Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus Western Colorado (EXHIBITION) on October 27, 2025 at TBD
TBD
Women's Basketball
vs Western Colorado (EXHIBITION)
Saturday, January 11
Salt Lake City, Utah
1:30 PM
University of Utah
vs
Houston
UP NEXT: Utah Hosts Houston Saturday in Ute Proud Game
1/10/2025 12:18 PM | Women's Basketball
SALT LAKE CITY – The No. 22 Utah Utes women's basketball team will continue the inaugural Big 12 season by hosting the Houston Cougars on Saturday, Jan. 11 at 1:30 p.m.
The Utes are currently 12-3 on the season and 3-1 in Big 12 play after falling to No. 12 Kansas State 71-47 Wednesday night.
GAME INFORMATION
Utah (12-3, 3-0 Big 12) vs. Houston (4-11, 0-4 Big 12)
DATE | TIME: Saturday, Jan. 11 | 1:30 PM
LOCATION: Salt Lake City | Jon M. Huntsman Center
TV: ESPN+ | Watch
LISTEN: Click Here
LIVE STATS: Click Here
TWITTER UPDATES: @UtahWBB
HOW TO TUNE IN
Fans can watch the match up on ESPN+ with Krista Blunk and Angela Taylor on the call. The radio call will be on ESPN700 and can be found on the TuneIn app, with Tyson Ewing and Milee Rustand calling the action.
LAST TIME OUT
Utah fell to No. 12 Kansas State 71-47. The Utes had a surge in the second quarter and only trailed by nine going into the halftime break but K-State swept the momentum in the second half to hand Utah's its first Big 12 loss. Utah was led by Gianna Kneepkens' 12 points and Reese Ross' 11 points.
THE UTES
Utah returns four starters from last year's squad including 2022-23 All-American Gianna Kneepkens. Kneepkens returns after suffering a season ending injury early in the 2023-24 season. Utah also brought back starters Jenna Johnson, Kennady McQueen and Inês Vieira. Other key players returning are Matyson Wilke, Samantha Crispe and Reese Ross. The Utes welcome two transfers in Chyra Evans and Mayé Touré and three true freshmen in Grace Foster, Kylie Ray and Brooke Walker.
KNOWING KNEEPKENS
Kneepkens is currently averaging 17.1 points per game and shooting 49.7 percent from the field, 43.6 percent from the three and 93.7 from the free throw line going 59-of-63. She is averaging 4.2 rebounds per game. She leads the Utes from beyond the arc knocking down 41 total so far on the year. She is ranked No. 11 in the nation and leads the Big 12 with her 93.7 percent from the free throw line.
Kneepkens has scored a season-high 24 points three times this season. First she hit 24 points in just 21 minutes of game play against McNeese (11/18/24). Second, she hit 24 against Washington (12/14/24) with 14 of those points coming in the fourth quarter. Most recently she hit 24 points against Arizona State (12/21/24).
Prior to her injury in 2023-24, Kneepkens played just eight games and was averaging 17.8 points per game while shooting 63.3 percent from the field and 54.0 percent from beyond the arc. She averaged 5.5 rebounds and four assists per game.
Kneepkens has knocked down three or more three-pointers in seven games this season and Utah is 7-0 in those games. She posted a season-high of four made threes four times so far with the last time coming against Arizona (12/31/24). She is a 1,000 point scorer as she broke the 1,000-point milestone last season when she put up 19 against Carroll College (Nov. 28, 2023).
She was named to both the Naismith Player of the Year and Cheryl Miller Award Preseason Watchlists. Kneepkens was also placed on the Big 12 Preseason All-Conference team.
IN THE RANKS
The Utes cracked the AP Top 25 Poll coming in at No. 22 the week of January 6. Utah received votes for four consecutive weeks prior to cracking the Top 25. During the 2023-24 season the Utes' were ranked in the Top 25 for 20 consecutive weeks.
HEAD COACH GAVIN PETERSEN
Petersen was named the head coach of the Utah women's basketball team on Nov. 19, 2024 just four games into the 2024-25 season. He brings 23 seasons of college coaching experience to the role, he is in his 10th season overall with the Utes and spent the previous five years as associate head coach under Lynne Roberts.
Petersen has been a part of the staff that has led the Utes to six postseason appearances—including three NCAA tournaments and a trip to the Sweet Sixteen—and four 20-win seasons, as well as regular appearances in the AP Top 25.
SCOUTING HOUSTON
The Houston Cougars are currently 4-11 on the season and 0-4 in Big 12 play. The Cougars are coming off a 89-75 loss to BYU and are on a four-game losing streak
Houston has three people averaging double figures and are led by Laila Blair who averages 12.1 points per game shooting for 32.2 percent from the field.
