Michelle Plouffe scored 14 points and Rachel Messer added 11 as Utah held off a late Arizona State rally to beat the Sun Devils 50-46 on Thursday night.
Utah (11-12, 4-8 Pac-12) weathered a back-and-forth second half that saw Arizona State (15-8, 6-6) erase a six-point deficit and lead by three with 8:54 remaining, only to succumb to a 9-0 run by the Utes. Arizona clawed to within 45-44 on a 3-pointer by Alex Earl with 1:50 remaining, but Plouffe answered with a 3-pointer of her own to stake Utah to a 48-44 advantage and two made free throws by Janita Badon sealed the win.
Arizona State led by three with 11:40 left in the first half before the Utes sparked a 15-2 run over the next ten minutes to claim a 20-10 lead.
Deja Mann led the Sun Devils with 12 points.
