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Gianna Kneepkens leads Utah to upset win over No. 3 Notre Dame

The Utes improved to 6-2 after their win in the Cayman Island Classic.

(David Becker | AP) Utah guard Gianna Kneepkens reacts after a play against Washington State during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 women's tournament Thursday, March 2, 2023, in Las Vegas.

(David Becker | AP) Utah guard Gianna Kneepkens reacts after a play against Washington State during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 women's tournament Thursday, March 2, 2023, in Las Vegas.

  | Dec. 1, 2024, 12:41 a.m.
| Updated: 4:10 a.m.

A week ago, Gavin Petersen updated his C.V.

Now the new Utah women’s basketball coach is busy polishing his team’s résumé.

The Utes notched a statement win on Saturday afternoon, beating the No. 3 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish 78-67 in the Cayman Island Classic.

“I am extremely proud of our team. They showed resilience tonight,” Petersen said. “They were dialed in today and executed. They are starting to buy into our circle. What I mean by that is that we are starting to pick people up when they’re having down days and celebrating every small victory. At halftime, they told me they were having fun and I responded ‘Absolutely, it sure looks like it.’ That’s the energy we have to continue to build upon.”

Utah’s Gianna Kneepkens scored a team-high 16 points. Kennady McQueen (15), Maty Wilke (14) and Jenna Johnson (14) also finished in double figures for the Utes.

Notre Dame guard Sonia Citron led all scorers with 22. But Utah’s team effort ruled the day.

“Inês [Vieira] is our engine. Since day one she has continued to improve. She has contagious energy and her personality is our heartbeat," Petersen said, as he started to break down his roster. “We have our anchor in Jenna Johnson who just continued to show up consistently for team in tough moments. We have the superstars in Kennady McQueen and Matyson Wilke who splash when we need them to. Reese Ross is really starting to find her stride and excel in her role and Mayé [Touré] keeps striving to be better and constantly pushing on ways to best contribute to our team."

Utah trailed 37-32 at halftime, but controlled the game after intermission. A Johnson hook shot started an 11-0 run to begin the third quarter. The Utes ended up holding the Irish to just a pair of free throws in the first five minutes of the frame.

In the fourth, Utah pulled away to improve to 3-1 under their new head coach.

Utah shot 45.9% from the floor, including going 9-of-24 from beyond the arc, while assisting on 17 of 28 baskets.

The Utes are now 6-2 overall after handing Notre Dame its second loss of the season.

“We are really starting to gel together as one unit,” Petersen said.

Utah now returns home and will prepare to face the Utah State Aggies on Dec. 4 at the Delta Center.

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