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)
Tuesday, February 18
Salt Lake City, Utah
7:00 PM
University of Utah
20-6,11-4Big 12
64
vs
68
Oklahoma State
21-5,11-4Big 12
1
2
3
4
F
Oklahoma St.
16
19
15
18
68
Utah
19
20
17
8
64
Photo by: Anna Fuder/Utah Athletics
Utah Falls 68-64 to No. 24 Oklahoma State
2/18/2025 11:00 PM | Women's Basketball
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah women's basketball team battled in the 68-64 loss to No. 24 Oklahoma State Tuesday night in the first matchup in both programs' history. Utah is now 20-6 overall on the season and sit at 11-4 in Big 12 action.
The Utes held the lead for three quarters of the game but a lag in the fourth quarter gave the Cowgirls room to take the win. Utah was led by Gianna Kneepkens' 16 points. Jenna Johnson also came up big for Utah with nine points, seven rebounds and five assists.
GAME SUMMARY
Oklahoma State started the game out on a 6-0 run. The Utes bounced back and tied the game up halfway through the first quarter. Utah then pushed out for a 19-16 lead at the end of the initial quarter of play.
The two teams matched each other in the second quarter with Utah narrowly outscoring OSU 20-19. The Utes had two big plays resulting in layups from Brooke Walker and Reese Ross to end the first half 39-35 in favor of Utah.
Utah broke away for a nine point lead thanks to a 7-0 run and a three minute Cowgirl scoring drought. To end the third quarter, Jenna Johnson and Inês Vieira each knocked down a three pointer to help give the Utes a 56-50 lead going into the final quarter of play.
Utah lagged in the fourth quarter only putting up eight points while OSU went on to put up 18. The Cowgirls finished out the game on a 7-2 run to take the 68-64 win over the Utes.
LEADERS
Utah had just one player score in double figures and were led by Gianna Kneepkens' 16 points. Jenna Johnson put up a strong stat line with nine points and the game-high seven rebounds as well as the game-high five assists. Reese Ross also added nine points for Utah while Mayé Touré added eight.
COMPARISON
Utah shot 43.1% from the field while Oklahoma State shot 36.5% from the field. Utah went 21.7% from deep making 5-of-23 while OSU went 26.1% shooting 6-of-23. The Utes went 9-of-16 from the free throw line for 56.3% while the Cowgirls went 16-of-18 for 88.9%.
Utah had 16 assists on 25 made field goals while Oklahoma State had nine assists on 23 made field goals. The Cowgirls out rebounded the Utes 47-31.
OSU pulled down 20 offensive rebounds and had 18 second chance points to Utah's 10 o-boards and five second chance points. Utah had 34 points in the paint to Oklahoma State's 26.
HEAR FROM THE UTES
Head Coach Gavin Petersen
Overall Statement . . .
"It was a weird up and down game for us. Credit to Oklahoma State they were the tougher team tonight. They dominated the boards. I can't remember the last time a team dominated us on the boards like that. Credit to them for that will to win and not letting a game like that slip through their fingers. They won that game."
On Utah's performance in the second half . . .
"I think we had some decent looks at the basket but we started settling for three point shots way too much and too early into our possessions. We have to be able to take advantage of our size and we didn't do that as much. We started playing disjointed and didn't play connected. We didn't move the ball the way we normally do and we didn't control some of the things we should have."
Jenna Johnson, senior, forward
On how she felt about the team's performance . . .
"Obviously right after the game I'm feeling a little frustrated. I felt like we had it going into the fourth quarter. I feel like I gave everything I had so it's one of those tough nights where you come up with the loss. But, there's things we can take away from this game and get better from it. We have two challenging road games ahead of us so we have an opportunity to learn from this tonight and prove ourselves on the road."
On the next steps to get back on track . . .
"We've seen this a few games now where we put together two good quarters or three good quarters but we don't put together a complete game. That comes back to practice and making sure that we stay intense the entire time and that will translate that into games. I'm a senior and we have a lot of seniors on this team and we all need to take accountability and lead in that area. When we can put together a full game, we'll be in a good spot."
UP NEXT
Utah's last road trip of the regular season will start at Cincinnati Feb. 23 and end at West Virginia Feb. 26. The Utes final home game will be March 1 against rival BYU.
OFFICIAL MOBILE APP OF UTAH ATHLETICS – UTAH 360
The official mobile app of Utah Athletics is Utah 360. Download it today to unlock a refreshed game-day experience, from managing tickets to mobile concessions ordering, as well as video content, news and information, schedules, rosters and stats. 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 2024-25 season on social media (Twitter: @UtahWBB | Instagram: @UtahWBB | Facebook: Facebook.com/UtahWBB).
