets — the second off a steal — to give the Wildcats a 79-78 lead with 1.6 seconds left.

Pili went 11 of 16 from the field, while Gianna Kneepkens finished with 20 points and seven rebounds for the Utes (15-1, 5-1 Pac-12). Issy Palmer added 10 points. Utah snapped a five-game losing streak against Arizona dating back to 2019.

“We answered their runs. They answered our runs. Just a really hard-fought game by both teams,” Utah coach Lynne Roberts said.

Cate Reese tallied 25 points and 10 rebounds to lead Arizona (14-4, 4-3). Jade Loville finished with 17 points and Esmery Martinez and Shaina Pellington chipped in 10 apiece for the Wildcats, who lost their second straight game. UA fell 72-65 at Colorado on Friday night.

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Arizona forced 14 turnovers and scored 18 points off those turnovers. It just wasn’t quite enough to offset Pili’s dominance.

“We couldn’t guard Pili,” Arizona coach Adia Barnes said. “We did not have an answer for her. She destroyed us all night.”

Arizona trailed by eight points in the third quarter before rallying to take a 75-73 lead with 1:08 left in the game on Helena Pueyo’s jumper that capped a 6-0 spurt.

Kneepkens countered with a 3-point play on the other end and followed with a pair of free throws to put Utah back ahead. Clark then scored four straight points to put UA up by one.

Pili was fouled before time expired, and her free throws helped the Utes avoid their first home loss of the season.

“There’s pressure, but it’s nothing I can’t handle,” Pili said. “With the game on the line and just how hard we fought the whole game, I just had to make those.”

Pili made her first eight field goal attempts and went a perfect 7 of 7 from the floor before halftime.

Arizona kept pace with the Utes behind their own efficient shooting, going 58% from the field in the first half.

“We didn’t give up,” Barnes said. “I think we put ourselves in a situation to win.”

Utah was up 42-40 at half before the lead changed again. But the Utes surged back in front 55-47 late in the third quarter after Arizona missed 10 of 11 shots over an eight-minute stretch.

Second chances

Utah had eight live and deadball offensive rebounds against Arizona, and made each extra possession count. The Utes outscored the Wildcats 18-10 in second-chance points, despite finishing with six fewer offensive boards.

Roberts praised their team’s tenacity in finding ways to convert each offensive board into a positive offensive play.

“That was huge. We talk a lot about basketball being a game of chances,” Roberts said. “Arizona is physical, so getting an o-board isn’t as easy as saying go get an o-board. It’s hard.”

No. 10 Utah 80, no. 14 Arizona 79

ARIZONA (14-4)

Martinez 4-9 1-5 10, Reese 9-13 7-9 25, Fields 0-5 1-2 1, Loville 7-14 0-0 17, Pellington 5-7 0-0 10, Nnaji 1-3 0 -0 2, Clark 4-5 0-0 8, Conner 0-0 0-0 0, Gilbert 1-2 0-0 2, Hylton 0-1 0-0 0, Pueyo 2-4 0-0 4, Totals 33-63 9-16 79

UTAH (15-1)

Johnson 3-10 1-2 8, Pili 11-16 5-6 27, Kneepkens 7-11 5-7 20, McQueen 2-5 0-0 6, Palmer 4-7 0-0 10, Rees 0-2 0 -0 0, Sidberry 1-2 1-2 3, Young 2-3 1-3 6, Vieira 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 30-56 13-20 80

Arizona 22 18 13 26 — 79

Utah 25 17 14 24 — 80

3 point goals—Arizona 4-13 (Martinez 1-2, Reese 0-1, Fields 0-2, Loville 3-6, Gilbert 0-1, Pueyo 0-1), Utah 7-17 (Johnson 1-2, Pili 0-1 , Kneepkens 1-4, McQueen 2-4, Palmer 2-3, Sidberry 0-1, Young 1-2). assists—Arizona 16 (Fields 4), Utah 14 (Johnson 4, McQueen 4). fouled out—Arizona Martinez, Pellington, Reese, Utah Johnson. rebounds—Arizona 30 (Reese 10), Utah 26 (Kneepkens 7). total fouls—Arizona 23, Utah 15. Technical fouls—None. A—2,915.

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