BYU, Utah Utes women's basketball: Unbeaten Utes host Cougars

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah women's basketball team takes on in-state rival BYU Saturday at the Huntsman Center in a 3 p.m. start.

The Utes are 7-0 heading into the game against the Cougars, off to their best start since the 2000-01 season when they began with 11 straight wins. Utah is just one of just 16 NCAA teams and three Pac-12 teams — along with Stanford (8-0) and Colorado (7-0) — to still hold a perfect record.

Meanwhile, the Cougars and coach Jeff Judkins hold a record of 4-4. On Tuesday, BYU beat Utah State, 81-77, a team the Utes defeated a week prior by 28 points.

Utah is led by the play of junior forward Taryn Wicijowski, who is the Pac-12 player of the week and is averaging 17.1 points per game. Forward Michelle Plouffe and guard Iwalani Rodrigues add 17.4 and 12.0 points per game, respectively.

The Cougars are led by the play of Utah-natives Haley Hall Steed, a Clearfield High graduate, and Lexi Eaton, a Springville High graduate.

Overall, the Utes lead the series against BYU, 62-36. However, the Cougars have won five of the last six outings, including the matchup last year in Provo. The last time Utah beat BYU was in March 2011 when Plouffe hit a buzzer-beater in the Mountain West Tournament championship game.?

EMAIL: sthomas@desnews.com

Rivalry on the air

BYU (4-4) at Utah (7-0)

Today, 3 p.m.

Huntsman Center

TV: none

Radio: 700 AM

Internet: pac-12.com/live/utahutes.aspx