This will be the third time the two programs have matched up. The last time the two teams met was December of 1986 where Utah picked up an 85-70 win.
Utah has a 1-1 record with Houston and are 1-1 when playing in Salt Lake City. This is the first time since 1986 Utah will take on Houston at home.
Houston is led by head coach Ronald Hughey who is in his 11th season. He has a 139-181 record at the helm of the Cougars.
NEW THIS WEEK
The official mobile app of Utah Athletics is Utah 360. Download it today to unlock a refreshed game-day experience, from managing tickets to mobile concessions ordering, as well as video content, news and information, schedules, rosters and stats. The app is available in both the Apple Store (download) and Google Play (download). Add it today, access your game tickets and download them to your smartphone's wallet to make yourself game-day ready.
FOLLOW THE UTES!
Fans can follow along during the 2024-25 season on social media (Twitter: @UtahWBB | Instagram: @UtahWBB | Facebook: Facebook.com/UtahWBB).
The Utes are currently 12-3 on the season and 3-1 in Big 12 play after falling to No. 12 Kansas State 71-47 Wednesday night.
GAME INFORMATION
Utah (12-3, 3-0 Big 12) vs. Houston (4-11, 0-4 Big 12)
DATE | TIME: Saturday, Jan. 11 | 1:30 PM
LOCATION: Salt Lake City | Jon M. Huntsman Center
TV: ESPN+ | Watch
LISTEN: Click Here
LIVE STATS: Click Here
TWITTER UPDATES: @UtahWBB
HOW TO TUNE IN
Fans can watch the match up on ESPN+ with Krista Blunk and Angela Taylor on the call. The radio call will be on ESPN700 and can be found on the TuneIn app, with Tyson Ewing and Milee Rustand calling the action.
LAST TIME OUT
Utah fell to No. 12 Kansas State 71-47. The Utes had a surge in the second quarter and only trailed by nine going into the halftime break but K-State swept the momentum in the second half to hand Utah's its first Big 12 loss. Utah was led by Gianna Kneepkens' 12 points and Reese Ross' 11 points.
THE UTES
Utah returns four starters from last year's squad including 2022-23 All-American Gianna Kneepkens. Kneepkens returns after suffering a season ending injury early in the 2023-24 season. Utah also brought back starters Jenna Johnson, Kennady McQueen and Inês Vieira. Other key players returning are Matyson Wilke, Samantha Crispe and Reese Ross. The Utes welcome two transfers in Chyra Evans and Mayé Touré and three true freshmen in Grace Foster, Kylie Ray and Brooke Walker.
KNOWING KNEEPKENS
Kneepkens is currently averaging 17.1 points per game and shooting 49.7 percent from the field, 43.6 percent from the three and 93.7 from the free throw line going 59-of-63. She is averaging 4.2 rebounds per game. She leads the Utes from beyond the arc knocking down 41 total so far on the year. She is ranked No. 11 in the nation and leads the Big 12 with her 93.7 percent from the free throw line.
Kneepkens has scored a season-high 24 points three times this season. First she hit 24 points in just 21 minutes of game play against McNeese (11/18/24). Second, she hit 24 against Washington (12/14/24) with 14 of those points coming in the fourth quarter. Most recently she hit 24 points against Arizona State (12/21/24).
Prior to her injury in 2023-24, Kneepkens played just eight games and was averaging 17.8 points per game while shooting 63.3 percent from the field and 54.0 percent from beyond the arc. She averaged 5.5 rebounds and four assists per game.
Kneepkens has knocked down three or more three-pointers in seven games this season and Utah is 7-0 in those games. She posted a season-high of four made threes four times so far with the last time coming against Arizona (12/31/24). She is a 1,000 point scorer as she broke the 1,000-point milestone last season when she put up 19 against Carroll College (Nov. 28, 2023).
She was named to both the Naismith Player of the Year and Cheryl Miller Award Preseason Watchlists. Kneepkens was also placed on the Big 12 Preseason All-Conference team.
IN THE RANKS
The Utes cracked the AP Top 25 Poll coming in at No. 22 the week of January 6. Utah received votes for four consecutive weeks prior to cracking the Top 25. During the 2023-24 season the Utes' were ranked in the Top 25 for 20 consecutive weeks.
HEAD COACH GAVIN PETERSEN
Petersen was named the head coach of the Utah women's basketball team on Nov. 19, 2024 just four games into the 2024-25 season. He brings 23 seasons of college coaching experience to the role, he is in his 10th season overall with the Utes and spent the previous five years as associate head coach under Lynne Roberts.
