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Kemery Martin Leads Utah WBB To Victory Over Arizona State

After facing three top-10 opponents in the past three games, those 'learning experiences' paid off as Utah's defense locked down Arizona State on Sunday afternoon in a 65-51 victory. Kemery Martin notched a carer-high 25 points in the victory
Ryan Kostecka|
Kemery Martin Leads Utah WBB To Victory Over Arizona State
Kemery Martin Leads Utah WBB To Victory Over Arizona State

Entering the 2020-21 women's college basketball season, there was going to be a lot of pressure and a lot of focus on Utah's Brynna Maxwell — and for good reason.

Maxwell was a massive bright spot for the Utes last year as a freshman, showcasing the sort of shot-making capabilities that looked like a star in the making after averaging a team-high 13.1 points per game. 

But playing in the best conference in basketball can get to you, and the Pac-12 defenses all changed their game plans when playing the Utes this season. Their primary focus was taking out Maxwell, making sure every time she touched that a defender would be all over her.

So Utah head coach Lynne Roberts knew with other defenses keying on Maxwell, she was going to need someone else to step up and help carry the offense in games Maxwell was well defended.

Enter Kemery Martin, the sophomore from local Sandy, Utah. 

Martin did just that on Sunday afternoon, carrying Utah's offense to a 65-51 victory over Arizona State after scoring a career-high 25 points in the process. 

"I think this league exposes things," Utah head coach Lynne Roberts said. "We weren't very tough to start the year, but playing the gauntlet that we have played, it forces you to toughen up. Even though we haven't beaten every team, we have never quit and we never stop competing. Those are the kinds of teams I want to coach. I've told them if you just keep chopping wood, you'll get rewarded, and getting rewarded with a win does a lot for moral and confidence to put wind in the sails."

Martin finished 10-of-12 from the floor and 5-for-5 from beyond the arc, adding two rebounds and two assists in the process. Her point total could've been more but the typically reliable free throw shooter went a shocking 0-for-5 from the charity stripe.

With Martin taking care of things on the offensive side of the ball, it was Utah's defense that shut down the Sun Devils offense. 

They limited Arizona State to 31.1% (19-for-61) shooting from the field and 27.3% (6-for-22) from three-point territory. The Utes forced 15 turnovers, 10 of which came on steals, while outrebounding them 38-31.

"I thought two games in a row, our defense was fantastic," Roberts said. "Our players did a great job with very little prep time for Arizona State and they locked in. If we would have made free throws today, we would have scored over 70 against ASU on their home court and that is very hard to do. We shot the ball well today. The fourth quarter got interesting, but we are still learning and still a work in progress. We have just hung in there and keep battling."

With Martin scoring at will, it actually allowed Maxwell to get free a few times. She finished with 11 points (3-of-5 from beyond the arc) while adding four rebounds and four assists. 

Point guard Dru Gylten once again controlled the tempo by dishing out eight assists, adding in seven points and five rebounds. Center Peyton McFarland finished with six points and game-highs of 10 rebounds and three steals.

Utah returns to action on Friday when it will host No. 11 Oregon, the fourth top-11 opponent the Utes will have faced in their past five games. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. and will air on the Pac-12 Network.

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