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
Utes Have Successful Day In San Francisco
10/7/2019 5:22 PM | Women's Basketball
SAN FRANCISCO – The University of Utah women's basketball program was well represented today at the annual Pac-12 Women's Basketball Media Day in San Francisco, Calif.
Head coach Lynne Roberts, senior Kiana Moore and sophomore Dru Gylten took on a full day of photoshoots, video promotions and media circuits, all to promote and preview the 2019-20 season.
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Before the day got started, the Utes were picked to finish seventh in the Pac-12 Preseason Women's Basketball Coaches Poll. The Utes finished last season in sixth place, the highest finish since joining the league in 2011.
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It ties for the second-highest preseason ranking the Utes have received since joining the conference, landing at No. 6 in the preseason poll in 2011-12.
After starting the day with an ESPN photoshoot, the Utes moved on to interviews with ESPN analyst Carolyn Peck and Debbie Antonelli before heading to the Pac-12 Networks stage with Mary Murphy, Kate Scott and Ashley Adamson.
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After the TV portion of the day was done, the Utes sat down for a media round table to talk about the upcoming season.
Head Coach Lynne Roberts
Opening statement…
"It's hard for me to believe this is my fifth year at Utah. I swear it's like year two, it feels like. So, it's exciting. This is our first -- as a staff, kind our first team that we recruited everybody, so there is always kind of an awareness of that. And I think coming off of certainly a year that ended not the way we thought it would, but definitely a year that had a lot of positives and firsts and a lot of momentum in the right direction, we're excited about this year. Everyone is undefeated and has all their goals and dreams ahead of them. So it's certainly an exciting time. We're no different in that. I like our group a lot. It feels like our culture is definitely in place. So now we just got to put it to work and put our money where our mouth is a little bit this season."
On what kind of building blocks she feels they laid last season…
"I think on the women's basketball side, we had always kind of been on the outside looking in. And that was something that I was determined to change and still am determined to change, and I think we kind of got some legitimacy, some national relevance last season. We were nationally ranked, and everything has just improved over the four years. Our recruiting has improved, our attendance is up 500-percent over the last four years. Everything is just getting better. And I think coming off of last year, it ended not the way we envisioned. It's so tempting to not think of it as the year of what could have been, and we have to switch that and kind of flip the coin and say the year of so many things that were firsts, and that's the natural progression. In sports, we're impatient. Coaches are the most guilty of it. Players are, sportswriters are, fans are. Everybody is impatient. You want it now, and I think we just have to tap the brakes a little bit and realize that we have gotten better every year, and this year I intend to build on those blocks and get better even yet."
On losing some big seniors, but bringing back a lot of talent…
"So we did graduate Huffy, WNBA draft pick, you don't replace those -- like I've said all day, it's not a zero sum game where somebody graduates and you bring in a freshman and they get replaced. But we do have tremendous freshmen. You don't replace a four-year starter at point guard, Erika Bean with just one player. I think Dru will -- yes, she will get the keys to the car and be a tremendous leader, point guard, all those things for us. But we've got some young guys, too, that are going to be able to play and fill in those holes, too. I do like our balance. I think we actually have this word I've heard about that's called depth. We haven't had that. We actually have it. So I'm excited about that. But yeah, so I think we did lose Huffy, we did lose Bean, we lost a couple others, but so did everybody else in this league. Think how many great seniors graduated and are still playing. We're no different in that regard."
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On getting Daneesha Provo back…
"So we're very fortunate to get Daneesha Provo back. Her situation was a little bit unique. She transferred from Clemson after her freshman year. She was actually our first recruit at Utah, sat out that first year, and then tore her ACL, I think, the last day in 2018 in December. And she just had a unique situation where we were able to kind of get a waiver for another extended clock, so she gets another year. And that will just be a tremendous boost for us. How many times do you get an All-Conference player, and she's not cleared to play yet. So we're not sure when she'll be back, but it'll certainly be before conference play. And when we do get her – she averaged 14 points a game last year, just to get that, that will certainly buoy our offense and defense when she does get back. So huge. And I think the silver lining of her not being back yet is we're going to be forced to develop some of the young guys. They're going to get to play, get their feet wet, and then you add Daneesha, that's a really nice luxury to have."
Read the full transcription here.
The Utes officially tip off the 2019-20 season with an exhibition game against Westminster on Thursday, Oct. 31 at 11 a.m. MT in the Jon M. Huntsman Center. For season tickets, visit UtahTickets.com or call 801-581-UTIX.
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Head coach Lynne Roberts, senior Kiana Moore and sophomore Dru Gylten took on a full day of photoshoots, video promotions and media circuits, all to promote and preview the 2019-20 season.
Â
First look from Pac-12 Media Day!#Pac12WBB??#GoUtes #Elevate pic.twitter.com/QsTTR93WjO— Utah Women's Basketball (@UTAHWBB) October 7, 2019
Before the day got started, the Utes were picked to finish seventh in the Pac-12 Preseason Women's Basketball Coaches Poll. The Utes finished last season in sixth place, the highest finish since joining the league in 2011.