The Utes held the lead for three quarters of the game but a lag in the fourth quarter gave the Cowgirls room to take the win. Utah was led by Gianna Kneepkens' 16 points. Jenna Johnson also came up big for Utah with nine points, seven rebounds and five assists.
GAME SUMMARY
Oklahoma State started the game out on a 6-0 run. The Utes bounced back and tied the game up halfway through the first quarter. Utah then pushed out for a 19-16 lead at the end of the initial quarter of play.
The two teams matched each other in the second quarter with Utah narrowly outscoring OSU 20-19. The Utes had two big plays resulting in layups from Brooke Walker and Reese Ross to end the first half 39-35 in favor of Utah.
Utah broke away for a nine point lead thanks to a 7-0 run and a three minute Cowgirl scoring drought. To end the third quarter, Jenna Johnson and Inês Vieira each knocked down a three pointer to help give the Utes a 56-50 lead going into the final quarter of play.
Utah lagged in the fourth quarter only putting up eight points while OSU went on to put up 18. The Cowgirls finished out the game on a 7-2 run to take the 68-64 win over the Utes.
LEADERS
Utah had just one player score in double figures and were led by Gianna Kneepkens' 16 points. Jenna Johnson put up a strong stat line with nine points and the game-high seven rebounds as well as the game-high five assists. Reese Ross also added nine points for Utah while Mayé Touré added eight.
COMPARISON
Utah shot 43.1% from the field while Oklahoma State shot 36.5% from the field. Utah went 21.7% from deep making 5-of-23 while OSU went 26.1% shooting 6-of-23. The Utes went 9-of-16 from the free throw line for 56.3% while the Cowgirls went 16-of-18 for 88.9%.
Utah had 16 assists on 25 made field goals while Oklahoma State had nine assists on 23 made field goals. The Cowgirls out rebounded the Utes 47-31.
OSU pulled down 20 offensive rebounds and had 18 second chance points to Utah's 10 o-boards and five second chance points. Utah had 34 points in the paint to Oklahoma State's 26.
HEAR FROM THE UTES
Head Coach Gavin Petersen
Overall Statement . . .
"It was a weird up and down game for us. Credit to Oklahoma State they were the tougher team tonight. They dominated the boards. I can't remember the last time a team dominated us on the boards like that. Credit to them for that will to win and not letting a game like that slip through their fingers. They won that game."
On Utah's performance in the second half . . .
"I think we had some decent looks at the basket but we started settling for three point shots way too much and too early into our possessions. We have to be able to take advantage of our size and we didn't do that as much. We started playing disjointed and didn't play connected. We didn't move the ball the way we normally do and we didn't control some of the things we should have."
Jenna Johnson, senior, forward
On how she felt about the team's performance . . .
"Obviously right after the game I'm feeling a little frustrated. I felt like we had it going into the fourth quarter. I feel like I gave everything I had so it's one of those tough nights where you come up with the loss. But, there's things we can take away from this game and get better from it. We have two challenging road games ahead of us so we have an opportunity to learn from this tonight and prove ourselves on the road."
On the next steps to get back on track . . .
"We've seen this a few games now where we put together two good quarters or three good quarters but we don't put together a complete game. That comes back to practice and making sure that we stay intense the entire time and that will translate that into games. I'm a senior and we have a lot of seniors on this team and we all need to take accountability and lead in that area. When we can put together a full game, we'll be in a good spot."
UP NEXT
Utah's last road trip of the regular season will start at Cincinnati Feb. 23 and end at West Virginia Feb. 26. The Utes final home game will be March 1 against rival BYU.
OFFICIAL MOBILE APP OF UTAH ATHLETICS – UTAH 360
The official mobile app of Utah Athletics is Utah 360. Download it today to unlock a refreshed game-day experience, from managing tickets to mobile concessions ordering, as well as video content, news and information, schedules, rosters and stats. 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 2024-25 season on social media (Twitter: @UtahWBB | Instagram: @UtahWBB | Facebook: Facebook.com/UtahWBB).
Team Stats
OSU
Utah
FG%
.365
.431
3FG%
.261
.217
FT%
.889
.563
RB
47
31
TO
18
12
STL
6
8
Game Leaders
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballCrimson Corner with Bill Riley - Eric Weddle
Wednesday, October 01
Fan Fest 2025 Coaches and Players Interviews: Women's Basketball
Sunday, August 17
Utah Women's Basketball: 76 - BYU: 73 | Postgame Press Conference
Saturday, March 01
Utah vs BYU - The Rivalry Continues
Saturday, March 01