Utah blasts UT-San Antonio 91-45 in most complete game of the season

With the win, the Utes' winning streak is now at three and counting

After starting the season 0-3, losing by an average of 5.3 points per game, it was only a matter of time before Utah started to turn things around. 

Fast forward a week since their last loss at the Utes find themselves at .500 on the year following Sunday's 91-45 victory over UT-San Antonio.

"Our goal coming into this was to have a complete game," coach Lynne Roberts said. "Obviously there are things we need to clean up, but the things that we focused on and the things that we wanted to do, we did them for 40 minutes. We shot the ball well, I thought we passed it really well."

Roberts was right as Utah shot 56.7-percent (38-of-67) from the field and 41.7-percent (10-for-24) from beyond the arc. The Utes also finished with 19 assists, showcasing the ball movement and unselfishness Roberts believes the team needs to have to be successful.

"Everything that we are trying to get these guys to buy into and improve upon, they are doing," Roberts said. "This week we got better. It is starting to come together and you can feel the momentum and the vibe a little more, which is great. I am proud of us and I thought we played great."

Guard Brynna Maxwell was named the Bank of Hawaii tournament MVP while forward Lola Pendande was named to the all-tournament team.

Maxwell led the Utes with a game-high 22 points, knocking down 6-of-10 from beyond the arc. Pendande continued her solid start to the season with 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor.

Led by Niyah Becker and Julie Brosseau, the Utes got a strong lift from its bench. Becker and Brosseau combined for 25 points on 10-of-21 shooting, leading the way for 44 total points from the Utah reserves.

Becker had the hot hand from the start as Utah set the tone from the opening tip, going on a 17-2 run, including back-to-back three's by Becker, for the 23-4 lead at the end of the first quarter.

UTSA looked as if it was going to get back into the game, starting the second quarter on a 6-0 run. But Maxwell shut that down by knocking down two three-pointers in leading Utah to a 19-11 advantage the rest of the way.

Not letting UTSA get back into the game, Utah shot 20-for-34 (58.8-percent) in the second half to put the game on cruise control.

After returning from Hawaii, Utah will hit the road again for a game against in-state rival BYU on Friday night in Provo. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.