Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus Western Colorado (EXHIBITION) on October 27, 2025 at 7:00 PM
7:00 PM
Women's Basketball
vs Western Colorado (EXHIBITION)
Monday, November 4
Salt Lake City, Utah
11:00 AM
University of Utah
1-0,0-0Big 12
105
vs
52
Southern Utah
0-1,0-0WAC
1
2
3
4
F
Southern Utah
12
9
14
17
52
Utah
23
23
34
25
105
Photo by: Liv Medivitz/Utah Athletics
Utah starts season with 105-52 win over SUU
11/4/2024 2:56 PM | Women's Basketball
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Utes started the 2024-25 season with a 105-52 win over in-state foe, Southern Utah. This was the first time in school history Utah scored 100 or more points in the season opener in back-to-back seasons.
GAME SUMMARY
Gianna Kneepkens returned with a splash as she started the game with a made three pointer to put the Utes on the board first. She set the tone as Utah pushed out for a 13-point lead to end the first quarter.
Utah's momentum never wavered in the second quarter as it put together a 17-0 run that included made threes from Kneepkens, Kennady McQueen and Mayé Touré. The Utes' defense was also locked in during the second quarter as they allowed SUU just one made field goal the entire 10 minutes. Utah had a 46-21 lead going into the half after outscoring SUU 23-9 in the second quarter.
The third quarter was Utah's biggest as it put up 34 points and shot 78.9 percent from the field going 15-of-19. The Utes outscored the T-Birds by 20. Utah pushed for a 17-2 run late in the third quarter that propelled it to an 80-35 lead heading into the final quarter of play.
The Utes never let off the gas in the fourth quarter and powered through to a 105-52 victory over the T-Birds.
LEADERS
Utah had six Utes score in double figures and were led by Gianna Kneepkens' 18 points. Kneepkens returned after missing 26 games last season to go 6-of-9 from the field and 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. She also posted four rebounds and four assists.
Jenna Johnson contributed 16 points for Utah going 8-of-9 from the field. Reese Ross recorded an impressive stat line going 6-of-6 from the field for 15 points. She also had the game high with seven rebounds for the Utes. Newcomer Mayé Touré posted 14 points in her Utah debut while veteran Kennady McQueen added 13. Matyson Wilke was the final Ute to breach double figures with her 10 points.
Senior Inês Vieira had the game high of seven assists and three steals.
COMPARISON
Utah ended the game shooting 69.2 percent from the field while SUU shot 40 percent. Utah knocked down 13 from beyond the arc for 46.4 percent while the T-Birds hit just five from deep for 25 percent. Utah shot 75 percent from the free throw line going 12-of-16 while SUU shot 77.8 percent going 7-of-9.
Utah had just 11 turnovers and forced SUU into 24. The Utes dominated the boards with 34 while SUU had 23.
HEAR FROM THE UTES
Head Coach Lynne Roberts
Overall thoughts on the game . . .
There were some first game nerves. It's November 4th, and we're work in progress, as we should be. I thought our veterans looked so good, and they got a lot of rest today, because we got to play the bench quite a bit, which is good. If you look at the shooting percentages, Jenna went 8-9, Gianna went 6-9, Kennedy, 5-7. I thought Maty [Wilke] was great off the bench. All in all it was a good game. We talked about wanting 25 assists or more and we got 26 on 40 made baskets. We hit 13 threes. We can shoot it, that's not going to change.
On Jenna Johnson's performance . . .
They didn't have an answer for Jenna. She could have finished with 40 if I left her in the game, but she's healthy and rested, so that's good. I think we're going to need Jenna to have a huge role this year, and she knows that. And I thought you saw her come out with just a level of confidence that I think we need. She's not only 8-9 from the field, but four assists and no turnovers. It's really, really good.
#5, Gianna Kneepkens, small forward
On her return to the court . . .
There's no words to describe it. The past 11 months have been hard, obviously, but God blessed me with great people in my life. So to be back feels good. The runs today were awesome. The crowd with all the kids was awesome. It just feels really great to be back.
#22, Jenna Johnson, forward
On her performance . . .
I feel like going into the season, I knew I had to step up, just with Alissa [Pili] being gone.This whole summer, I feel like, mentally, I've been trying to get there and just take on a bigger role. feel like tonight, I wanted to come out aggressive, confident, and set the tone for the season
On Mayé Touré . . .
I really liked Mayé all summer. She's super athletic. Really nice for me not having to guard the bigs so that's been awesome. I feel like today we saw what she can do. She can rebound, shoot around the basket, all that type of stuff. She's been a really good piece for us. I think as she continues to settle in, understand our system, she's going to get better and better.
NOTABLES
Utah eclipsed 100 or more points in back-to-back season openers for the first time in program history.
The Utes recorded an assist on 65 percent of all made field goals with 26 assists on 40 field goals made.
Kennady McQueen is one game closer to claiming the record for most games played. She has currently played 118 games in her career and needs just one more to break into the all-time top 10 list and 20 more to hold the record outright.
Utah now has a 16-1 overall record against SUU and is now on a nine game winning streak in the series.
Utah starts the season with a 1-0 record overall on the season.
OFFICIAL MOBILE APP OF UTAH ATHLETICS – UTAH 360
The official mobile app of Utah Athletics is Utah 360. Download it today to unlock exclusive video content, news and information, schedules, rosters, stats, and access to buy and manage tickets. 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 2023-24 season on social media (Twitter: @UtahWBB | Instagram: @UtahWBB | Facebook: Facebook.com/UtahWBB).
