UP NEXT: Utes to Take On Jayhawks in Allen Fieldhouse

Wednesday, January 7

Lawrence, KS

5:30 PM (MT)

University of Utah

Kansas

UP NEXT: Utes to Take On Jayhawks in Allen Fieldhouse

1/6/2026 10:38 AM | Women's Basketball

WBB Game Notes vs. Kansas

SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah women's basketball team will hit the road to take on the Kansas Jayhawks Jan. 7 at 5:30 p.m. (MT). This will be the first time in program history Utah has played Kansas in Lawrence.

GAME INFORMATION
Utah (11-4, 2-1 Big 12) vs. Kansas (11-4, 1-2 Big 12)
DATE | TIME: Wednesday, Jan. 7 | 5:30 p.m. (MT)
LOCATION: Lawrence, Kan. | Allen Fieldhouse
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 Josh Klingler on the play-by-play and Brenda VanLengen 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 defeated No. 8 TCU in overtime, 87-77. The Utes were led by Lani White's 25 points and had four Utes score in double figures or more. Reese Ross (15), Maty Wilke (12), Evelina Otto (10), and Brooke Walker (10). Lani White hit a huge three to tie the game and add to her dominating performance. The Utes controlled overtime and sealed a ranked victory at home.

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 41.7% from the field, 38.4% from three and 100% from the line while averaging 10.1 points per game. She's averaging 4.0 rebounds and has 42 assists so far this season. Wilke has 1,033 total points in her collegiate career. She has also hit 205 career made three pointers, pulled down 317 career rebounds and posted 230 career assists.

LANI'S CHARISMA
Lani White hit 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 knocked down 12 straight three pointers without a single miss. She matched her career-high scoring by hitting 26 points against Arizona (12/21) including a career-high 11 made field goals.

White currently leads the Utes with 14.7 points per game. She's shooting 48.4% from the field, 41.6% from three and 84.6% from the free throw line. She's second on the team in rebounding pulling down 80 total on the year and averages 5.3 rebounds a game.

HJELMSTAD & THE FOURTH QUARTER
Freshman Avery Hjelmstad THRIVES in the final 10 minutes of a game. 50.0% (59-of-118) 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 30-12 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 KANSAS
Kansas is 11-4 this season and is coming off its first conference win vs UCF 83-68.The Jayhawks are led by head coach Brandon Schneider, who is in his 11th season at the helm at Kansas and owns a 154-167 record during his tenure.

Kansas is averaging 75.1 points per game through its first 15 games while holding opponents to 63.3 points per contest. The Jayhawks are shooting 48.8% from the field, 37.1% from three, and 72.7% from the free-throw line this season. On the glass, Kansas is averaging 34.4 rebounds per game, compared to opponents' 33.2 boards per game.

Kansas has four players averaging double figures: Jaliya Davis (20.0), S'Mya Nichols (19.3), Regan Williams (10.7), and Elle Evans (10.6). Jaliya Davis leads the Jayhawks in scoring at 20.0 points per game, shooting 68.4% from the field and 66.7% from the free-throw line, while adding 4.8 rebounds per game. S'Mya Nichols is the nation leader in free throw attempts (134) and made free throws (113) while shooting 84.3% from the line. Elle Evans also leads the nation in three point percentage shooting at 52.1% on the season.

Utah is 1-0 all-time against Kansas, including a 1-0 record in Salt Lake City. The Utes beat Kansas in their only meeting last season in 79-61 (1/22/25).

NEW AND NOTEWORTHY
• Utah downed No. 8 TCU (1/3) in overtime 87-77 handing the Frogs their first loss of the season. This is the 11th Top-10 win in school history and the fourth consecutive season the Utes have downed a Top-10 team. It also marks the first time in program history that Utah has picked up a Top-10 win in four straight seasons.
• Lani White has logged her fourth 20-point game this season. 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). She matched her 26 point career-high against Arizona (12/21) that included a career-high 11 made field goals. Against, No. 8 TCU White led the Utes with 25 points including four made from deep.

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 No. 1 UConn (11/23), the Utes posted 14 assists on 14 made field goal for a 100% rate, the highest on the season.
• Maty Wilke, Avery Hjelmstad and Lani White have each logged at least five made threes in a game so far on the season.
• Lani White holds the season high with most points scored in a game with 26 twice (Northwestern 12/14, Arizona 12/21).
• Utah had a season high of 25 assists against Utah State (11/7) including a career-high nine from LA Sneed. Sneed's nine also marks a season high for Utah.
• The Utes best rebounding game of the season came against Boise State where Utah had 56 total boards.
• The Utes knocked down 14 from beyond the arc for the most threes made in a game this season against Boise State (12/10).
• Avery Hjelmstad is the fourth quarter queen with 59 of her 121 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.
• Ross has put up three straight double digit rebounding performances. First, against UC Riverside she had 13 rebounds and later she put up a career-high 14 rebounds against Arizona (12/21). Most recently she pulled down 13 rebounds against Arizona State (12/31).

• Utah is top 40 nationally in four major statistical categories:
No. 27 assists per game (18.0)
No. 15 defensive rebounds per game (30.5)
No. 28 three point attempts (26.5)
No. 11 three pointers per game (9.7)

UP NEXT
Utah will hit the road to take on Kansas State Jan. 10. The Utes will return to the Huntsman Center to take on No. 22 Baylor Jan. 14.

FOLLOW THE UTES!
Fans can follow along during the 2025-26 season on social media (Twitter: @UtahWBB | Instagram: @UtahWBB | Facebook: Facebook.com/UtahWBB).