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 25
Provo, UT
2:30 PM
University of Utah
15-5,6-3Big 12
81
at
76
BYU
10-9,1-7Big 12
1
2
3
4
F
Utah
15
22
18
26
81
BYU
21
14
19
22
76
Photo by: Liv Medivitz/Utah Athletics
Utah Outlasts BYU for 81-76 Victory In Rivalry Game
1/25/2025 6:08 PM | Women's Basketball
PROVO, Utah – It's a great day to be a Ute as the Utah women's basketball team downed BYU on the road in the renewed rivalry with an 81-76 final score on Saturday afternoon.
The Utes were led by Gianna Kneepkens' career-high 32 points including a career-high 10 made from the free throw line. This was Kneepkens fourth consecutive game posting 20 or more points and second consecutive game posting 30 points. Utah is now 15-5 overall on the season and sit 6-3 in Big 12 play.
GAME SUMMARY
BYU got a jump on Utah with a 10-0 run in the first quarter to take an 11-4 lead. Gianna Kneepkens answered with a three and a pair of made free throws to cut the deficit to just two points. Utah struggled with turnovers in the first quarter recording nine total that kept the momentum in favor of BYU. The Cougars pulled ahead for a 21-15 lead over the Utes at the end of the initial quarter of play.
Utah found a spark early in the second quarter with an 11-0 run to take back the lead. The two teams played leap frog on the scoreboard the remainder of the first half. Utah was able to get the lead thanks to a driving layup from Kneepkens to give the Utes a 37-35 lead going into the half. Utah outscored BYU 22-14 in the second quarter.
The Utes came out of halftime and hit three from beyond the arc on three consecutive possessions to claim the momentum. Utah was able to narrowly outlast BYU in the third and held a 55-54 lead going into the final quarter of play.
Utah locked in for the final 10 minutes of play as the Utes forced the Cougars into a six minute scoring drought and went on an 8-0 run. Utah had a 68-62 lead going into the final two minutes of play. The Cougars made a surge in those final two minutes and brought the score to 73-70 still in favor of the Utes. But, Utah outlasted BYU and pulled away for the 81-76 victory.
LEADERS
Utah had two players score in double figures and were led by Gianna Kneepkens' career-high performance of 32 points. She also recorded a career-high 10 made free throws and tied her career high with six made from beyond the arc. Mayé Touré posted her fifth 20-point game of the season as she put up 21 points.
Kneepkens and Touré had big games on the boards as well both pulling down eight rebounds.
Inês Vieira led Utah with four assists. She also helped out with six rebounds and seven points. Defensively, Kneepkens had the game high with three steals.
COMPARISON
Utah shot 42.6% from the field while BYU shot 46.7% from the field. Utah went 55.0% from deep making 11-20 while BYU went 52.6% shooting 10-of-19. The Utes went 18-of-28 from the free throw line for 64.3% while the Cougars went 10-of-16 for 62.5%.
Utah had 15 assists on 26 made field goals while BYU had 17 assists on 28 made field goals. The Utes outrebounded the Cougars 42 to 31. Utah had 18 offensive rebounds and converted that into 30 second chance points. BYU had 11 o-boards and recorded six second chance points.
NOTABLES
Gianna Kneepkens ended the night with a new career-high 32 points. She broke her previous career high that she set earlier this week of 30 points against Kansas (1/22/25). She tied her career-high with six made from beyond the arc and set a new career-high of 10 made free throws.
HEAR FROM THE UTES
Head Coach Gavin Petersen
Overall Statement . . .
"When you have an in-state rivalry it's hard. We knew we were going to get their best shot and they have our respect in terms of what they're going to do and they're going to get our best shot. We knew they were going to come out early in the first quarter and establish themselves and we shot ourselves in the foot with some uncharacteristic and unforced turnovers. Gianna Kneepkens hit some really big shots that helped us settle in and I'm proud of our kids."
Gianna Kneepkens, junior, guard
On her playing BYU for the first time since her injury. . .
"I didn't think about it too much because it wasn't a contact injury. It just happened. With all this it reminded me how grateful I am for our staff and teammates. Especially our athletic trainer, Christina Jones and my strength coach Lindsey Kirschman. They got me back and I'm feeling good and feeling strong. That's all I can ask for, to be back out here and competing."
On her emotion and passion while playing . . .
"I think I'm pretty even Steven for the most part but I'm probably the most competitive person and when games get tight, and when things happen that I don't think is fair, I get really passionate. I try to stay level but when I want to win a game I show some passion and it came out tonight."
On her career-high performance (again) . . .
"I have to give credit to my teammates. Props to them for finding me. The defense is always tough on me and I just try and find the gaps in the way they are guarding me. My teammates execute passes and hit great screens that help me find the holes in the defense."
