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Women's Basketball
at Arizona
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The University of Utah Athletics
Wednesday, December 17
Salt Lake City, Utah
7:00 PM
University of Utah
vs
UC Riverside
UP NEXT: Utes Host Highlanders in Final Non-Conference Game of the Season
12/16/2025 10:51 AM | Women's Basketball
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah women's basketball team is on a five-game win streak and will close out the non-conference schedule with a match-up against UC Riverside Wednesday, Dec. 17 in the Jon M. Huntsman Center at 7 p.m.
GAME INFORMATION
Utah (8-3, 0-0 Big 12) vs. UC Riverside (2-7, 1-1 Big West)
DATE | TIME: Wednesday, Dec. 17 | 7 p.m. (MT)
LOCATION: Salt Lake City, Utah | Jon M. Huntsman Center
LIVE STATS: Click Here
LIVE STREAM: Click Here
LISTEN:Click Here
TWITTER UPDATES:@UtahWBB
HOW TO TUNE IN
Fans can follow along with the live action of the matchup on ESPN+ with Krista Blunk on the play-by-play and Elaine Elliott as analyst. The radio call will be on ESPN700 and can be found on the TuneIn app, with Tyson Ewing and Milee Rustand calling the action.
LAST TIME OUT
Utah women's basketball picked up a dominant 91-66 win over Northwestern on Sunday afternoon.
Utah was led by a standout scoring night from Lani White who set a new career-high with 26 points. White has now scored 20 points and has made five or more from deep in back-to-back games. White went 7-of-7 from three against the Wildcats for 12 straight threes with no misses. Reese Ross also had a big game putting up a season-best 22 points.
THE UTES
Utah returns four key contributors from the 2024-25 season including Maty Wilke, Samantha Crispe, Brooke Walker and Reese Ross. This year the Utes welcome back Lani White who played at Utah for her freshman and sophomore seasons. White spent her junior season at Virginia Tech but has returned to finish her collegiate career where she started it all, as a Ute. The Utes welcome one true transfer in Kamryn Mafua and four freshmen in LA Sneed, Ella Todd, Avery Hjelmstad and Evelina Otto.
THE KEY IS WILKE
Maty Wilke is Utah's top returner. Wilke is shooting 38.9% from the field, 39.1% from three and 100% from the line while averaging 10.2 points per game. She's averaging 3.8 rebounds and has 30 assists so far this season. Wilke has 991 total points in her collegiate career and is just nine points away from the exclusive 1,000 point club.
LANI'S CHARISMA
Lani White is on a hot streak. She scored 20 or more points and hit five or more made three pointers in back-to-back games (Boise State, 12/10 and Northwestern 12/14). She posted a career-high 26 points and a career-high 7-of-7 from three point range against Northwestern (12/14). She has knocked down 12 straight three pointers without a single miss.
White currently leads the Utes with 13.6 points per game. She's shooting 46.0% from the field, 41.1% from three and 79.3% from the free throw line. She leads the team in rebounding pulling down 66 total on the year and averages 6.0 rebounds a game.
HJELMSTAD & THE FOURTH QUARTER
Freshman Avery Hjelmstad THRIVES in the final 10 minutes of a game. 60.4% (59-of-98) of Hjelmstad's points have been scored in the fourth quarter. Against Weber State (11/26) all of Hjelmstad's 12 points were scored in the fourth quarter. 10 of those were scored within 90 seconds and seven of them were unanswered. Weber State (11/26) was her biggest fourth quarter to date with 12 points going 3-of-4 from the field, 2-of-3 from the three and 4-of-5 from the line.
Against Sioux Falls (11/3) Hjelmstad posted 11 points including three from deep and two made free throws. Hjelmstad went 4-of-8 from the field and 2-of-5 from deep against Utah State (11/7) for 11 points. Against Colorado State (12/4), Hjelmstad posted 16-of-22 points in the second half with 10 of those coming in the fourth quarter. Hjelmstad made 3-of-10 points in the fourth quarter against Boise State.
Game-By-Game Breakdown:
(Points in the Fourth - Total Points)
vs. Sioux Falls 11-of-14
vs. Utah State 11-of-16
vs. Utah Valley 3-of-3
vs. UConn 6-of-6
vs. Weber State 12-of-12
vs. Montana 3-of-6
vs. Colorado State 10-of-22
Vs. Boise State 3-of-10
HEAD COACH GAVIN PETERSEN
Petersen enters his second season and first full season as head coach. He was named the head coach of the Utah women's basketball team on Nov. 19, 2024 just four games into the 2024-25 season. He has a 27-11 record in his career. Petersen became the fastest coach in program history to get a Top-10 victory when he led the Utes to a 78-67 win over No. 3 NotreDame (11/30/24). He brings 23 seasons of college coaching experience to the role, he is in his 11th season overall with the Utes and spent the previous five years as associate head coach under Lynne Roberts.
