Championship Celebration
Championship Celebration
A Pac-12 Championship and March to the NCAA Sweet 16 for Women’s Hoops All-American Alissa Pili and Naismith Coach of the Year Top 4 Finalist Lynne Roberts lead Utah to an historic season
Gianna Kneepkens and Pili were All-Pac-12 selections, while Kennady McQueen and Jenna Johnson earned All-Pac-12 honorable mention. Kneepkens, who was the 2022 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, was third in the Pac-12 in three-point percentage (42.3%) and fourth with made three pointers (71). She averaged 15.3 points per game. McQueen has earned All- Pac-12 honorable mention twice in her career. She averaged 9.1 points per game and 3.5 rebounds per game while ranking fifth in the Pac-12 in three point percentage (36.4). Johnson averaged 11.9 points and 4.9 boards per game. Lynne Roberts, in her eighth year at the helm, was named the Pac-12 Conference Coach of the Year and a Naismith Coach of the Year Award Top 4 Finalist.
throws per game (16.5). Utah hit 100 or more points five times, the most in a single season in Utes’ history. Postseason Honors Forward Alissa Pili made an immediate impact for the Utes after transferring from USC. Pili earned WBCA All-America and second team All-America from both the Associated Press and USBWA, becoming the first player in Utah history to achieve those honors. She also picked up the Utes’ first Pac-12 Conference Player of the Year award. Pili led the Pac-12 in scoring at 20.7 points per game and chipped in 5.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. She shoot 59.0 percent from the floor, the 14th-best mark in the nation. Pili scored 20 or more points 18 times and amassed 643 total points this season, the second most in school history.
By The Numbers
2 NCAA Tournament seed was the highest in school history. 3 Sweet 16 appearances in school history (2001, 2006, 2023). 4 Utah’s season-end offensive ranking. The Utes also ranked in the top 10 in four other offensive categories. 13 Weeks Utah was ranked in the Associated Press Top 10. 124 Points scored against No. 16 Oklahoma on Nov. 16 for the most points in a game in school history.
12 history. It was the best start for Utah in the Pac-12 Era. Utah was ranked for 13 consecutive weeks in the AP Top 10 and appeared in the AP Poll 19 consecutive weeks, breaking the program record. Utah posted a 6-4 record over Top 25 ranked teams. The Utes defeated No. 3 Stanford, 84-78, Huntsman Center to clinch its first league title since joining the Pac-12. It was the highest-ranked team the Utes had defeated in the program’s history, and they did it in front of the largest crowd in the Pac-12 era of 9,611. The win vaulted them to No. 3 in the national poll, which is the highest ranking in school history. On Selection Sunday, Utah was awarded with a No. 2 seed in the region, the highest in school history. The Utes hosted NCAA first and second round games in the Huntsman Center, defeating Gardner-Webb, 103-77, and Princeton, 63-56 to move on to the Sweet 16. Once again, Ute fans came out in big numbers as 15,693 were in attendance for the two nights combined. The two postseason wins gave Utah had an undefeated home record at 16-0 for the first time in the Pac-12 era.
Utah lost a tight, 66-63 battle with No. 3 seed LSU—the eventual national champion—in the regional semifinals. Utah finished the season with a record of 27-5, tying for the second- most wins in a season in program history. Utah ended the season with the nation’s No. 4 scoring offense (82.8 ppg). The Utes were ranked in the top 10 nationally in four other major offensive categories: fourth in field-goal percentage (48.4), eighth in scoring margin (+16.8), sixth in assists per game (18.3, fifth in free
Alissa Pili became Utah’s first Pac-12 Conference Player of the Year.
Claiming a share of the first Pac-12 championship in the program’s history and advancing to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2006, it was an historic year for the Utah women’s basketball program. And, with no seniors on the roster, this could be just the start of things. The Utes’ had a 14-0 start for the second-best in program history and tied for the fourth- best start by any program in Pac-
Gianna Kneepkens earned All-Pac-12 honors.
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CRIMSON CLUB MAGAZINE APRIL 2023
CRIMSON CLUB MAGAZINE APRIL 2023
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