On Sunday, Cal women’s basketball picked up a huge road win at Utah by a final score of 88-74. Cal freshman guard Cailyn Crocker (26 points, 6 rebounds, & 5 assists) and Cal junior forward Alaysia Styles (19 points & 6 rebounds) both posted career-highs in scoring. Sophomore guard Dru Gylten (21 points & 9 assists) and freshman guard Brynna Maxwell (19 points & 6 rebounds) were the top performers for Utah. Cal improves to 10-15 overall and 2-12 in the Pac-12 while Utah falls to 12-13 overall and 5-9 in the Pac-12.

Early on this game was tight as Utah led 11-10 with 4:34 to go in the 1st quarter. Gylten had 6 points early for the Utes, doing a good job of getting her team going. Utah was shooting 4-8 from the field while Cal was shooting 3-7. Cal would close out the quarter on an 8-2 run to lead 18-13. Styles really came alive for Cal with 7 points at the end of the quarter. Things were looking good for Cal so far.

Cal would continue the solid play in the 2nd quarter, leading 32-21 with 5:00 to go until halftime. Styles was up to 11 points, continuing to do her damage while others like CJ West and Chen Yue got in on the action as well. It was just a matter of finishing the half strong.

With 1:22 to go until halftime, Cal held a 48-33 lead as Alaysia Styles (16 points) and Jazlen Green (14 points) were both in double figures for Cal. At the half, Cal led 48-36. It was as strong of a half as Cal could ask for. Gylten was up to 10 points, doing her part for Utah.

Utah came out of the break guns blazing on a 6-0 run, trimming Cal’s lead to eight points (50-42) with 7:45 to go in the 3rd quarter. Cal head coach Charmin Smith quickly called for time, hoping to settle things down. Gylten (12 points) and Maxwell (11 points) led the charge for Utah, hoping to get their team back in the game.

With 4:54 to go in the 3rd quarter, Cal was up 55-52 as Utah was outscoring them 16-7 in the quarter. Maxwell (14 points), Gylten (12 points), and Torres (10 points) were in double figures for Utah. Cal was getting solid scoring distribution as well as Styles (17 points), Green (14 points), and Crocker (10 points) were all in double figures. Still, Cal’s defense needed to find a way to curb Utah’s attack as they were getting themselves back in the game.

Rather than folding, Cal rebounded a bit to lead 64-60 at the end of the 3rd quarter. Maxwell (19 points) led Utah while Styles (19 points) led Cal. Cal was shooting 24-48 (50.0%) from the field while Utah was shooting 23-47 (40.4%).

Cal continued to build their lead, going up 75-67 with 4:33 to go. Crocker really came alive for Cal as she was up to 19 points. Cal was outscoring Utah 11-7 in the 4th quarter. One thing Cal was doing well is they were taking care of the ball: 17 assists and only 8 turnovers. Something that has been an issue for them all season.

With 2:35 to go, Cal would lead 78-71, looking like they would hang on. With 1:05 to go, it was more of the same as Cal led 82-73. In the end, Cal walked out with an 88-74 win, outscoring Utah 24-14 in the 4th quarter.

Considering how tough it is to win on the road, especially in Utah, Cal should feel very good about this win. They bended a bit, but they didn’t break, doing a good job at taking care of the ball and getting help from multiple players. The fact that they were able to win despite 10 points from Jaelyn Brown and Sara Anastasieska being inactive due to concussion protocol is pretty impressive.

Up next for Cal is a home game against #3 Oregon on Friday, February 21. That game will tipoff at 6:00 PM PST on Pac-12 Networks.