Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus Western Colorado (EXHIBITION) on October 27, 2025 at TBD
TBD
Women's Basketball
vs Western Colorado (EXHIBITION)
Wednesday, January 22
Salt Lake City, Utah
7:00 PM
University of Utah
14-5,5-3Big 12
79
vs
61
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Kansas
12-7,2-6Big 12
1
2
3
4
F
Kansas
5
20
23
13
61
Utah
21
22
23
13
79
Utah Triumphs in 79-61 Win Over Kansas
1/22/2025 10:59 PM | Women's Basketball
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah women's basketball team found its rhythm as the Utes downed Kansas 79-61 Wednesday evening in the Jon M. Huntsman Center.
Utah had two Utes flirt with triple-doubles and were led by Gianna Kneepkens' career-high 30 points. Kneepkens also posted 10 rebounds for her first double-double this season, as well as eight assists. Jenna Johnson also had a notable stat line with 13 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
The Utes are now 14-5 overall on the season and 5-3 in the Big 12. The Utes are also 10-1 at home this season.
GAME SUMMARY
Utah started the game on a 12-0 run that was triggered with back-to-back made threes from Gianna Kneepkens. Kneepkens went on to sink two more from beyond the arc in the first quarter to put up 12 points. The Utes ended the first quarter strong on a 6-0 run to push out for a 21-5 lead.
The Utes started the second quarter with a three from Jenna Johnson with the assist coming from Kneepkens. With that, Kneepkens recorded her fifth assist giving her a hand in Utah's first 24 points of the game. Kansas was able to find their footing and nearly matched Utah in scoring in the second quarter but Utah maintained for a 43-25 lead going into the half. Johnson was a force on the glass in the first half pulling down eight rebounds.
Utah started the second half going 6-of-6 from the field and pushed its lead to 24. The Jayhawks pushed for a 7-0 run to end the third quarter and were able to perfectly match the Utes in scoring as both teams put up 23 points. Utah still controlled the scoreboard as the Utes had a 66-48 lead going into the final quarter of play.
Kneepkens continued her dominance with a late run in the fourth quarter where she put up seven consecutive points to push her to a career-high performance of 30 total points. Utah's big first quarter proved crucial as Kansas once again matched the Utes in scoring in the fourth quarter. The Utes were able to close out the game and walked away with the 79-61 victory.
LEADERS
Utah had three players score in double figures and were led by Gianna Kneepkens' career-high performance of 30 points. Mayé Touré posted 14 points and Jenna Johnson had 13 points going 5-of-6 from the field.
Kneepkens was on the brink of a triple-double as she combined her 30 points with a season-high 10 rebounds, for her first double-double of the season, and a season-high eight assists.
Johnson also flirted with a triple-double as she added nine rebounds and seven assists to her 13 points.
Matyson Wilke tied her career-high by adding six assists to the Utes offensive efforts. She also posted a season-high five steals.
COMPARISON
Utah shot 50.8% from the field while Kansas shot 44.4% from the field. Utah went 36.1% from deep making 13-of-36 while Kansas went 43.8% shooting 7-of-16. The Utes went 6-of-8 from the free throw line for 75.0% while the Jayhawks went 6-of-7 for 85.7%.
Utah had 27 assists on 30 made field goals while Kansas had 12 assists on 24 made field goals. The Utes outrebounded the Jayhawks 35-25.
NOTABLES
Gianna Kneepkens ended the night with her third career double-double that included a career high of 30 points and a season-high performance of 10 rebounds. She also tied her career high with eight assists on the night.
Kneepkens' 30 points included six made from beyond the arc also marking a career high in made three pointers.
Utah had 24 assists on its first 24 made field goals and ended the night tying the season high with 27 assists. Utah did end the night with an assist on 90% of made field goals for a season high.
Mayé Touré had one block on the night to give her 100 total blocks in her career.
HEAR FROM THE UTES
Head Coach Gavin Petersen
Overall Statement . . .
"It was a good start for our team this time around. We've had a few games where we haven't had good starts that have put us behind and we've had to waste a lot of energy to just make it a good game. I'm proud of our focus the last couple of days, in terms of executing what we needed to do to start a game and that allows us to play freely. We have to give credit to Kansas. They settled in and kept being physical and kept competing all the way to the bitter end. Credit to them, they are a well coached team Brandon [Schneider] does a great job. They are a young team and will be someone to reckon with as they get older in the Big 12."
On Utah's 27 assists . . .
"We prepared and executed our game plan. What makes us good is that we do share the basketball. They were prepared and unselfish. It's a credit to our kids. We might have lost two games in a row but you're not going to put us away that easily. You can't count us out on anything. As long as we move the ball we're capable of big things and the team knows that."
Jenna Johnson, senior, forward
On rallying together coming into tonight's game . . .
"I feel like we had a difficult week in Texas and some losses we felt like we didn't play our best in. These last few days we tried to focus on ourselves and figure out how to get back to Utah basketball. We had some good energy tonight and I felt like we found ourselves again."
On her impressive stat line . . .
"I was focusing on being aggressive tonight. That's something I've felt I have been missing these last few games. I tried to go in with that mentality. I also tried to control the controllables with rebounding and I found a groove in the o-boards early on and just rolled with it from there."
Gianna Kneepkens, junior, guard
On her career performance . . .
"I have to give credit to my teammates for finding me. In the coverage tonight I was just trying to find the gaps and my teammates found me every time. We were prepared super well so I was able to find passes to my teammates they were able to finish. It was a team effort and with our focus on starting super well we were all able to connect the full 40 minutes."
