Utah women's basketball: Arizona puts away Utes with dominate 18-0 run

TUCSON, Ariz. — Michelle Plouffe and Taryn Wicijowski each had double-doubles for the Utah women's basketball team as the Utes fell to Arizona, 61-52 on Sunday afternoon.

Plouffe scored a team-high 21 points with 16 rebounds for her third-straight double-double and her fifth double-double of the season. Plouffe also had three blocks and two steals. Wicijowski scored 14 points with 10 rebounds in her fourth double-double of the year. Also in double figures was Iwalani Rodrigues, who scored 11 points.

Although Utah (14-11, 5-9 Pac-12) jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead, scoring on its first two possessions, Arizona (12-13, 4-10 Pac-12) responded with an 18-0 run that saw the Wildcats take a 14-point lead through the first six minutes of the second half. The Utes committed seven turnovers during that span. Arizona led 35-24 at halftime. Rodrigues had nine points in the first half while Plouffe had eight points and seven rebounds.

Utah would struggle to catch up for the remainder of the game. The Utes were down by 12 points, 46-34 with 12:26 left, and a 6-0 Utah run cut that lead to six, 46-40, with 10 minutes remaining in the game. Arizona held a seven-point lead with two minutes remaining, and the Wildcats held onto the lead in the final minutes with free throws.

Utah committed 19 turnovers, leading to 28 Arizona points.

The Utes play their final homestand of the season on Feb. 22 and 24 against Washington and Washington State.