SEATTLE (AP) — Gianna Kneepkens scored 18 points and No. 11 Utah pulled out a 61-53 win over Washington on Sunday in the undefeated Utes' worse offensive game of the season.
Alissa Pili added 17 points and eight rebounds for the Utes (14-0, 3-0 Pac-12 Conference), who average 90.8 points a game, second in the country.
Lauren Schwartz scored 17 points for Washington (9-4, 1-2), which was playing its first ranked opponent. Dalayah Daniels added 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Pili's 3-pointer had the Utes on top 54-47 with 2:38 to play but from there the Utes never made another basket and they had three turnovers in the last 1:45. Two missed free throws also kept the door open for the Huskies.
There were 11 ties and 13 lead changes and the final score was the largest lead for either team.
Kneepkens, who scored the first nine Utah points in the fourth quarter, hit a 3-pointer for a 46-44 lead with 5:34 to play. Isabel Palmer followed with a 3, her only basket, and a Jenna Johnson layup at 3:58 capped a 7-0 run and the Huskies never recovered.
Pili was 6-of-15 shooting, her worst of the season and just the third time she didn’t hit at least half her shots. Shooting affected the whole team as the 35.7% (20 of 56) was Utah’s lowest of the season.
Utah was coming off a 71-66 win at Washington State, the previous low scoring game for the Utes when they also failed to shot 50%.
Utah goes to Colorado on Friday and Washington plays at Washington State on Sunday.
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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