UP NEXT
Utah will make the short trip to BYU in the first rivalry matchup of the year on Jan. 25 at 2:30 p.m. on ESPNU. Utah will then host Arizona Jan. 31 before hitting the road to take on Texas Tech Feb. 5.
OFFICIAL MOBILE APP OF UTAH ATHLETICS – UTAH 360
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).
Utah had two Utes flirt with triple-doubles and were led by Gianna Kneepkens' career-high 30 points. Kneepkens also posted 10 rebounds for her first double-double this season, as well as eight assists. Jenna Johnson also had a notable stat line with 13 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
The Utes are now 14-5 overall on the season and 5-3 in the Big 12. The Utes are also 10-1 at home this season.
GAME SUMMARY
Utah started the game on a 12-0 run that was triggered with back-to-back made threes from Gianna Kneepkens. Kneepkens went on to sink two more from beyond the arc in the first quarter to put up 12 points. The Utes ended the first quarter strong on a 6-0 run to push out for a 21-5 lead.
The Utes started the second quarter with a three from Jenna Johnson with the assist coming from Kneepkens. With that, Kneepkens recorded her fifth assist giving her a hand in Utah's first 24 points of the game. Kansas was able to find their footing and nearly matched Utah in scoring in the second quarter but Utah maintained for a 43-25 lead going into the half. Johnson was a force on the glass in the first half pulling down eight rebounds.
Utah started the second half going 6-of-6 from the field and pushed its lead to 24. The Jayhawks pushed for a 7-0 run to end the third quarter and were able to perfectly match the Utes in scoring as both teams put up 23 points. Utah still controlled the scoreboard as the Utes had a 66-48 lead going into the final quarter of play.
Kneepkens continued her dominance with a late run in the fourth quarter where she put up seven consecutive points to push her to a career-high performance of 30 total points. Utah's big first quarter proved crucial as Kansas once again matched the Utes in scoring in the fourth quarter. The Utes were able to close out the game and walked away with the 79-61 victory.
LEADERS
Utah had three players score in double figures and were led by Gianna Kneepkens' career-high performance of 30 points. Mayé Touré posted 14 points and Jenna Johnson had 13 points going 5-of-6 from the field.
Kneepkens was on the brink of a triple-double as she combined her 30 points with a season-high 10 rebounds, for her first double-double of the season, and a season-high eight assists.
Johnson also flirted with a triple-double as she added nine rebounds and seven assists to her 13 points.
Matyson Wilke tied her career-high by adding six assists to the Utes offensive efforts. She also posted a season-high five steals.
COMPARISON
Utah shot 50.8% from the field while Kansas shot 44.4% from the field. Utah went 36.1% from deep making 13-of-36 while Kansas went 43.8% shooting 7-of-16. The Utes went 6-of-8 from the free throw line for 75.0% while the Jayhawks went 6-of-7 for 85.7%.
Utah had 27 assists on 30 made field goals while Kansas had 12 assists on 24 made field goals. The Utes outrebounded the Jayhawks 35-25.
NOTABLES
Gianna Kneepkens ended the night with her third career double-double that included a career high of 30 points and a season-high performance of 10 rebounds. She also tied her career high with eight assists on the night.
Kneepkens' 30 points included six made from beyond the arc also marking a career high in made three pointers.
Utah had 24 assists on its first 24 made field goals and ended the night tying the season high with 27 assists. Utah did end the night with an assist on 90% of made field goals for a season high.
Mayé Touré had one block on the night to give her 100 total blocks in her career.
HEAR FROM THE UTES
Head Coach Gavin Petersen
Overall Statement . . .
"It was a good start for our team this time around. We've had a few games where we haven't had good starts that have put us behind and we've had to waste a lot of energy to just make it a good game. I'm proud of our focus the last couple of days, in terms of executing what we needed to do to start a game and that allows us to play freely. We have to give credit to Kansas. They settled in and kept being physical and kept competing all the way to the bitter end. Credit to them, they are a well coached team Brandon [Schneider] does a great job. They are a young team and will be someone to reckon with as they get older in the Big 12."
On Utah's 27 assists . . .
"We prepared and executed our game plan. What makes us good is that we do share the basketball. They were prepared and unselfish. It's a credit to our kids. We might have lost two games in a row but you're not going to put us away that easily. You can't count us out on anything. As long as we move the ball we're capable of big things and the team knows that."
Jenna Johnson, senior, forward
On rallying together coming into tonight's game . . .
"I feel like we had a difficult week in Texas and some losses we felt like we didn't play our best in. These last few days we tried to focus on ourselves and figure out how to get back to Utah basketball. We had some good energy tonight and I felt like we found ourselves again."
On her impressive stat line . . .
"I was focusing on being aggressive tonight. That's something I've felt I have been missing these last few games. I tried to go in with that mentality. I also tried to control the controllables with rebounding and I found a groove in the o-boards early on and just rolled with it from there."
Gianna Kneepkens, junior, guard
On her career performance . . .
"I have to give credit to my teammates for finding me. In the coverage tonight I was just trying to find the gaps and my teammates found me every time. We were prepared super well so I was able to find passes to my teammates they were able to finish. It was a team effort and with our focus on starting super well we were all able to connect the full 40 minutes."
UP NEXT
Utah will make the short trip to BYU in the first rivalry matchup of the year on Jan. 25 at 2:30 p.m. on ESPNU. Utah will then host Arizona Jan. 31 before hitting the road to take on Texas Tech Feb. 5.
OFFICIAL MOBILE APP OF UTAH ATHLETICS – UTAH 360
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).
Team Stats
KU
Utah
FG%
.444
.508
3FG%
.438
.361
FT%
.857
.750
RB
25
35
TO
12
10
STL
7
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
30
FGM
12
3FGM
6
FTM
0
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G
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