UP NEXT: No. 4 Utah heads to Great Alaska Shootout

Saturday, November 18

Anchorage, AK

9:30 PM

University of Utah

Alaska Anchorage

UP NEXT: No. 4 Utah heads to Great Alaska Shootout

11/16/2023 11:25 AM | Women's Basketball

SALT LAKE CITY – The No. 4 ranked University of Utah women's basketball hits the road to take part in the Great Alaska Shootout where the Utes will take on Alaska Anchorage and either Eastern Kentucky or University of Alabama Birmingham.

GAME INFORMATION
Utah (2-1, 0-0 Pac-12) vs. Alaska Anchorage (2-1)
DATE | TIME: Saturday, Nov. 18 | 9:30 p.m. MT
LOCATION: Anchorage, Alaska | Alaska Airlines Center
LIVE STATS: Click Here
LIVE STREAM: Click Here
LISTEN: Click Here
TWITTER: @UtahWBB

HOW TO TUNE IN
Fans can watch the Great Alaska Shootout on the UAA Seawolves YouTube Channel. The radio call will be on ESPN 700, with Tyson Ewing handling play-by-play and Milee Enger as analyst. Live stats are on UtahUtes.com.

OPENING TIP
The Utes continue the season with a 2-1 overall record on the season. This will be Utah's first match up with Alaska Anchorage and either EKU and UAB.

LAST TIME OUT
Utah fell to No. 21 Baylor with an 84-77 loss. Despite a bucket by Gianna Kneepkens to tie the game late in the fourth quarter, Utah wasn't able to pull out the victory. Utah was led by Alissa Pili who had 22 points. Kneepkens and Isabel Palmer also had double digit scoring with Kneepkens dropping 18 points and Palmer putting up 11.

THE UTES
Utah is returning all of last year's starting five including All-American and Pac-12 Player of the Year, Alissa Pili as well as All-American Gianna Kneepkens. Utah also brings back starters, Jenna Johnson, Kennady McQueen and Isabel Palmer. Ines Vieira, Lani White and Dasia Young also return for the Utes. Utah welcomes three transfers in Matyson Wilke, Alyssa Blanck and Samantha Crispe as well as two true freshman Daniela Falcon Hernandez and Reese Ross to this year's squad.

IN THE RANKS
In this week's AP Top 25 poll, Utah came in at No. 4. This is just the second time Utah has been ranked in the Top 5 and the second highest ranking in school history. Utah is one of three schools ranked in the Top 5 with UCLA (No. 3) and Colorado (No. 5). The Pac-12 has five schools in the Top 10 with Stanford (No. 6) and USC (No. 10).
In the AP Top 25 Preseason Poll Utah was ranked in the No. 5 slot. This is the highest preseason ranking for Utah in school history and the first time the Utes have been ranked to start a season since 2005. Utah is one of six Pac-12 schools starting the season ranked in the Top 25.

HEAD COACH LYNNE ROBERTS
Roberts kicked off her ninth season at the helm of the Utes. She has posted a 141-105 record in her time at Utah. She was dubbed the Pac-12 Coach of the Year in 2023 after leading the team to its first ever Pac-12 regular season title. She led Utah to its second ever Sweet 16 appearance. Roberts also led the Utes to its highest AP Rankings in school history, including 12 weeks in the Top 10.

SCOUTING ALASKA ANCHORAGE
The Seawolves are coming off a 78-50 win over Hawaii Hilo. Alaska Anchorage was led by Kate Robertson who had 15 points. The Seawolves are 2-1 overall on the season. This is the first meeting between Utah and Alaska Anchorage. The Seawolves are led by Jazzpher Evans who averages 15.7 points per game. She's shooting 52 percent from the field and 62 percent from the field. Ryan McCarthy is the head coach for UAA is in his 12^th year at the helm of the Seawolves. He has a 264-54 record as head coach at UAA.

NEXT UP
Utah will return home to host Merrimack (Nov. 24), Carroll College (Nov. 28) and BYU (Dec. 2) before hitting the road to take on Saint Joesph's (Dec. 7) and No. 1 South Carolina (Dec. 10). Pac-12 action is set to start Dec. 30 at Colorado.

FOLLOW THE UTES!
Fans can follow along during the 2023-24 season on social media (Twitter: @UtahWBB | Instagram: @UtahWBB | Facebook: Facebook.com/UtahWBB).