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.@OregonWBBÂ has been picked to win the #Pac12WBB title for the third straight year!
Read here: https://t.co/VOu7r6WGmV#BackThePac pic.twitter.com/gBtMdIVXoc— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) October 7, 2019
It ties for the second-highest preseason ranking the Utes have received since joining the conference, landing at No. 6 in the preseason poll in 2011-12.
After starting the day with an ESPN photoshoot, the Utes moved on to interviews with ESPN analyst Carolyn Peck and Debbie Antonelli before heading to the Pac-12 Networks stage with Mary Murphy, Kate Scott and Ashley Adamson.
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#Pac12WBB in the??!!
Tune in at 12 PT / 1 MT and don't miss any of the action from Media Day?? https://t.co/ZhZuI5ezsa pic.twitter.com/sGViTFekHM— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) October 7, 2019
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.@KaayNikole is ready for anything that comes her way.??
We can't wait to see her and @UTAHWBB excel this season.#Pac12WBB Media Day?? https://t.co/ZhZuI5ezsa pic.twitter.com/tCNjMk4mA3— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) October 7, 2019
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"They've made a seismic change."@Pac12Network analyst Mary Murphy knows to??@UtahWBB heading into the 2019-20 season. #Pac12WBB pic.twitter.com/NxKTxdtK9I— Utah Athletics (@utahathletics) October 7, 2019
After the TV portion of the day was done, the Utes sat down for a media round table to talk about the upcoming season.
Head Coach Lynne Roberts
Opening statement…
"It's hard for me to believe this is my fifth year at Utah. I swear it's like year two, it feels like. So, it's exciting. This is our first -- as a staff, kind our first team that we recruited everybody, so there is always kind of an awareness of that. And I think coming off of certainly a year that ended not the way we thought it would, but definitely a year that had a lot of positives and firsts and a lot of momentum in the right direction, we're excited about this year. Everyone is undefeated and has all their goals and dreams ahead of them. So it's certainly an exciting time. We're no different in that. I like our group a lot. It feels like our culture is definitely in place. So now we just got to put it to work and put our money where our mouth is a little bit this season."
On what kind of building blocks she feels they laid last season…
"I think on the women's basketball side, we had always kind of been on the outside looking in. And that was something that I was determined to change and still am determined to change, and I think we kind of got some legitimacy, some national relevance last season. We were nationally ranked, and everything has just improved over the four years. Our recruiting has improved, our attendance is up 500-percent over the last four years. Everything is just getting better. And I think coming off of last year, it ended not the way we envisioned. It's so tempting to not think of it as the year of what could have been, and we have to switch that and kind of flip the coin and say the year of so many things that were firsts, and that's the natural progression. In sports, we're impatient. Coaches are the most guilty of it. Players are, sportswriters are, fans are. Everybody is impatient. You want it now, and I think we just have to tap the brakes a little bit and realize that we have gotten better every year, and this year I intend to build on those blocks and get better even yet."
On losing some big seniors, but bringing back a lot of talent…
"So we did graduate Huffy, WNBA draft pick, you don't replace those -- like I've said all day, it's not a zero sum game where somebody graduates and you bring in a freshman and they get replaced. But we do have tremendous freshmen. You don't replace a four-year starter at point guard, Erika Bean with just one player. I think Dru will -- yes, she will get the keys to the car and be a tremendous leader, point guard, all those things for us. But we've got some young guys, too, that are going to be able to play and fill in those holes, too. I do like our balance. I think we actually have this word I've heard about that's called depth. We haven't had that. We actually have it. So I'm excited about that. But yeah, so I think we did lose Huffy, we did lose Bean, we lost a couple others, but so did everybody else in this league. Think how many great seniors graduated and are still playing. We're no different in that regard."
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.@UTAHWBB making half-court shots in practice like it's nothing.??
Watch more from #Pac12WBB Media Day?? https://t.co/ZhZuI5ezsa pic.twitter.com/1LB0HXhEaA— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) October 7, 2019
On getting Daneesha Provo back…
"So we're very fortunate to get Daneesha Provo back. Her situation was a little bit unique. She transferred from Clemson after her freshman year. She was actually our first recruit at Utah, sat out that first year, and then tore her ACL, I think, the last day in 2018 in December. And she just had a unique situation where we were able to kind of get a waiver for another extended clock, so she gets another year. And that will just be a tremendous boost for us. How many times do you get an All-Conference player, and she's not cleared to play yet. So we're not sure when she'll be back, but it'll certainly be before conference play. And when we do get her – she averaged 14 points a game last year, just to get that, that will certainly buoy our offense and defense when she does get back. So huge. And I think the silver lining of her not being back yet is we're going to be forced to develop some of the young guys. They're going to get to play, get their feet wet, and then you add Daneesha, that's a really nice luxury to have."
Read the full transcription here.
The Utes officially tip off the 2019-20 season with an exhibition game against Westminster on Thursday, Oct. 31 at 11 a.m. MT in the Jon M. Huntsman Center. For season tickets, visit UtahTickets.com or call 801-581-UTIX.
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Players Mentioned
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