Box score
GEORGE TOWN, GRAND CAYMAN, CAYMAN ISLANDS – An 11-0 run to open the second half elevated Utah into a lead it never lost as the Utes claimed a feverish, 78-67 victory over No. 3 Notre Dame Saturday night in the two team’s final game in the second annual Cayman Islands Classic women’s tournament.
Four players reached double figures to top Utah (6-2) in scoring, led by Gianna Kneepkens with 16. Kennady McQueen added 15 points, while Maty Wilke and Jenna Johnson notched 14 each. Johnson and Reese Ross had team-best eight rebounds each, while Ines Viera dished out five of the team’s 17 assists.
Notre Dame (5-2) got a game-high 22 points from Sonia Citron on 9-of-14 shooting. She also had five rebounds, four steals and two assists. Hannah Hidalgo and Liatu King scored 16 each for the Irish, with King posting a double-double by hauling down a game-high 11 rebounds Olivia Miles, who scored eight, had seven of Notre Dame’s 12 assists.
The Utes had trailed for more than 15 minutes of the opening half, its largest lead just three points late in the first quarter.
Trailing 37-32 at the break, the Utes claimed the first five baskets of the third quarter, the capstone being a 3-pointer by McQueen with 6:16 to play that provided a 43-37 cushion. The teams traded points throughout the period Notre Dame getting much of its scoring at the free throw line.
The Fighting Irish, while being outscored 21-11 in the period, made just 2-for-11 from the field. A 6-for-6 effort at the line allowed Notre Dame to stay within striking distance as the largest lead was just seven points, and that came only once. Utah hit for 61 percent in the third quarter (8-for-13).
Utah continued to shoot well in the final period, hitting 54 percent from the floor while holding Notre Dame to 38 percent. That gave the Utes the chance to build their lead to double figures, the first time coming at the 7:36 mark with a 61-50 count on a 3-pointer from Wilke.
Utah had an answer for every Notre Dame thrust in the final period. A basket by Citron with 8:18 to play pulled the Irish within six at 56-50 but Utah quickly answered with a Johnson basket and a 3-pointer by another Wilke to recapture the double figure margin.
For the final 7:26, the lead was double digits except three times the Irish crept within eight, but never closer.