Utah women’s basketball gets back on track with blowout win over Cal

Ines Vieira and the Utah Utes put the clamps on Cal’s game plan Sunday afternoon.

Vieira, who was put into the starting lineup this season after Issy Palmer got hurt, had the best game of her career, scoring 19 points, and her teammates copied her inspiration as the Utes buried the Golden Bears 93-56 in a Pac-12 game.

Vieira also picked up a nickname — “The Mosquito” — and frustrated Cal with her play on defense as Utah ended a two-game losing streak and moved from ninth place to sixth in the league standings.

It was such a fun victory in front of 4,520 fans that coach Lynne Roberts’ trademark smile was back on her face for much of the day.

“The last two games have been hard. We were a ticked-off team,” said Roberts, with her arm around Vieira at the postgame press conference.

“What can I say about her? She got a standing ovation when she came off the court. That never happened to me.”

Indeed, Vieira was a spark for the Utes, who improved to 12-5 overall and 2-3 in league, and helped the team to a rare rout over a Pac-12 opponent in an unfamiliar way.

Noted for the play of senior Alissa Pili and their 3-point shooting accuracy, the Utes dominated using Vieira’s leadership.

She finished 8 of 11 from the field and added five assists, five steals and four rebounds.

In fact, by halftime, Vieira had already eclipsed her season scoring average (7.9 ppg). The Utes also had zero 3-pointers by then but still led 47-21 over the Bears, who came into the game with a 12-4 overall record and were sitting in fourth place in the Pac-12.

Cal was no slouch. The Bears had already claimed a win over the SEC’s Auburn, as well as two wins over the Washington schools and played league-leader Colorado tough Friday before falling 76-61.

Coach Charmin Smith acknowledged this was her squad’s biggest loss of the season, but tried not to let the 37-point deficit bother her.

“This was a very motivated Utah team,” Smith said.  We knew that they were going to come out ready to go.

“You go on the road in the Pac-12 against two Top-20 teams and this can happen. We didn’t expect them to be able to get to the basket so easily off the dribble, but they did. They were aggressive. They put their heads down and finished with contact and they made plays.”

The Bears clearly wanted to try to contain Pili, who is the league’s second-leading scorer and leader in 3-point shooting accuracy.

Pili finished 0 of 5 from behind the 3-point line but still managed 18 points to go over the 1,000-point mark already in her 49-game Utah career.

Cal also wanted to limit Utah’s 3-point shooting, but it never worked because of Utah’s passing and ability to find open players.

Pili kept pace with Vieira with five assists, and that helped result in five players reaching double figures — Viera, Pili, Kennady McQueen (14), Jenna Johnson (14) and Dasia Young (11).

Reese Ross, Maty Wilke, Lani White and Sam Crispe also came off the bench and had memorable moments.

White, for instance, netted just one basket, but blocked a Cal shot just before the first-quarter buzzer that occurred during an 11-1 Utah run that turned the game into a rout by halftime.

Utah ended up shooting 63% (38 of 60) and limited Cal to 32.8%.

“We got to put our frustration in our favor,” Vieira said. “I tried to change my mindset this year and just have more confidence and trust in myself. My teammates trust me and my coach trusts me, so now there’s no doubt.”

Vieira also gained valuable experience during the summers playing on Portugal’s Olympic-caliber teams and will likely force Palmer to earn her way back into the lineup when she returns soon from her injury.

“This was a statement win,” said Roberts. “(Vieira) did a tremendous job of leading the way, setting the tone, defending, and she took great shots, just playing at such a high level, and the team is feeding off of that.”

Cal was led in scoring by Ionna Krimili’s 14 points, and Leilani McIntosh added 11. Kemery Martin, who played for Utah as a freshman and was a standout at Corner Canyon High, added seven points off the bench.