Alissa Pili
Player-of-the-year candidate Alissa Pili of Anchorage did some player-of-the-year type stuff Saturday against No. 8 Colorado.
Pili pumped in 27 points to go with 10 rebounds, five assists, two steals and a blocked shot for No. 12 Utah in a 76-65 road loss in the Pac-12 Conference opener.
The 6-foot-2 All-American senior forward made 10-of-18 field goals but missed five of six 3-pointers, an uncharacteristic effort from the nation’s No. 1 long-range bomber.
Pili came into the game leading the NCAA at .565 percent on 26-for-46 shooting. It was the only hiccup in an otherwise pristine performance.
She scored 17 points in the first half, including an 11-point explosion in the second quarter when she went 4-of-6 from the field and made her only 3-pointer.
But her most memorable bucket came in the first quarter when she unleashed a sensational spin move at the free-throw line to set up a layup.
Lethal@alissa_pili #GoUtes
🎥Pac-12 Network
📺 https://t.co/rXbdznrYiI pic.twitter.com/Hkdo4cM8eC— Utah Women’s Basketball (@UTAHWBB) December 30, 2023
Pili is the hottest ticket in town when the Utes hit the road.
In Anchorage for the Great Alaska Shootout, the Utah/UAA game drew 3,711 – the largest crowd to see a women’s basketball game at the Alaska Airlines Center and the third largest in the 10-year history of the arena.
Saturday’s game in Boulder had an attendance of 7,383 – the largest home crowd for a regular-season game since 2002.
We call that the Pili Effect.
The CUEC is PACKED!
Today’s attendance is 7383. Largest regular season crowd since 2002! Thank you, Buff Nation! pic.twitter.com/suUO03cGsY
— Colorado Women’s Basketball 🦬 (@CUBuffsWBB) December 30, 2023
Pili, of Dimond High fame, increased her career scoring total to 1,750 and needs only 16 points to catch former ACC Legend honoree Jeannie Hebert (Monroe Catholic) of Miami who scored 1,766 points to rank fourth on Alaska’s all-time college scoring list.
This was Pili’s 107th career game and the first time she achieved a 25/10/5 stat line. This was her 14th career double-double.
Pili also upped her career rebounding total to 631, matching former Stanford standout Azella Perryman (East) for 17th on Alaska’s all-time list, sixth among Division I players.
Pili’s 3-point percentage dipped to .519 – which is nearly 100 points higher than last year’s season percentage (.426) and 173 points higher than her career percentage (.346).
Colorado features Mikayla Johnson of Anchorage. The freshman out of Bartlett High did not play.
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