Petersen has been a part of the staff that has led the Utes to seven postseason appearances—including four NCAA tournaments and a trip to the Sweet Sixteen—and five 20-win seasons, as well as regular appearances in the AP Top 25.
SCOUTING UC RIVERSIDE
UC Riverside is 2-7 this season and is coming off a 56-63 loss to the University of San Diego. UC Riverside is led by head coach Brad Langston who is in his 3rd season at the helm of the Highlanders. He has a 37-36 record with UC Riverside.
UC Riverside is averaging 56.3 points per game through their first nine games while allowing opponents to score 62.0 points per game.The Highlanders are shooting 35.4% from the field, 25.8% from three and 67.4% from the free-throw line across their first nine games. On the glass, UC Riverside is averaging 34.2 rebounds per game, compared to opponents' 39.9 boards per game.
UC Riverside has one player averaging double figures over their first nine games: Hannah Wickstrom (18.5). Wickstrom leads the team in scoring and is shooting 40.2% from the field, 16.0% from three, and 76.3% from the line, while adding 8.2 rebounds per game. The last time the Utes and Highlanders faced off was 12/17/22 in Salt Lake where Utah came out on top, 92-45.
Utah has a 2-0 overall record with UC Riverside and are undefeated (2-0) in the Huntsman Center.
NEW AND NOTEWORTHY
• Senior Lani White hit back-to-back 20-points games last week. First White, put up 23 points against Boise State (12/10) that included a perfect 5-of-5 from beyond the arc for a career-high. She then bested that career mark going 7-of-7 from three and posted a career-high 26 points against Northwestern (12/14).
• Reese Ross became the third Ute to log a 20-point game with her 20 against Northwestern (12/14).
• This is the first time this season that two Utes have scored 20 or more points in a game.
• The Utes knocked down 14 from beyond the arc for the most threes made in a game this season against Boise State (12/10).
• The Utes have knocked down 10 or more threes in a game seven times this season and are undefeated in those games.
• Utah's bench put up 27 points against Boise State (12/10). The Utes are 6-0 when the bench puts up 20 or more points in a game.
2025-26 SEASON NEED TO KNOW
• Utah is coming off its fourth consecutive 20-win season and fourth NCAA Tournament appearances. Head Coach Gavin Petersen enters his second season at the helm of the Utes and 11th overall season at Utah.
• The Utes are returning seven from last year's squad including key contributors Maty Wilke, Reese Ross, Samantha Crispe and Brooke Walker.
• Utah welcomes back Lani White who spent the 2022-23 and 2023-24 season with Utah before spending the 2024-25 season at Virginia Tech.
• The Utes have five true newcomers on the roster this year in transfer Kamryn Mafua and freshmen Ella Todd, Evelina Otto, LA Sneed and Avery Hjelmstad
• At the helm for the Utes is Gavin Petersen who is in his second season as head coach and 11th overall season at Utah. He was named head coach Nov. 19, 2024, just four games into the 2025-26 season.
• Against UConn (11/23), the Utes posted 14 assists on 14 made field goals for a 100% rate, the highest on the season.
• Maty Wilke, Avery Hjelmstad and Lani White have each logged five made threes in a game so far this season.
• Lani White holds the season high with 12 rebounds in a game (Washington, 11/15) as well as the most points scored in a game 26 (Northwestern 12/14).
• Utah had a season high of 25 assists against Utah State including a career-high nine from LA Sneed
• Maty Wilke tied her career high with six assists against Weber State (11/26). Wilke's six assists pushed her over the 200-assist milestone.
• LA Sneed has the season best nine assists against Utah State (11/7).
• The Utes best rebounding game of the season came against Boise State where Utah had 56 total boards.
• Avery Hjelmstad is the fourth quarter queen with 59 of her 98 total points coming in the fourth quarter. Against Weber State (11/26), Hjelmstad posted all 12 points in the final 10 minutes of action, 10 of those points happened within 90 seconds and seven of them went unanswered.
• Utah is top 30 nationally in five major statistical categories:
No. 23 assists per game (18.5)
No. 20 defensive rebounds per game (30.4)
No. 19 three point attempts (28.0
No. 32 three point percentage (36.7)
No. 6 three pointers per game (10.3)
UP NEXT
Utah will start Big 12 play Dec. 22 at Arizona. The Utes first home Big 12 game will be against the Sun Devils of Arizona State on Dec. 31 at 2 p.m.
FOLLOW THE UTES!
Fans can follow along during the 2025-26 season on social media (Twitter: @UtahWBB | Instagram: @UtahWBB | Facebook: Facebook.com/UtahWBB).
