State colleges: Utah falls to 10th-ranked Arizona in women’s basketball

The Utah women’s basketball team cut a 19-point fourth-quarter deficit to six points, but the No. 10 Arizona Wildcats responded with a 6-0 run and handed the Utes a 66-54 defeat Friday in Tucson, Ariz.

Utah (3-9, 2-9 Pac-12) got off to a good start, holding Arizona to 22% shooting and leading 11-10 after one quarter. But six turnovers by Utah in the second quarter helped the Wildcats (11-2, 9-2) build a 30-20 halftime lead.

Kemery Martin scored 11 points to lead Utah. Niyah Becker added 10 points, three rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots.

Colorado State 88, Utah State 73 • In Fort Collins, Colo., the Aggies (4-7, 2-4 Mountain West) fell to the Rams (10-2, 6-2) at Moby Arena.

Utah State, which never led in the game, trailed 43-38 at halftime.

Freshman guard Meagan Mendazona led USU’s scoring efforts with 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting, to go along with four rebounds, two steals and two assists.

Senior guard Emmie Harris earned the second double-double of her career as she had 12 points to go along with a game-high 11 rebounds, a mark which ties her career high.

Utah 3, Arizona 0 • The Utes opened the season with a 25-23, 25-27, 25-15 sweep of the Wildcats at the Huntsman Center.

Dani Drews led the team on offense with 15 kills hitting .313. She also chipped in with 12 digs.

Kenzie Koerber added eight kills and six digs.

Utah Nordic team leads in Denver • The Utah ski team took control of the Denver Invitational after Novie McCabe won the women’s 5K and Samuel Hendry came in second in the men’s 7.5K on Friday in Minturn, Colo.

McCabe captured her second win in a row in the 5K. Hendry just missed out on the win on the men’s side, finishing .3 seconds behind the first-place finisher.

With the strong performances, Utah is in first place in the meet with 490 points. The Utes are 42 points ahead of Colorado heading into the final day. On Saturday, Utah will take part in a 7.5/10K Classic to close out the invitational.

Utes’ games are rescheduled • Utah and the Pac-12 announced updates Friday to previously postponed games.

The Runnin’ Utes will play its postponed game against Arizona State from Dec. 22 on Tuesday, Feb. 2, at 2 p.m. in Tempe, Ariz., on Pac-12 Networks to wrap up a four-game road swing.

Utah’s originally scheduled game against the Sun Devils inside the Huntsman Center on Feb. 6, has been pushed back one day and will now be played at Noon on Super Bowl Sunday (Feb. 7) on the Pac-12 Networks.

In addition, Utah’s postponed game against Oregon State on Jan. 6 is now slated for Monday, Feb. 22, in Salt Lake City to kick off a four-game homestand to wrap up the regular season.