After hosting an exhibition game, the Southern Utah University women’s basketball will travel to Salt Lake City to take on the University of Utah on Monday, Nov. 4, at 2 p.m. This game can be streamed on ESPN+.
This will be the first regular season game for both teams.
Utah
The Utes are coming off a season in which they went 23-11 and made it to the second round of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament. Utah will look to continue the success as they are in their first year in the Big 12 conference.
Utah will be looking to replace star forward Alissa Pili. The 6’2’’ forward from Anchorage, Alaska was drafted in the Women’s National Basketball Association after averaging 21.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game for the Utes.
UofU will be returning four key players from this past season. Guard Gianna Kneepkens was second on the team in scoring before suffering a season-ending injury. Kennady McQueen and Jenna Johnson both started every game for the Utes last year and averaged a combined 19.6 points per game.
Defensively, Utah held their opponents to 62 points per game on 41.4% shooting from the field. The Utes also had a plus 6.6 rebound margin.
Southern Utah
The Thunderbirds will look to improve off of their 8-22 season a year ago. Now in their third year in the Western Athletic Conference, Southern Utah will look to once again compete for the WAC title, an honor they earned two years ago.
Although Southern Utah is returning many familiar faces, the Thunderbirds lost Megan Smith. The center from Castle Dale, Utah led the team averaging 16.2 points per game.
Southern Utah retains key starters Daylani Ballena, Samantha Johnston, and Ava Uhrich. The trio combined for 38.6 points per game. Ballena led the team in assists with 107 while Johnston made a team-high 73 three-pointers on the year.
Transfer guard Sydney Gandy will look to help add to the loaded backcourt for the Thunderbirds. Gandy scored a team-high 13 points in SUU’s 66-47 win in their exhibition game over Ottawa University Arizona.
Utah defeated Southern Utah 96-60 last season and the Thunderbirds are 3-15 all-time against the Utes.
Author: Jack Paul
Photographer: Gannon Lovisa
Editor: Michele Fogg