GAME INFORMATION
Utah (8-3, 0-0 Big 12) vs. UC Riverside (2-7, 1-1 Big West)
DATE | TIME: Wednesday, Dec. 17 | 7 p.m. (MT)
LOCATION: Salt Lake City, Utah | Jon M. Huntsman Center
LIVE STATS: Click Here
LIVE STREAM: Click Here
LISTEN:Click Here
TWITTER UPDATES:@UtahWBB
HOW TO TUNE IN
Fans can follow along with the live action of the matchup on ESPN+ with Krista Blunk on the play-by-play and Elaine Elliott as analyst. The radio call will be on ESPN700 and can be found on the TuneIn app, with Tyson Ewing and Milee Rustand calling the action.
LAST TIME OUT
Utah women's basketball picked up a dominant 91-66 win over Northwestern on Sunday afternoon.
Utah was led by a standout scoring night from Lani White who set a new career-high with 26 points. White has now scored 20 points and has made five or more from deep in back-to-back games. White went 7-of-7 from three against the Wildcats for 12 straight threes with no misses. Reese Ross also had a big game putting up a season-best 22 points.
THE UTES
Utah returns four key contributors from the 2024-25 season including Maty Wilke, Samantha Crispe, Brooke Walker and Reese Ross. This year the Utes welcome back Lani White who played at Utah for her freshman and sophomore seasons. White spent her junior season at Virginia Tech but has returned to finish her collegiate career where she started it all, as a Ute. The Utes welcome one true transfer in Kamryn Mafua and four freshmen in LA Sneed, Ella Todd, Avery Hjelmstad and Evelina Otto.
THE KEY IS WILKE
Maty Wilke is Utah's top returner. Wilke is shooting 38.9% from the field, 39.1% from three and 100% from the line while averaging 10.2 points per game. She's averaging 3.8 rebounds and has 30 assists so far this season. Wilke has 991 total points in her collegiate career and is just nine points away from the exclusive 1,000 point club.
LANI'S CHARISMA
Lani White is on a hot streak. She scored 20 or more points and hit five or more made three pointers in back-to-back games (Boise State, 12/10 and Northwestern 12/14). She posted a career-high 26 points and a career-high 7-of-7 from three point range against Northwestern (12/14). She has knocked down 12 straight three pointers without a single miss.
White currently leads the Utes with 13.6 points per game. She's shooting 46.0% from the field, 41.1% from three and 79.3% from the free throw line. She leads the team in rebounding pulling down 66 total on the year and averages 6.0 rebounds a game.
HJELMSTAD & THE FOURTH QUARTER
Freshman Avery Hjelmstad THRIVES in the final 10 minutes of a game. 60.4% (59-of-98) of Hjelmstad's points have been scored in the fourth quarter. Against Weber State (11/26) all of Hjelmstad's 12 points were scored in the fourth quarter. 10 of those were scored within 90 seconds and seven of them were unanswered. Weber State (11/26) was her biggest fourth quarter to date with 12 points going 3-of-4 from the field, 2-of-3 from the three and 4-of-5 from the line.
Against Sioux Falls (11/3) Hjelmstad posted 11 points including three from deep and two made free throws. Hjelmstad went 4-of-8 from the field and 2-of-5 from deep against Utah State (11/7) for 11 points. Against Colorado State (12/4), Hjelmstad posted 16-of-22 points in the second half with 10 of those coming in the fourth quarter. Hjelmstad made 3-of-10 points in the fourth quarter against Boise State.
Game-By-Game Breakdown:
(Points in the Fourth - Total Points)
vs. Sioux Falls 11-of-14
vs. Utah State 11-of-16
vs. Utah Valley 3-of-3
vs. UConn 6-of-6
vs. Weber State 12-of-12
vs. Montana 3-of-6
vs. Colorado State 10-of-22
Vs. Boise State 3-of-10
HEAD COACH GAVIN PETERSEN
Petersen enters his second season and first full season as head coach. He was named the head coach of the Utah women's basketball team on Nov. 19, 2024 just four games into the 2024-25 season. He has a 27-11 record in his career. Petersen became the fastest coach in program history to get a Top-10 victory when he led the Utes to a 78-67 win over No. 3 NotreDame (11/30/24). He brings 23 seasons of college coaching experience to the role, he is in his 11th season overall with the Utes and spent the previous five years as associate head coach under Lynne Roberts.
Petersen has been a part of the staff that has led the Utes to seven postseason appearances—including four NCAA tournaments and a trip to the Sweet Sixteen—and five 20-win seasons, as well as regular appearances in the AP Top 25.
