On night honoring Elaine Elliott, Utah women hold on to beat Cincinnati
Salt Lake City — The University of Utah celebrated former coach Elaine Elliott on Saturday night (ET) and the current Utes brought their brand of team basketball to the Huntsman Center, using crisp ball movement and a scorching night from senior Lani White to hold off Cincinnati, 67-59.
White’s hot hand and team passing set the tone
Utah finished with 22 assists on 24 made field goals, a clear sign of the kind of sharing and movement head coach Gavin Petersen wants to see. White led the way with 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting and six rebounds, drilling six 3-pointers on 10 attempts to push the Utes to an 18-point lead in the third quarter.
"To have 22 assists on 24 made baskets, like that's Utah basketball, " Petersen said. "So really proud of our kids for moving the ball, sharing the ball. "
Maty Wilke provided a steady complement with 12 points, four rebounds and four assists, and was the only other Utah player in double figures. The team shot 41 percent from the field and relied on its inside-out approach to free up perimeter looks. "I was confident in my shot, but I was trying to just play within our offense, kick out threes, just playing inside-out, " White said. "The rim looked a lot bigger after the first one. I was trying to stay within our system and just hit the normal shots that we always shoot. "
Cincinnati rallies but Utah withstands late charge
The Bearcats, a young squad that would not relent, battled through a low-scoring first quarter and then tried to climb back after Utah’s third-quarter surge. Cincinnati trimmed the deficit to five midway through the fourth quarter, but Utah steadied and closed out the win.
Cincinnati got balanced scoring as well, with Caliyah DeVillasee leading the way with 13 points and five assists. Reagan Jackson and Kylie Torrence added 10 points apiece. "I feel like when you have really good players like her, the rim just gets so wide that after those first couple go in, well now she feels like she can make them all and that's what happened, " Bearcats head coach Katrina Merriweather said, referencing White’s early triples. "I thought we lost her in transition a time or two. "
Utah improved to 17-9 overall and 8-6 in conference play, while Cincinnati fell to 9-17 and 4-8 in conference games. The victory came on a special night of recognition — the program honored Elliott by raising a banner marking her 582 career wins — and the current roster aimed to match the standard of teamwork emblematic of the program’s history.
Lessons learned and the road ahead
Despite the victory, players and coaches emphasized that parts of the game exposed tendencies Utah must correct. White admitted the team sometimes gets "comfortable" and "casual" when the scoreboard looks favorable, a mindset that invites comeback attempts in a competitive conference.
"We see the scoreboard and we're like, 'We're good. ' But we know the Big 12 is not a conference where you can take any night off, " White said. Petersen echoed the urgency to shift mentality. "We've got to it figure out, like, no, we play to win. Man, I don't care what the score is, don't care how much time is left, we are playing to win. "
On a night dedicated to honoring one of the program's all-time greats, Utah displayed the ball movement and perimeter touch that have defined its best teams. The Utes will look to build on those positives while tightening focus on the defensive and mental lapses that allowed Cincinnati back into the game.
