No. 4 Oregon women close strong, beat No. 14 Utah 87-65

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) – Satou Sabally scored 20 points and No. 4 Oregon closed the game on a 27-6 run for an 87-65 victory over No. 14 Utah on Friday night.

Ruthy Hebard and Maite Cazorla had 16 points apiece, Erin Boley added 14 and Sabrina Ionescu scored 11 as all five starters scored in double figures for the Ducks (20-1, 9-0 Pac-12), who won their 13th consecutive game and seventh in a row against the Utes.

Megan Huff had a career-high 38 points and 11 rebounds to lead Utah (18-2, 7-2), which had its six-game winning streak snapped. Dru Gylten had 11 points.

Huff scored 15 points in the third quarter as the Utes erased a 10-point halftime deficit and went ahead for the first time at 56-54 on a layup by Dre’Una Edwards.

But Sabally came to Oregon’s rescue with six straight points for a 60-56 lead after three quarters, and then scored seven more in an 11-0 run that put the Ducks up 71-59 in the fourth. Ionescu capped it with a 3-pointer to end a 1-for-8 shooting streak to go with her nine assists.

After attempting just two free throws in the first three quarters, Oregon was 12 of 13 from the line in the fourth period. The Ducks scored 30 points off Utah’s 18 turnovers.

Oregon’s balanced scoring, led by Oti Gildon’s 10 points off the bench, and its 26-6 edge in points in the paint led to a 37-27 halftime lead for the Ducks. Hebard hit her first four shots for eight points, but sat out most of the second quarter with two fouls.

Huff made all five of her 3-pointers and had 17 points to keep the Utes close despite their shooting 9 of 29 (31.0 percent) in the first half. Oregon was 17 of 32 (52.1 percent).

BIG PICTURE

Utah falls two games off Oregon’s pace atop the Pac-12 standings with its first road loss and faces another tough test at Oregon State to start the second half of the conference’s unbalanced schedule. The Utes’ shot at a rematch with the Ducks would have to come at the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas.

Oregon needed the impressive finish with its toughest stretch of the season coming in the next two weeks. The Ducks’ next road trip is against California and No. 8 Stanford, then they have a home-and-home showdown with No. 9 Oregon State.

UP NEXT

Utah: At No. 9 Oregon State on Sunday.

Oregon: Hosts Colorado on Sunday.

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