Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus Syracuse on November 21, 2025 at 3:00 PM (MT)
3:00 PM (MT)
Women's Basketball
vs Syracuse
The University of Utah Athletics
Friday, March 17
5:30 PM
University of Utah
vs
Gardner-Webb
No. 2 Utah hosts No. 15 Gardner-Webb in NCAA First Round
3/16/2023 5:03 PM | Women's Basketball
THE MATCHUP
Friday, March 17 | 5:30 p.m. (MT)
#2 Utah (25-4, 15-4 Pac-12) vs #15 Gardner-Webb (29-4; 18-0 Big South)
Location: Jon. M Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City, UT
TV: ESPNU
Radio: ESPN700 KALL | Listen Live Click Here
Live Stats: Click Here
HOW TO TUNE IN
Fans can watch the game on ESPNU with Elise Woodward and Dan Hughes calling the action. The radio call will be on ESPN 700 KALL, with Bill Riley handling play-by-play and Milee Enger as analyst. Live stats are on UtahUtes.com.
TICKETS
•Tickets to all NCAA Tournament First and Second Round Games are available online at UtahTickets.com or by calling 801-581-8849.
HEAR FROM HEAD COACH LYNNE ROBERTS
We're excited to be at home. This is just such a great opportunity and we're grateful that we are here. And as I've shared many times, losing at Texas, they were the 2 seed last year, in the second round, to them, we've all had our sights on this in terms of the opportunity to host. As you asked the players, the advantage that it is, that doesn't mean it's a given that you win or it's easy to win ever in this tournament. But certainly we are appreciative of the opportunity to host and we hope we have some great crowds. And we're playing a really good team on Friday. Gardner-Webb's good. They have won 21 games in a row. That's really hard to do. I don't care what league you're in, that is really hard to do. They're very well coached. They play super hard. So it's not going to be easy. Those are dangerous teams, when they come in with that kind of confidence, upperclassmen, kind of nothing to lose in the regard of they're not favored to win. Those are dangerous teams. So they have our attention, for sure. They have our team's attention. We'll be ready to go tomorrow.
UTES IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
• Utah was selected as the No. 2 seed, the highest seeding in school history.
• The Utes have earned back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances since the 2008 and 2009 this season.
• Utah has made the 19 total NCAA Tournament appearances.
• Utah has only made the NCAA Tournament as a Pac-12 member one time before and it was the 2021-22 season.
• This is the third time the NCAA Women's Tournament has been in Salt Lake City. The first time was in 2000-01 and then later in 2010-11.
QUICK NOTES FOR THIS WEEK
Friday, March 17 | 5:30 p.m. (MT)
#2 Utah (25-4, 15-4 Pac-12) vs #15 Gardner-Webb (29-4; 18-0 Big South)
Location: Jon. M Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City, UT
TV: ESPNU
Radio: ESPN700 KALL | Listen Live Click Here
Live Stats: Click Here
HOW TO TUNE IN
Fans can watch the game on ESPNU with Elise Woodward and Dan Hughes calling the action. The radio call will be on ESPN 700 KALL, with Bill Riley handling play-by-play and Milee Enger as analyst. Live stats are on UtahUtes.com.
TICKETS
•Tickets to all NCAA Tournament First and Second Round Games are available online at UtahTickets.com or by calling 801-581-8849.
HEAR FROM HEAD COACH LYNNE ROBERTS
We're excited to be at home. This is just such a great opportunity and we're grateful that we are here. And as I've shared many times, losing at Texas, they were the 2 seed last year, in the second round, to them, we've all had our sights on this in terms of the opportunity to host. As you asked the players, the advantage that it is, that doesn't mean it's a given that you win or it's easy to win ever in this tournament. But certainly we are appreciative of the opportunity to host and we hope we have some great crowds. And we're playing a really good team on Friday. Gardner-Webb's good. They have won 21 games in a row. That's really hard to do. I don't care what league you're in, that is really hard to do. They're very well coached. They play super hard. So it's not going to be easy. Those are dangerous teams, when they come in with that kind of confidence, upperclassmen, kind of nothing to lose in the regard of they're not favored to win. Those are dangerous teams. So they have our attention, for sure. They have our team's attention. We'll be ready to go tomorrow.
UTES IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
• Utah was selected as the No. 2 seed, the highest seeding in school history.
• The Utes have earned back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances since the 2008 and 2009 this season.
• Utah has made the 19 total NCAA Tournament appearances.
• Utah has only made the NCAA Tournament as a Pac-12 member one time before and it was the 2021-22 season.
• This is the third time the NCAA Women's Tournament has been in Salt Lake City. The first time was in 2000-01 and then later in 2010-11.
QUICK NOTES FOR THIS WEEK
- Utah's No. 2 seed is the highest seed Utah has earned in the NCAA Tournament in program history.
- This is also the first time the Utes have received back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths since 2008 and 2009.
- The highest the University of Utah had been seeded in the NCAA Tournament prior to this year was No. 5 in 1982-83, 1996-97, 2000-01, 2005-06.
- Utah claimed its first Pac-12 title by taking down No. 3 Stanford 84-78.
- Then ranked, No. 3 Stanford is the highest ranked team Utah has beaten in school history and Utah has a 4-2 record over ranked teams this season.
- Utah's No. 8 ranking in this week's AP Polls marks for the 12th consecutive week in the AP Top 10. Utah has been ranked in the AP Poll 18 consecutive weeks, breaking the program record of nine weeks in a row set in 2001 and the most total weeks ranked in the same season.
- This week's NCAA NET rankings place the Utes at No. 7, second-best among Pac-12 teams behind Stanford (4).
- Utah's 25-4 overall record on the season is its best through 29 games since 2000-01, when the Utes went 26-3.
- Utah's 14-0 start was the second-best in program history (16-0 in 1997-98) and tied for the fourth-best start by any program in Pac-12 history. It's the best start for Utah in the Pac-12 Era.
- Utah is the nation's No. 4 scoring team and ranks in the top 10 nationally in five major statistical categories:
- No. 4 field-goal percentage (48.5)
- No. 7 scoring margin (+17.6)
- No. 4 in scoring (83.5)
- No. 6 in assists per game (18.3)
- No. 9 in free throws per game (15.93)
- Three Utes averaging in double-figure scoring pace a balanced team attack: Alissa Pili (20.3), Gianna Kneepkens (15.4) and Jenna Johnson (11.7). Pili is No. 1 in the Pac-12 in scoring while Kneepkens is ninth among the Pac-12's best.
- Junior forward Alissa Pili, recently named to the Wooden Award Finalists and the Katrina McClain Power Forward Top 10 finalists, leads the team in scoring (20.3, 1st Pac-12, 29th NCAA) and ranks 19th in the nation (1st Pac-12) in field-goal percentage (58.5%). She also sits at No.14 nationally in total made field goals with 226. The Nov. 28 and Feb. 6 Pac-12 Player of the Week topped 1,000 career points this season.
- Sophomore Gianna Kneepkens ranks 19th in the nation in three-point shooting percentage (42.0%), No.2 among Pac-12 players.
- Utah holds an all-time home record of 549-131 (.806), and has won 18 of its last 19 home games, including 14-0 this year. The Utes have nine undefeated home seasons. This is the best home record since 2002-03 when the Utes also went 12-0. This is the best home record in the Pac-12 era.
- Watch Lists: Gianna Kneepkens (Cheryl Miller Award/top small forward). Alissa Pili (Katrina McClain Award; top power forward; Wooden Award & Ann Drysdale Meyers Award Midseason Watch Lists
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Basketball
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