UP NEXT: No. 11 Utah hosts in-state foe Weber State

Thursday, December 21

Salt Lake City, UT

12:00 PM

University of Utah

Weber State

UP NEXT: No. 11 Utah hosts in-state foe Weber State

12/19/2023 3:21 PM | Women's Basketball

WBB Game Notes - Weber State

SALT LAKE CITY – The No. 11 Utah Utes (9-2) return to the Jon M. Huntsman Center to host in-state foe, Weber State.

GAME INFORMATION
No. 11 Utah (9-2, 0-0 Pac-12) vs. Weber State (3-8)
DATE | TIME: Thursday, Dec. 21 | 12:00 p.m. MT
LOCATION: Salt Lake City | Jon M. Huntsman Center
TV: Pac-12 Networks
LIVE STATS: Click Here
LIVE STREAM: Click Here
LISTEN: Click Here
TWITTER UPDATES: @UtahWBB

HOW TO TUNE IN
Fans can watch the Weber State game on the Pac-12 Networks. 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 have posted a 9-2 record so far on the season and are 5-0 when competing in the Jon M. Huntsman Center and on a 21-game win streak at home.

LAST TIME OUT
Utah took down its second in-state foe of the season defeating Southern Utah 96-60. Utah had five Utes score in double figures with Alissa Pili leading the way with 20. Utah's bench had a strong showing with 34 points with Maty Wilke and Lani White each scoring 11.Utah ended the game shooting 55.7 percent from the field while Southern Utah shot 49.1 percent. Utah dominated beyond the arc knocking down 16 while SUU only made two.

THE UTES
Utah is returned 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 brought back starters, Jenna Johnson, Kennady McQueen and Isabel Palmer. Other key players returning are Ines Vieira, Lani White and Dasia Young. Utah welcomed three transfers in Matyson Wilke, Alyssa Blanck and Samantha Crispe as well as two true freshmen Daniela Falcon Hernandez and Reese Ross to this year's squad.

The Utes lost Kneepkens after a season ending foot injury that occured against BYU (Dec. 2).

PILI POWER
Pili earned Preseason AP All-American Honorable Mention as well as named to the Katrina McClain Preseason Watchlist, Naismith Trophy Watchlist and the WBCA Wade Trophy Preseason Watchlist. Pili was placed No. 9 on the ESPN Top 25 Women's Basketball Players list.

Pili posted a career-high 37 points against No. 1 South Carolina (Dec. 10). After that performance Pili earned ESPN, AP and USBWA Player of the Week. She also earned Pac-12 Player of the Week.

IN THE RANKS
Utah has been ranked No. 11 in the latest AP Top 25 polls. Utah has been ranked in the Top 25 for six consecutive weeks. Utah is No. 2 in the NCAA Net Rankings and No. 10 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
Utah was ranked No. 5 in the AP Top 25 Preseason Poll. This was 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 currently in the Top 25.

AT THE TOP
Utah is the nation's No. 3 scoring team averaging 93.7 points per game. Utah is No. 1 in the nation in field goal percentage (54.1%). The Utes are No. 1 in the nation in assists per game averaging 25.0 assists per game and average an assist on 72.3% of all made field goals. Utah is also the nations best three point shooting team averaging 13.3 made three pointers a game and No. 1 in three point percentage (42.8). Utah is ranked in the top 10 nationally in eight major statistical categories

HEAD COACH LYNNE ROBERTS
Roberts is in her ninth season at the helm of the Utes. She has posted a 148-106 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 WEBER STATE
The Weber State Wildcats have a 3-8 record on the year. The Wildcats are on a one-game losing streak coming off a 70-58 loss to Air Force.
Weber State is led by Daryn Hickock who averages 12.1 points per game. Jadyn Matthews is another big contributor for the Wildcats as she averages 11.7 points per game and 5.3 rebounds per game.
This will be the 57th meeting between the two teams. Utah has a 50-6 overall record against Weber State. Utah is on a nine game win streak in the series. The last time the two teams met up was Dec. 20, 2022 where Utah defeated the Wildcats in Ogden 88-52. The last time Utah hosted WSU was in 2019. Utah has a 26-1 record against Weber State in the Jon M. Huntsman Center.

NOTABLES
(all statistical rankings are updated through games of 12/19/23)

Ranked No. 11 in this week's AP Top 25 Polls
Utah has been ranked for six consecutive weeks this season in the Top 25. Last year, the Utes broke the record being ranked for 13 consecutive weeks in the AP Top 10 during 2022-23 and was ranked in the AP Poll 19 consecutive weeks.
The Utes are 5-0 in the Huntsman Center this year and are currently on a 21-game win streak at home.
Utah's 98-34 win over Merrimack College (Nov. 24) is Utah's largest margin of victory so far this season.
Against South Carolina State (Nov. 9), Utah had 21 made three pointers breaking the school record for most threes in a game which was previously set at 19 (vs. Lipscomb Nov. 10, 2021).
Utah has three Utes averaging double figures, Alissa Pili (24.2), Gianna Kneepkens (17.8) and Isabel Palmer (14)
Utah has posted five games of 100 points or more and are undefeated when hitting 100 or more in school history (25-0).
Utah is the nation's No. 3 scoring team and ranked in the top 10 nationally in eight major statistical categories:
- No. 3 scoring (93.7)
- No. 3 in assist/turnover ratio (1.76)
- No. 1 in assists per game (25.0)
- No. 1 field goal percentage (54.1)
- No. 3 scoring margin (+35.7)
- No. 1 in three point percentage (42.8)
- No. 1 in made three pointers per game (13.3)
- No. 1 in three point attempts per game (31.0)
Alissa Pili is No. 3 in the nation in field goal percentage (70.6), No. 3 in scoring (266) and No. 3 in points per game (24.2). She's also No. 2 in the NCAA in three point percentage (57.1).
Ines Vieira is No. 9 in the nation in total assists (80) and No. 5 in assists per game (7.3). She just broke into the top 10 in total steals at No. 7 with 36 on the season and No. 9 in steals per game (3.27).
The Utes are coming off a historic 2022-23 season including a Pac-12 regular season title and an NCAA Sweet 16 appearance
At the helm for the Utes is reigning Pac-12 Coach of the Year, Lynne Roberts who enters her ninth season

NEXT UP
The Utes will start Pac-12 action on Dec. 30 at Colorado before heading to Arizona State Jan. 5 and Arizona Jan. 7. The Utes will return to the Huntsman on Jan. 12 to take on Stanford before hosting California Jan. 14.

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