Gianna Kneepkens ties career-high as Utah women blowout UCF 95-51

SALT LAKE CITY — On the day when Utah honored the many women that made up 50 years of basketball at the university, Gianna Kneepkens and Kennady McQueen showed why they'll be remembered as Utah greats when their time is over.

To add to the performance, Maty Wilke showed that her future remains bright for many more seasons with the Utes as the trio led Utah to a dominant 95-51 win at the Huntsman Center against a UCF team with only one win in Big 12 play this season.

Kneepkens started the afternoon game off with a backdoor cut that got her an easy and open lane for a layup that worked two other times before UCF (8-14, 1-11 Big 12) keyed in on the play. But by the time UCF figured out the play, Utah (18-5, 9-3 Big 12) got hot from 3-point range.

Wilke, alone, went on a personal 9-0 run on three consecutive possessions in which she hit all wide open 3-pointers. The junior guard finished the night with four made 3-pointers, accounting for all 12 of her points.

Kneepkens added six 3-pointers, while McQueen contributed three as Utah finished the day with 16 triples as a team on 48% shooting from deep; it was the most made 3-pointers in a game this season.

"I think we were just moving the ball really well tonight. It was fun," McQueen said. "We were celebrating each other, which just makes the basket get even bigger. But, yeah, it was just a blast tonight, moved the ball super well."

"We just celebrated each other's successes, and no one was really worried about who was scoring or if that person was scoring was just like if we were scoring," Wilke added. "I think sometimes making the extra pass and seeing the three go in is just as exciting and fun. So I think we had a very strong team game today."

Kneepkens finished with a team-high and career-tying 32 points on 10-of-11 shooting and four rebounds, and McQueen added 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting.

It was an overall dominant performance from a Utah team now just 1.5 games out of first place in a competitive Big 12.

"Really excited about the performance our team was able to do in a very unselfish fashion, 28 assists on 32 baskets — phenomenal," Utah head coach Gavin Petersen said.

Utah used a strong first quarter performance to set an early pace and led 27-15 after 10 minutes, but struggled to separate more in the second quarter in a sloppy end to the half for both teams. Part of that, UCF head coach Sytia Messer said, was the Knights' attention to making shots difficult for Utah.

That same effort lessened, though, as the game developed.

"We just wasn't aggressive enough to run them off the 3-point line in second half," Messer said. "So they stepped up and made what 16 3s. So, we've got to be better than that in the second half. I thought the first half, the 3s were hard 3s; second half, they wasn't. And so that's on us; we've got to be better."

Utah wasted little time pulling away in the third quarter before controlling a 29-point lead to enter the final quarter. The Utes then held serve for the final 10 minutes — and even failed to score over the last three minutes — en route to a blowout win at home.

At halftime, the university welcomed several former women's basketball players and announced that all-time winningest coach (582 wins) Elaine Elliott (1983-2010) would have her name hung in the rafters starting next season.

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