Completed Event: Women's Basketball at Eastern Kentucky on March 19, 2026 , Loss , 58, to, 72
Final Score
Women's Basketball
58
at Eastern Kentucky
72
The University of Utah Athletics
2014-15 @UtahWBasketball Preview: Front Court
10/30/2014 12:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Oct. 30, 2014
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A 12-19 season mired with injuries and other unforeseen obstacles would test the mettle of any women's basketball program in the nation, but the University of Utah is looking forward to reaping the long-term benefits after forging through an adversity-filled 2013-14 campaign.
Five players who have combined to start 221 games return to the lineup for the Utes, who are now equipped with an amplified level of intangible attributes like mental toughness and team chemistry that can only be developed by going through a season.
"Last year was obviously difficult. Wins and losses are what shows, but what was more difficult was all of the ups and downs that we went through," Utah head coach Anthony Levrets said. "The great thing about this group is how they not only survived it, but have come out of it stronger to become what might be the closest group I've ever seen as far as how they get along and care about each other."
The statistics found on a box score cannot define what Utah gained last season.
"When you go through those sorts of things, something special can happen. It is hard to put down into words, but you can just see it and feel it," Levrets said. "It's created a toughness about us. We feel like we've faced everything that can happen and when things do happen, we're going to face them and get through them."
Front Court
One element that will not carry over from the 2013-14 season is the impact of three-time Honorable Mention All-American forward Michelle Plouffe. What will it take for the Utes to regenerate Plouffe's production?
The answer starts with senior forward Taryn Wicijowski, who returns to the floor for her senior season after being sidelined last season with an ACL injury. She is already one of the most decorated players in recent Utah history as a two-time all-Pac-12 selection in 2011-12 and 2012-13 and was in the top 10 of the Pac-12 in both scoring and rebounding during each of those seasons.
"You never replace a good player like [Plouffe], but this program has had good players forever," Levrets said. "The All-American list around here is a really long list. You don't replace them, but the first thing is that I feel like we have good players in the program right now. We are pretty deep and we have a two-time All-Pac-12 and one-time all-Mountain West Conference player who sat out with injury who is back and is a very good player in [Wicijowski]."
Wicijowski's name is littered throughout the Utah school record book as her .537 career field goal percentage currently ranks third all-time at Utah and she is also third in school history with 310 career offensive rebounds. The Regina, Saskatchewan native is sixth all-time at Utah with 106 career blocks, eighth with a 7.4 rebounding average and ranks 10th at Utah in career free throws made (341).
"Getting [Wicijowski] back helps put scoring, rebounding and defense back into that spot so we're replacing Plouffe with a two-time all-Pac-12 performer who sat out the year last year in that position," Levrets said.
Levrets then points to the improvement of every player on his roster to fill in the rest of the void.
"Every year, we just want every player to get better," Levrets said. "We have great additions to the program through freshmen recruiting, [Wicijowski] coming back from injury, Paige [Crozon] coming back from injury and then the transfer Katie [Kuklok] coming to us. We feel like we have a bunch more scoring in way more places than we've had in the past."
Sophomore forward Malia Nawahine played in all 31 games with 12 starts as a freshman, averaging 5.5 points and 2.8 rebounds. She scored a season-high 19 points at Oregon (2/8) and had five different five-rebound outings.
"[Nawahine] is a long athletic wing who can score in a variety of ways, both shooting the basketball and getting to the rim," Levrets said. "We believe she also has the capability to turn into a lockdown defender."
Redshirt sophomore Nakia Arquette and sophomore Wendy Anae both return to the Ute front court after battling injuries last season. Arquette averaged 2.7 points and 2.7 rebounds in 14.2 per game last season before sustaining a knee injury that held her out of the final 10 games. Anae suffered a leg injury during the first month of last season and missed 11 games before coming back for a majority of Pac-12 play.
A trio of highly-touted incoming freshmen Tanaeya Boclair, Joeseta Fatuesi and Jada Matthews will also provide depth.
"Just as a group, this freshman class has a little bit of everything," Levrets said. "We have post play, wing play, and combo guard play out of this group of freshmen. They are all very capable of having a major imprint on this program during their time here. A couple of them are going to be asked to step right in and make major impacts right away."
Unfortunately, sophomore Emily Potter sustained a leg injury and will be out for the season. Potter was a Pac-12 All-Freshman Team selection last season after averaging 10.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game.
Check tomorrow for the back court preview.
Are you a student at the U? Do you like paying tuition? NO?! Well then..... pic.twitter.com/pwtqhEk4f4
-- Taryn Wicijowski (@twicijowski) October 29, 2014 
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