UP NEXT: Utah Heads to UCF For First Time In Program History

Wednesday, February 4

Orlando, FL

5:00 PM (MT)

University of Utah

UCF

UP NEXT: Utah Heads to UCF For First Time In Program History

2/2/2026 5:30 PM | Women's Basketball

WBB Game Notes vs. UCF

SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah women's basketball team will make the trek across the country to take on UCF. This is the first time in program history the Utes have taken on the Knights in Orlando.

GAME INFORMATION
Utah (15-7, 6-4 Big 12) vs. UCF (10-11, 2,8 Big 12)
DATE | TIME: Wednesday, Feb. 4 | 5 p.m. (MT)
LOCATION: Orlando, Florida | Addition Financial Arena
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 Scott Adams on the play-by-play and BJ Taylor as analyst. The radio call will be on 92.5 FM with Tyson Ewing and Milee Rustand calling the action.

LAST TIME OUT
Utah women's basketball dropped 77-65 to rival BYU on Saturday afternoon in Provo Utah, snapping the Utes' win streak against the Cougars which dated back to 2021. Utah led for much of the contest, including a 10-point halftime advantage, but a hot-shooting Cougars squad surged ahead in the fourth quarter to pull away. Lani White paced the Utes with 20 points, while Reese Ross anchored the interior with 13 rebounds as Utah fell to 15-7 overall and 6-4 in Big 12 play.

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 40.2% from the field, 35.9% from three and 87.5% from the line while averaging 10.0 points per game. She's averaging 3.6 rebounds and has 51 assists so far this season. Wilke has 1,100 total points in her collegiate career. She has also hit 218 career made three pointers, pulled down 336 career rebounds and posted 239 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 14.5 points per game. She's shooting 46.5% from the field, 38.7% from three and 87.5% from the free throw line. She's second on the team in rebounding pulling down 107 total on the year and averages 4.9 rebounds a game.

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 35-15 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 UCF
UCF is 10-11 overall and 2-8 in Big 12 play this season. The Knights are coming off a 65-52 loss to Iowa State. UCF is led by head coach Sytia Messer, who is in her fourth season at the helm of UCF and owns a 49-61 overall record.

UCF is averaging 64.7 points per game while allowing opponents to score 62.4 points per contest. The Knights are shooting 41.7% from the field, 27.4% from three-point range, and 71.9% from the free-throw line this season. On the glass, UCF is averaging 37.8 rebounds per game, compared to opponents' 35.4 rebounds per game.

UCF has two players averaging double figures this season: Leah Harmon (15.7) and Khyala Ngodu (10.8). Harmon leads the Knights in scoring at 15.7 points per game, shooting 40.1% from the field, 36.8% from three-point range, and 83.9% from the free-throw line, while adding 2.1 rebounds per game.

Utah leads the all-time series 1-0 against UCF after a dominant 95-51 win on Feb. 8, 2025, at the Jon M. Huntsman Center.

NEW AND NOTEWORTHY
• The Utes sit at No. 49 in the Net Rankings.
• Utah is coming off a 77-65 loss to BYU. This was the first time since 2021 that Utah has fallen to rival BYU.
• Reese Ross put up back-to-back double digit rebounding as she pulled down her fourth double-double this season against WVU (1/27) with 12 points and 10 rebounds and pulled down 10 rebounds against BYU (1/31).
• The Utes have outrebounded their opponents in 13 of the last 15 games with an average margin of 11.3 boards per 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.
• Utah downed No. 8 TCU (1/3) in overtime 87-77 handing the Frogs their first loss of the season. This was the 11th Top-10 win in school history and the fourth consecutive season the Utes have downed a Top-10 team. It also marked the first time in program history that Utah has picked up a Top-10 win in four straight seasons.
• 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).

• Utah is top 40 nationally in five major statistical categories:
No. 41 assists per game (16.7)
No. 42 rebound margin (6.5)
No. 24 defensive rebounds per game (28.9)
No. 26 three point attempts (25.9)
No. 44 three point percentage (34.7)
No. 16 three pointers per game (9.0)

UP NEXT
The Utes' will return home on Saturday Feb. 7 to face off against Iowa State at 5 P.M. Before jumping back on the road to Arizona State at 6:30 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).