Petersen has been a part of the staff that has led the Utes to six postseason appearances—including three NCAA tournaments and a trip to the Sweet Sixteen—and four 20-win seasons, as well as regular appearances in the AP Top 25.
SCOUTING HOUSTON
The Houston Cougars are currently 4-11 on the season and 0-4 in Big 12 play. The Cougars are coming off a 89-75 loss to BYU and are on a four-game losing streak
Houston has three people averaging double figures and are led by Laila Blair who averages 12.1 points per game shooting for 32.2 percent from the field.
This will be the third time the two programs have matched up. The last time the two teams met was December of 1986 where Utah picked up an 85-70 win.
Utah has a 1-1 record with Houston and are 1-1 when playing in Salt Lake City. This is the first time since 1986 Utah will take on Houston at home.
Houston is led by head coach Ronald Hughey who is in his 11th season. He has a 139-181 record at the helm of the Cougars.
NEW THIS WEEK
- Utah cracked the AP Top 25 coming in at No. 22 after receiving votes the previous four weeks.
- Utah's 71-47 loss to K-State was the largest home loss since losing 82-54 to Stanford (1/15/21)
- Utah's 78-67 win over No. 3 Notre Dame marks the highest ranked win while traveling in school history. Previously, the record for the highest ranked neutral site game was during the 2002-03 season when Utah defeated No. 14 Mississippi State 69-65. The previous record for highest ranked win outside of Salt Lake City was last season when Utah defeated No. 6 USC with a 74-68 score in Los Angeles (2/25/24).
- This is back-to-back seasons the Utes have taken down top-10 teams away from the Jon M. Huntsman Center.
- Gavin Petersen became the fastest head coach in school history to get a win over a top-10 team. Accomplishing the feat in just four games when Utah downed No. 3 Notre Dame 78-67 (11/30/24).
- Utah's 105 points against SUU (11/4/24), marked the first time in school history the Utes scored 100 or more points in the season opener in back-to-back seasons.
- Utah's 118 points against McNeese (11/18/24) marks the second highest points scored in a game in Utah program history. The record stands at 124 which has occurred twice, with the most recent time coming in 2022-23 against Oklahoma State.
- In Utah's 67-57 win over Washington, the Utes trailed by 10 points going into the fourth quarter. The Utes outscored the Huskies 27-7 in the fourth quarter to pull out the win. At the time, Utah was one of six teams to overcome a double digit deficit for a victory.
- Gianna Kneepkens has left no doubts with her comeback as she leads the team averaging 17.1 points per game shooting 49.7 percent from the field and 43.6 percent from the three. She also leads the team in made three pointers with 41 and free throws with 59.
- At the helm for the Utes is Gavin Petersen who is in his first season as head coach and 10th overall season at Utah. He was named head coach Nov. 19, 2024 just four games into the season.
- Utah welcomes two transfers (Chyra Evans and Mayè Tourè) and three true freshmen (Brooke Walker, Grace Foster and Kylie Ray) to this year's squad.
- Utah is currently in the top 30 nationally in eight major statistical categories:
- No. 14 assists per game (18.7)
- No. 29 assists/turnover (1.20)
- No. 19 field goal percentage (47.3)
- No. 19 free throw percentage (77.9)
- No. 32 scoring (79.2)
- No. 8 made three pointers per game (10.0)
- No. 23 three point attempts per game (26.5)
- No. 14 three point percentage (37.7)
- Inês Vieira is currently No. 20 in the nation and No. 6 in the Big 12 in total assists with 84. She is also No. 20 nationally, No. 5 in the Big 12 in assists per game (5.6).
- Gianna Kneepkens is currently No. 11 in the nation and leads the Big 12 in free throw percentage with 93.7.
- Kneepkens is currently No. 32 in the nation, No. 4 in the Big 12 in three pointers made with 41 and No. 26 in the nation and No. 3 in the Big 12 in three point percentage (43.6).
The official mobile app of Utah Athletics is Utah 360. Download it today to unlock a refreshed game-day experience, from managing tickets to mobile concessions ordering, as well as video content, news and information, schedules, rosters and stats. The app is available in both the Apple Store (download) and Google Play (download). Add it today, access your game tickets and download them to your smartphone's wallet to make yourself game-day ready.
FOLLOW THE UTES!
Fans can follow along during the 2024-25 season on social media (Twitter: @UtahWBB | Instagram: @UtahWBB | Facebook: Facebook.com/UtahWBB).
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