SCOUTING UC RIVERSIDE
UC Riverside is 2-7 this season and is coming off a 56-63 loss to the University of San Diego. UC Riverside is led by head coach Brad Langston who is in his 3rd season at the helm of the Highlanders. He has a 37-36 record with UC Riverside.
UC Riverside is averaging 56.3 points per game through their first nine games while allowing opponents to score 62.0 points per game.The Highlanders are shooting 35.4% from the field, 25.8% from three and 67.4% from the free-throw line across their first nine games. On the glass, UC Riverside is averaging 34.2 rebounds per game, compared to opponents' 39.9 boards per game.
UC Riverside has one player averaging double figures over their first nine games: Hannah Wickstrom (18.5). Wickstrom leads the team in scoring and is shooting 40.2% from the field, 16.0% from three, and 76.3% from the line, while adding 8.2 rebounds per game. The last time the Utes and Highlanders faced off was 12/17/22 in Salt Lake where Utah came out on top, 92-45.
Utah has a 2-0 overall record with UC Riverside and are undefeated (2-0) in the Huntsman Center.
NEW AND NOTEWORTHY
• Senior Lani White hit back-to-back 20-points games last week. First White, put up 23 points against Boise State (12/10) that included a perfect 5-of-5 from beyond the arc for a career-high. She then bested that career mark going 7-of-7 from three and posted a career-high 26 points against Northwestern (12/14).
• Reese Ross became the third Ute to log a 20-point game with her 20 against Northwestern (12/14).
• This is the first time this season that two Utes have scored 20 or more points in a game.
• The Utes knocked down 14 from beyond the arc for the most threes made in a game this season against Boise State (12/10).
• The Utes have knocked down 10 or more threes in a game seven times this season and are undefeated in those games.
• Utah's bench put up 27 points against Boise State (12/10). The Utes are 6-0 when the bench puts up 20 or more points in a game.
2025-26 SEASON NEED TO KNOW
• Utah is coming off its fourth consecutive 20-win season and fourth NCAA Tournament appearances. Head Coach Gavin Petersen enters his second season at the helm of the Utes and 11th overall season at Utah.
• The Utes are returning seven from last year's squad including key contributors Maty Wilke, Reese Ross, Samantha Crispe and Brooke Walker.
• Utah welcomes back Lani White who spent the 2022-23 and 2023-24 season with Utah before spending the 2024-25 season at Virginia Tech.
• The Utes have five true newcomers on the roster this year in transfer Kamryn Mafua and freshmen Ella Todd, Evelina Otto, LA Sneed and Avery Hjelmstad
• At the helm for the Utes is Gavin Petersen who is in his second season as head coach and 11th overall season at Utah. He was named head coach Nov. 19, 2024, just four games into the 2025-26 season.
• Against UConn (11/23), the Utes posted 14 assists on 14 made field goals for a 100% rate, the highest on the season.
• Maty Wilke, Avery Hjelmstad and Lani White have each logged five made threes in a game so far this season.
• Lani White holds the season high with 12 rebounds in a game (Washington, 11/15) as well as the most points scored in a game 26 (Northwestern 12/14).
• Utah had a season high of 25 assists against Utah State including a career-high nine from LA Sneed
• Maty Wilke tied her career high with six assists against Weber State (11/26). Wilke's six assists pushed her over the 200-assist milestone.
• LA Sneed has the season best nine assists against Utah State (11/7).
• The Utes best rebounding game of the season came against Boise State where Utah had 56 total boards.
• Avery Hjelmstad is the fourth quarter queen with 59 of her 98 total points coming in the fourth quarter. Against Weber State (11/26), Hjelmstad posted all 12 points in the final 10 minutes of action, 10 of those points happened within 90 seconds and seven of them went unanswered.
• Utah is top 30 nationally in five major statistical categories:
No. 23 assists per game (18.5)
No. 20 defensive rebounds per game (30.4)
No. 19 three point attempts (28.0
No. 32 three point percentage (36.7)
No. 6 three pointers per game (10.3)
UP NEXT
Utah will start Big 12 play Dec. 22 at Arizona. The Utes first home Big 12 game will be against the Sun Devils of Arizona State on Dec. 31 at 2 p.m.
FOLLOW THE UTES!
Fans can follow along during the 2025-26 season on social media (Twitter: @UtahWBB | Instagram: @UtahWBB | Facebook: Facebook.com/UtahWBB).
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's BasketballUtah: 61, UC Riverside: 52 | Utah Women's Basketball Post Game Press Conference
Thursday, December 18
ESPN+ Feature | Utah Women's Basketball's Reese Ross
Thursday, December 18
Utah: 91, Northwestern: 66 | Utah Women's Basketball Post Game Press Conference
Monday, December 15
ESPN+ Feature | Utah Women's Basketball's Avery Hjelmstad
Sunday, December 14