CEDAR CITY, Utah (AP) — Alissa Pili scored 20 points, leading five in double figures, and No. 11 Utah defeated Southern Utah 96-60 on Saturday night.
The Utes (9-2) got 15 points from Dasia Young. Kennady McQueen had 12 points, six assists, six rebounds and three steals. Off the bench, Lani White and Matyson Wilke scored 11 points each.
Megan Smith made 11 of 17 shots and scored 26 points for Southern Utah (3-6). Ava Uhrich added 15 points.
Southern Utah led for a couple of minutes in the first quarter, then Pili made a layup, blocked a shot at the other end, and made a second layup to tie the score at 11. The sequence jump-started a 19-0 run and the Utes took a 26-13 lead into the second quarter.
Utah allowed only two points in the first 5 1/2 minutes of the second quarter, extending the lead to 41-15. The Utes went on to lead 50-23 at halftime.
The Thunderbirds kept things a little more even in the third quarter, and were only outscored by five points when Samantha Crispe hit two free throws and Reese Ross nailed a 3-pointer for a 71-39 Utah lead heading to the fourth.
The Utes, second nationally in scoring at 93.5 points per game, reached 93 points on a layup by Nene Sow with 2:23 to go and hit 95 on a pair of free throws by Ross near the one-minute mark.
Utah is No. 1 in the nation in field goal percentage at 53.9% and shot 55.7% in this one. The Utes matched their best-in-the-nation average of 25 assists. Another No. 1 category for the Utes is 13 made 3-pointers per game, and they made 16.
Utah hosts Weber State on Thursday. Southern Utah hosts Northern Arizona, also on Thursday.
___ Get alerts and updates on AP Top 25 basketball throughout the season. Sign up here ___ AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball
