What stood out as Utah improved to 3-0 with a senior-led win over Utah Valley

Utah, as a whole, shot 13 of 25 from 3, as ball movement and a high assist rate (21 assists on 28 made baskets) defined the night. The Utes shot 54.9% for the game, compared to 32.8% for UVU. All 10 …

Make it 2-0 for the Utah women’s basketball team against in-state opponents early in the 2025-26 season.

Four days after beating Utah State in Logan by 37 points, the Utes returned to the Huntsman Center on Tuesday night and handed Utah Valley a 75-52 loss.

“Good home win against the in-state team in Utah Valley. Have a lot of respect for (UVU coach) Dan (Nielson) and his staff and and how they do what they do. And I knew they were going to have a game plan, and they’re going to come in here and test us,” said Utah coach Gavin Petersen.

“… Really proud of our team putting 40 minutes together, and again, just tremendous respect for what they do. I think they’re going to win a lot of games in their conference. I think we’ll reflect back and be like, ‘Hey, man, that was a pretty good win.’”

How the game transpired

Utah made three 3-pointers in the first quarter and had a 13-12 lead after one period. That included six points from Maty Wilke on a pair of 3s.

The Utes pushed that lead out to as many as 10 points at 29-19 in the second quarter as the Wolverines had turnover issues in the period that led to a scoring drought.

Neither team scored a field goal over the final 3:58 of the first half, as both teams missed their final four field goal attempts of the half.

In the third period, the Utes weathered a 7-0 run from UVU before pushing its lead back out to 16 at 48-32. Utah went into the final period leading 52-39.

The Wolverines stuck around and made it a nine-point game early in the fourth, but the Utes were able to fend off their in-state opponent and they immediately pushed the lead back up to 15 with back-to-back 3-pointers.

Utah used a 16-3 run to pull away before winning by 23.

NCAA WBB: Utah Utes vs. Utah Valley Wolverines — Utah guard Maty Wilke shoots a 3-pointer during the Utes’ 75-52 win over Utah Valley at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. | Liv Medivitz

Utah’s seniors led the way in a vintage Utes performance

Lani White and Wilke were two of the driving forces behind the victory for Utah in a win that felt like a vintage Utes performance.

Wilke helped jumpstart the Utes’ offense early, as she hit a pair of first-quarter 3-pointers. She ended with 15 points, while adding three steals, two rebounds and two assists.

Wilke hit a 3 in the fourth quarter, her first bucket in 20 minutes of game time, to give Utah a 61-46 lead with seven minutes to play.

White had 5 points in the opening quarter and ended up with a team-high 16 points, as she often came up with well-timed buckets to help keep UVU from seriously challenging for its first-ever win over the Utes.

White also had five rebounds, two steals and a pair of assists.

One area where both struggled was turnovers — Wilke had a team-high five and White added four.

Both were solid from 3-point range, though — Wilke made 5 of 10 from 3, while White was 3 for 6.

Utah, as a whole, shot 13 of 25 from 3, as ball movement and a high assist rate (21 assists on 28 made baskets) defined the night. The Utes shot 54.9% for the game, compared to 32.8% for UVU. All 10 Utah players that got in the game scored points.

Wilke noted that Utah was able to successfully attack UVU’s 1-3-1 defense and find the open shooters.

“We obviously knew they’re going to do some 1-3-1, and as shooters, that always makes me smile, because usually those corner threes are open,” she said. “And I think our teammates did a good job when we were being aggressive and moving the ball to find those open 3s and I feel like that’s where a lot of our shots came from.

“And then (in) the second half, when we were moving the ball, making extra passes, that’s Utah basketball. That’s where we got a lot of open 3s. I’m just proud of how we picked (it) up in the second half and just kind of stuck to our principles.”

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Has Utah found another standout forward?

Junior Chyra Evans, who transferred to Utah from Michigan, missed all of last season due to injury. She was unavailable for the team’s season opener as well, though she played last Friday at Utah State.

For those unfamiliar with Evans’ game, she gave them a show Tuesday night.

Evans was the team’s third double-digit scorer, as she added 10 points on 4 of 5 shooting, as well as going 2 for 2 from the free-throw line.

Evans added five rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot in 18 minutes of play, while finishing with a plus/minus of +12.

Her monster block in the third quarter earned one of the loudest cheers of the night, and it led to a Brooke Walker 3-pointer on the other end to extend the lead to 48-32.

“The boxing analogy, you know ring rust, I think it’s real,” Petersen said in reference to Evans, who’s finally getting her chance to build chemistry with teammates on the floor.

“I think she’s still working that out, but she shows signs, whether it’s in practice or in games, how good and what an impact she could be for our program.”

Junior Reese Ross, as usual, was a force inside. Even though she had just 1 point, Ross led the Utes with 11 tough-minded rebounds and added a team high-tying four assists and a blocked shot.

Behind Ross’s big night on the boards, Utah out-rebounded the Wolverines 38-29.

“That kid plays hard,” White said of Ross. “She doesn’t have to score. She had 11 rebounds. She dove on the floor, she sacrificed her body for our team. I mean, that alone, I want to play with Reese that much more just because … she’s going to play hard every night.”

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What it means going forward

The Utes are 3-0 after beating Sioux Falls, Utah State and UVU over the first eight days of the season.

It sets up a matchup with No. 25 Washington on Saturday at the Huntsman Center (2 p.m. MST, ESPN+). The Huskies are 2-0 on the year and most recently beat Montana 87-56 on Monday.

Last year, Utah went to Seattle and beat the Huskies 67-57.

This will be a solid chance for Utah, which has made the NCAA Tournament four straight years but is projected to finish eighth in the Big 12, to add to its resume in non-conference play.

One concerning issue right now, though, is turnovers.

Utah had 12 in the first half against UVU, including seven in the opening quarter. The Utes ended up with a season-high 22 on the night.

“The first half, (we had) a lot of unforced turnovers. Some of that lingered and carried over to the second half, but our execution was a lot better,” Petersen said.

Through three games, Utah is averaging 19.6 turnovers per game.

That isn’t costing Utah at the moment, but if the Utes do the same against tougher opponents — like Washington this weekend, Syracuse or UConn at the Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase the weekend after that or in Big 12 play — it’s likely going to hurt them more than it is now.

Source: Utah News