Dec. 3, 2005
Box Score
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - A cold start in Salt Lake City would be too much for LMU to overcome, and the Lions fell to #22 Utah 63-47 in Salt Lake City this afternoon. Utah took a 17-2 lead to open the game, and the Lions' comeback attempt fell short. Bianca Ziemann led LMU with 13 points, and Amanda Patton added 11 points. The Lions return to Los Angeles to host USC on Tuesday night at Gersten Pavilion.
Early in the first half, LMU's shooting was as cold as the temperature outside, as the Lions made just two of their first 14 shots and the Utes pulled ahead to a 17-2 lead. Bianca Ziemann was the only Lion who could score, making seven of LMU's first nine points. The Lions finally warmed up, cutting the Ute lead to 21-14, and keeping Utah scoreless for over five minutes of action. Shona Thorburn's three-pointer at 3:54 broke the scoreless drought, but Bronwyn Evans answered with a three-pointer of her own to keep it a seven point lead. The teams traded baskets and Utah took a 29-21 lead into the halftime break.
Kim Smith and Jessica Perry led Utah with eight points, and Bianca Ziemann led the Lions with seven points. The Utes controlled the boards, outrebounding LMU 25-12. Smith led Utah with six rebounds in the first half. Bianca Ziemann led LMU with three boards.
The Lions were cold again to start the second half, and the Utes extended their lead to 41-25 with strong play from Smith. LMU's defense remained solid, and Amanda Patton hit a three-pointer, and Rachael Ziemann hit a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 45-30. LMU used strong play from Rachael and Bianca Ziemann to cut the Utah lead to 47-39 at 8:22.
Utah used six straight points from Thorburn to extend the lead back to double digits, 54-43, and Shauna Brouillard's three pointer made it a 57-43 Utah lead. Bianca Ziemann's driving layup cut the lead back to 12. The Lions would run out of time during their comeback attempt, and the Utes would secure the victory.
LMU shot just 30% for the game, while Utah shot 41.5%. Utah outrebounded LMU 44-33.
LMU falls to 1-5 on the season, and have faced two top-25 teams this season (Georgia and Utah). Utah improves to 4-1 on the year.
The Lions return to Gersten Pavilion to host USC, another team that has been ranked this season, on Tuesday night at 7:00pm.
