NCAA.com Team of the Week, Utah enjoyed an historic week, first by claiming a share of its first-ever Pac-12 Conference regular season championship with a win over No. 3 Stanford, then by moving to No. 3 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll on Monday. It is Utah’s best ranking ever in the historic poll.
The Utes, now 25-3 overall on the season and 15-3 in the Pac-12, dropped Stanford 84-78 at home on Saturday before 9,611 fans, the highest attendance the Utes have had in both the Pac-12 and in the Lynne Roberts era as head coach. It's the highest recorded attendance for Utah since 1993. The win over No. 3 Stanford was Utah’s highest-ever ranking win in school history.
Utah had three players score in double figures against the Cardinal, led by sophomore guard Gianna Kneepkens, who had a season-high 28 points. Kneepkens went 7-13 from the field and 5-9 from the three and added 9-12 from the free throw line. Alissa Pili had 14 points for the Utes and Kennady McQueen came away with 10. McQueen led Utah with four assists, a career-high six steals and added five rebounds. Dasia Young led Utah with six rebounds.
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Utah started the week by rolling over California 101-86 on Feb. 23 at home as Pili led the way with 26 points, going 9-14 from the field and 7-7 from the free throw line. Jenna Johnson had a season-high game with 21 points going 10-14 from the field. McQueen grabbed a game-high seven rebounds, while Issy Palmer and McQueen each dished out five assists. Utah shot 57 percent from the field, 42 percent from beyond the 3-point line, and 83 percent from the free throw line. Utah ended the game with 27 assists. The Utes outrebounded the Bears 39-24 and dominated inside, outscoring California 60-28 in the paint.
Utah will now await it first opponent in the upcoming 2023 Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament to be held March 1-5 in Las Vegas. On March 2 the Utes will play the winner of the game between Washington State and California, with that game taking place on March 1.