GAME SUMMARY
Gianna Kneepkens returned with a splash as she started the game with a made three pointer to put the Utes on the board first. She set the tone as Utah pushed out for a 13-point lead to end the first quarter.
Utah's momentum never wavered in the second quarter as it put together a 17-0 run that included made threes from Kneepkens, Kennady McQueen and Mayé Touré. The Utes' defense was also locked in during the second quarter as they allowed SUU just one made field goal the entire 10 minutes. Utah had a 46-21 lead going into the half after outscoring SUU 23-9 in the second quarter.
The third quarter was Utah's biggest as it put up 34 points and shot 78.9 percent from the field going 15-of-19. The Utes outscored the T-Birds by 20. Utah pushed for a 17-2 run late in the third quarter that propelled it to an 80-35 lead heading into the final quarter of play.
The Utes never let off the gas in the fourth quarter and powered through to a 105-52 victory over the T-Birds.
LEADERS
Utah had six Utes score in double figures and were led by Gianna Kneepkens' 18 points. Kneepkens returned after missing 26 games last season to go 6-of-9 from the field and 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. She also posted four rebounds and four assists.
Jenna Johnson contributed 16 points for Utah going 8-of-9 from the field. Reese Ross recorded an impressive stat line going 6-of-6 from the field for 15 points. She also had the game high with seven rebounds for the Utes. Newcomer Mayé Touré posted 14 points in her Utah debut while veteran Kennady McQueen added 13. Matyson Wilke was the final Ute to breach double figures with her 10 points.
Senior Inês Vieira had the game high of seven assists and three steals.
COMPARISON
Utah ended the game shooting 69.2 percent from the field while SUU shot 40 percent. Utah knocked down 13 from beyond the arc for 46.4 percent while the T-Birds hit just five from deep for 25 percent. Utah shot 75 percent from the free throw line going 12-of-16 while SUU shot 77.8 percent going 7-of-9.
Utah had just 11 turnovers and forced SUU into 24. The Utes dominated the boards with 34 while SUU had 23.
HEAR FROM THE UTES
Head Coach Lynne Roberts
Overall thoughts on the game . . .
There were some first game nerves. It's November 4th, and we're work in progress, as we should be. I thought our veterans looked so good, and they got a lot of rest today, because we got to play the bench quite a bit, which is good. If you look at the shooting percentages, Jenna went 8-9, Gianna went 6-9, Kennedy, 5-7. I thought Maty [Wilke] was great off the bench. All in all it was a good game. We talked about wanting 25 assists or more and we got 26 on 40 made baskets. We hit 13 threes. We can shoot it, that's not going to change.
On Jenna Johnson's performance . . .
They didn't have an answer for Jenna. She could have finished with 40 if I left her in the game, but she's healthy and rested, so that's good. I think we're going to need Jenna to have a huge role this year, and she knows that. And I thought you saw her come out with just a level of confidence that I think we need. She's not only 8-9 from the field, but four assists and no turnovers. It's really, really good.
#5, Gianna Kneepkens, small forward
On her return to the court . . .
There's no words to describe it. The past 11 months have been hard, obviously, but God blessed me with great people in my life. So to be back feels good. The runs today were awesome. The crowd with all the kids was awesome. It just feels really great to be back.
#22, Jenna Johnson, forward
On her performance . . .
I feel like going into the season, I knew I had to step up, just with Alissa [Pili] being gone.This whole summer, I feel like, mentally, I've been trying to get there and just take on a bigger role. feel like tonight, I wanted to come out aggressive, confident, and set the tone for the season
On Mayé Touré . . .
I really liked Mayé all summer. She's super athletic. Really nice for me not having to guard the bigs so that's been awesome. I feel like today we saw what she can do. She can rebound, shoot around the basket, all that type of stuff. She's been a really good piece for us. I think as she continues to settle in, understand our system, she's going to get better and better.
NOTABLES
Utah eclipsed 100 or more points in back-to-back season openers for the first time in program history.
The Utes recorded an assist on 65 percent of all made field goals with 26 assists on 40 field goals made.
Kennady McQueen is one game closer to claiming the record for most games played. She has currently played 118 games in her career and needs just one more to break into the all-time top 10 list and 20 more to hold the record outright.
Utah now has a 16-1 overall record against SUU and is now on a nine game winning streak in the series.
Utah starts the season with a 1-0 record overall on the season.
OFFICIAL MOBILE APP OF UTAH ATHLETICS – UTAH 360
The official mobile app of Utah Athletics is Utah 360. Download it today to unlock exclusive video content, news and information, schedules, rosters, stats, and access to buy and manage tickets. 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 2023-24 season on social media (Twitter: @UtahWBB | Instagram: @UtahWBB | Facebook: Facebook.com/UtahWBB).
Welcome back G!@giannakneepkens
— Utah Women's Basketball (@UTAHWBB) November 4, 2024
?? https://t.co/hz457EnVZF #GoUtes pic.twitter.com/XEdq1x7ali
Team Stats
SUU
Utah
FG%
.400
.625
3FG%
.250
.464
FT%
.778
.750
RB
23
34
TO
24
11
STL
4
8
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
16
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
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