Utah WBB Suffers Brutal Loss To UCLA; Lost 6 Of Last 7

Despite a team-high 18 points from Kemery Martin, Utah ended its So Cal road trip with a 92-67 blowout loss to No. 9 UCLA, a game in which the Utes played well except for the first 10 minutes

For three-fourths of Sunday's game against No. 9 UCLA, the Utah women's basketball team looked like a team capable of playing with one of the best teams in the nation. 

The only issue is that for the first 10 minutes of the game, the Utes looked like a team that didn't belong on the same court as one of the best teams in the nation.

Despite a team-high 18 points from Kemery Martin, Utah ended its So Cal road trip with a 92-67 blowout loss to the Bruins on Sunday afternoon. The Utes were outscored 36-15 in the first quarter, but rebounded to be outscored 56-52 the rest of the way.

"We had a horrendous first half because we came out soft and UCLA took it to us. We did a much better job in the second half, but it was just a little too late," Utah head coach Lynne Roberts said postgame. "My message at halftime was that we just needed to toughen up and play with pride. Play for the name on the front of your jersey and not the one on the back. They did a nice job in the second half of doing that."

Final Score: #9 UCLA 92, Utah 67#GoUtes // #Elevate pic.twitter.com/uxSCumNdlf

— Utah Women’s Basketball (@UTAHWBB) January 10, 2021

It was no surprise that Martin played well considering she usually shows up with her best games against top competition. Of her eight career double-digit scoring games, five of them have against teams ranked in the top-15.

Q4 | 7:08 | UCLA 73, Utah 53

Dribble, shoot, score. Watch more on @Pac12Network. #GoUtes // #Elevate pic.twitter.com/yGFV77FgIX

— Utah Women’s Basketball (@UTAHWBB) January 10, 2021

Junior point guard Dru Gylten finished with 13 points, her third consecutive game in scoring in double figures. She also added six assists and two rebounds, going 11-for-14 from the free throw line.

It was a rough scoring night for sophomore shooting guard Brynna Maxwell, who was held to seven points on 2-of-10 shooting from the field, going just 2-for-6 from beyond the arc.

Overall, Utah shot 9-of-20 from beyond the arc as both Martin and Andrea Torres knocked down three shots from deep.

Trailing by 24 entering the second half, the Utes came out strong and were able to cut the deficit to 17 with 6:27 remaining in the game. But that was as close as Utah would get the rest of the way.

The road only gets tougher as the Utes will now host No. 2 Stanford on Thursday at the Jon M. Huntsman Center. Tipoff is set for 1:30 p.m. MT and will air on the Pac-12 Networks.

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Twitter — @UtahUtes_SI and Ryan Kostecka at @Ryan_Kostecka