UP NEXT
Utah will return to the Jon M. Huntsman Center, Friday, Jan. 31 to take on Arizona before heading to 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).
The Utes were led by Gianna Kneepkens' career-high 32 points including a career-high 10 made from the free throw line. This was Kneepkens fourth consecutive game posting 20 or more points and second consecutive game posting 30 points. Utah is now 15-5 overall on the season and sit 6-3 in Big 12 play.
GAME SUMMARY
BYU got a jump on Utah with a 10-0 run in the first quarter to take an 11-4 lead. Gianna Kneepkens answered with a three and a pair of made free throws to cut the deficit to just two points. Utah struggled with turnovers in the first quarter recording nine total that kept the momentum in favor of BYU. The Cougars pulled ahead for a 21-15 lead over the Utes at the end of the initial quarter of play.
Utah found a spark early in the second quarter with an 11-0 run to take back the lead. The two teams played leap frog on the scoreboard the remainder of the first half. Utah was able to get the lead thanks to a driving layup from Kneepkens to give the Utes a 37-35 lead going into the half. Utah outscored BYU 22-14 in the second quarter.
The Utes came out of halftime and hit three from beyond the arc on three consecutive possessions to claim the momentum. Utah was able to narrowly outlast BYU in the third and held a 55-54 lead going into the final quarter of play.
Utah locked in for the final 10 minutes of play as the Utes forced the Cougars into a six minute scoring drought and went on an 8-0 run. Utah had a 68-62 lead going into the final two minutes of play. The Cougars made a surge in those final two minutes and brought the score to 73-70 still in favor of the Utes. But, Utah outlasted BYU and pulled away for the 81-76 victory.
LEADERS
Utah had two players score in double figures and were led by Gianna Kneepkens' career-high performance of 32 points. She also recorded a career-high 10 made free throws and tied her career high with six made from beyond the arc. Mayé Touré posted her fifth 20-point game of the season as she put up 21 points.
Kneepkens and Touré had big games on the boards as well both pulling down eight rebounds.
Inês Vieira led Utah with four assists. She also helped out with six rebounds and seven points. Defensively, Kneepkens had the game high with three steals.
COMPARISON
Utah shot 42.6% from the field while BYU shot 46.7% from the field. Utah went 55.0% from deep making 11-20 while BYU went 52.6% shooting 10-of-19. The Utes went 18-of-28 from the free throw line for 64.3% while the Cougars went 10-of-16 for 62.5%.
Utah had 15 assists on 26 made field goals while BYU had 17 assists on 28 made field goals. The Utes outrebounded the Cougars 42 to 31. Utah had 18 offensive rebounds and converted that into 30 second chance points. BYU had 11 o-boards and recorded six second chance points.
NOTABLES
Gianna Kneepkens ended the night with a new career-high 32 points. She broke her previous career high that she set earlier this week of 30 points against Kansas (1/22/25). She tied her career-high with six made from beyond the arc and set a new career-high of 10 made free throws.
HEAR FROM THE UTES
Head Coach Gavin Petersen
Overall Statement . . .
"When you have an in-state rivalry it's hard. We knew we were going to get their best shot and they have our respect in terms of what they're going to do and they're going to get our best shot. We knew they were going to come out early in the first quarter and establish themselves and we shot ourselves in the foot with some uncharacteristic and unforced turnovers. Gianna Kneepkens hit some really big shots that helped us settle in and I'm proud of our kids."
Gianna Kneepkens, junior, guard
On her playing BYU for the first time since her injury. . .
"I didn't think about it too much because it wasn't a contact injury. It just happened. With all this it reminded me how grateful I am for our staff and teammates. Especially our athletic trainer, Christina Jones and my strength coach Lindsey Kirschman. They got me back and I'm feeling good and feeling strong. That's all I can ask for, to be back out here and competing."
On her emotion and passion while playing . . .
"I think I'm pretty even Steven for the most part but I'm probably the most competitive person and when games get tight, and when things happen that I don't think is fair, I get really passionate. I try to stay level but when I want to win a game I show some passion and it came out tonight."
On her career-high performance (again) . . .
"I have to give credit to my teammates. Props to them for finding me. The defense is always tough on me and I just try and find the gaps in the way they are guarding me. My teammates execute passes and hit great screens that help me find the holes in the defense."
UP NEXT
Utah will return to the Jon M. Huntsman Center, Friday, Jan. 31 to take on Arizona before heading to 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
Utah
BYU
FG%
.426
.467
3FG%
.550
.526
FT%
.643
.625
RB
42
31
TO
16
16
STL
8
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
32
FGM
8
3FGM
6
FTM
10
Pts
21
FGM
8
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
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