LAS VEGAS (AP) — Alissa Pili finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds, Ines Vieira scored 18 and No. 22 Utah beat Arizona State 71-60 to conclude Wednesday’s first round of the Pac-12 Tournament at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Utah (22-9), the sixth seed, advances to play third-seeded UCLA in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
Pili had 16 points and eight rebounds in the second half on the way to her fifth double-double of the season for the Utes. Vieira made 7 of 12 shots with a 3-pointer. Kennady McQueen had 11 points and Maty Wilke scored 10.
Trayanna Crisp scored 19 to lead the 11th-seeded Sun Devils (11-20). Jalyn Brown had 15 points and five rebounds.
Crisp had two baskets and a 3-pointer and Arizona State forced six early turnovers in taking a 14-7 lead. Pili, who averages 21 points per game, took her first shot and made it with 44 seconds left and Vieira followed with a layup to get the Utes within 17-15 at quarter’s end.
Wilke buried a 3-pointer to give Utah its first lead at 20-19. Brown answered with a basket for the Sun Devils, but Jenna Johnson connected from beyond the arc and Vieira added a rebound basket to put the Utes up 25-21. Brown had nine points to keep Arizona State within 34-30 at the half.
Journey Thompson’s layup cut the Sun Devils’ deficit to 40-38 with 4:07 left in the third quarter. Pili had a three-point play, two free throws and a layup and Lani White banked in a 55-footer at the buzzer to cap a 14-7 run and give the Utes a 54-45 advantage heading to the fourth quarter.
Pili’s layup gave Utah a 58-47 lead 58 seconds into the final period and the Utes maintained a three-possession lead from there.
Utah, ranked 15th at the time, beat Arizona State 58-41 on the road in the second game of conference play.
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