PROVO -- After blowing an 11-point halftime lead, the BYU women's basketball team could not recover, falling to in-state and conference rival the University of Utah, 59-55, Friday night at the Marriott Center.

BYU (13-5, 3-2) came out on fire and led, 33-22, midway through the game. Utah(14-4, 5-0) staged a second-half run and led by two in the final minute of the game. BYU forward Lori Cuff had a chance to tie with five seconds left, but her layup sailed over the rim. Ute Amy Ewert was then fouled, and hit both of her free throws to seal the four-point victory.

Point guard Stacy Jensen and Cuff each led the Cougars with 14 points each, while guard Erin Thorn added on 10. Utah was led by the inspired play of Kristina Anderson, who led all players with 22 points. Erin Gibbons also came off the bench for Utah to score 11.

BYU outshot Utah 44 percent to 41 percent in the loss, but was outrebounded 33-25.

The Cougars also took just one trip to the line, compared to Utah's 21 free throw

attempts.

The Cougars will go on the road next weekend to face conference rivals Air Force on

Thursday and New Mexico on Saturday.