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She wasn't afraid — not exactly. Utah didn't have much reason to be leading for 32 minutes of the game.

But coach Lynne Roberts was stressed as her undefeated squad threatened again and again to break out against in-state rival Utah State, but then didn't.

"I was just thinking, 'C'mon guys, let's go,'" she said afterward. "I wasn't angry, I wasn't nervous. But I was thinking, 'Can we quit dinkin' around?'"

The Utes did improve to 7-0 with a 65-58 win over Utah State (6-2), but the Aggies made the hometown team scratch and claw for it.

There were instances when Utah appeared primed to pull away, but USU, which fouled out its best player and second-leading scorer Rachel Brewster (10 points) in the third quarter, fought with a roster filled out with freshmen and sophomores.

With junior center Emily Potter smothered for most of the evening with Aggies, it fell to Utah's wings to get things done. Senior Paige Crozon led with 15 points, while junior Tanaeya Boclair added 14 points with 8 rebounds. The Aggies were paced by Shannon Dufficy, who had 11 points.

There wasn't much clean about the effort for either squad. Both shot under 44 percent and had 17 or more turnovers. While Utah capitalized more so than USU in that area (21 Utes points off of turnovers to 11 USU points), the sloppiness made the game closer than comfortable for the Utes, who are out to their best start in five seasons.

But then again, that's the nature of rivalry games — something Utah is getting used to with BYU coming to the Huntsman Center in a week.

"It just goes to show that everybody is coming in here to fight," Boclair said. "You can't push anybody to the wayside."

While Utah trailed for all but two minutes of the first quarter, the turnaround started in the second: I took the Aggies 5:11 to put up a point in the frame on a free throw by Eliza West. During that time, Utah went on a 7-0 run to get some cushion, driven by superior rebounding on USU's off-target shots.

The Utes led the rest of the way, but it wasn't comfortable: USU's pressure led to turnovers. Roberts lamented the travels and the passes out of bounds. Utah's own defense collected 13 steals to USU's four, most of their turnovers coming on errors.

Crozon scored 9 of her points in the second half, and junior Malia Nawahine scored 10 of her 12 in the period as well. Averaging 7.2 points per game down from double digits last year, Crozon said she and Roberts had a conversation earlier in the week to smooth out some of her early-season anxiety.

"I have a tendency to be very stressed," she said. "I just want to do so much. I sometimes do too much."

Potter, who has powered Utah last season and into this one, finished with 10 points and 8 rebounds. She and point guard Erika Bean also had five steals apiece. Potter's two blocks put her one block away from tying Michelle Plouffe (149) for second on the program's all-time list.

Utah's next game comes in Reno on Tuesday night against Nevada. Roberts said while the win over USU wasn't what she hoped, it could provide valuable experience as the team seeks to keep its unbeaten streak going.

"You're going to have games like this one where you have some great shots, but can't get the ball to fall, but I'm looking forward to when we start clicking offensively a little more. That's what these nonconference games are for."

kgoon@sltrib.com Twitter: @kylegoon —

Storylines

R Utah and Utah State combine for 35 turnovers.

• Utah's Paige Crozon leads the game with 15 points, and Tanaeya Boclair adds 14.

• Utah State's Shannon Dufficy has 11 points, and Rachel Brewster adds 10 despite fouling out early.