Nawahine, Potter lift Utah women past No. 24 Cal 63-57

Jan 15, 2018, 04:16 pm

SALT LAKE CITY -- Malia Nawahine and Emily Potter scored 15 points apiece and Utah held on to defeat No. 24 California 63-57 on Sunday.

The Utes (13-4, 2-4 Pac 12) led the whole way, slowly building the lead to 12 points on a layup by Nawahine with 4:30 to play. The Golden Bears (14-4, 2-4) then reeled off 11 straight points, closing within 58-57 on jumper by Courtney Range with 1:47 remaining.

Utah then missed two free throws but Cal committed a turnover and Potter ended up at the foul line after grabbing an offensive rebound. She made one free throw and then the Bears came out of a timeout and had an unforced turnover that led to two Nawahine free throws for a 61-57 lead with 17.2 seconds left. After another Cal miss, Paige Crozon closed it with two from the line at 9.2 seconds.

Utah made 8 of 14 free throws in the fourth quarter and 17 of 26 for the game.

Kristine Anigwe led Cal, which finished 11 of 17 from the line, with 22 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high seven blocks.