The Utah women’s basketball team dropped one spot in the Associated Press Top 25 on Monday in the wake of last week’s loss to Kansas State.
The Utes were blown out, 71-47, by the Wildcats, who moved up one spot this week to No. 11 in the polls. But Utah bounced back with a big home win over the Houston Cougars on Saturday.
“Great bounce-back win after a tough loss to K-State. We had to get back to the drawing board and attack. It took us a little while but I’m proud of our effort,” head coach Gavin Petersen said of the 69-42 victory, which improved his team’s record to 13-3.
Mayé Touré had 22 points and 12 rebounds in the win. Gianna Kneepkens added 15 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
“We just have to have the mindset that ‘I believe in myself, and my teammates and every shot is going in,’” Kneepkens said afterward. “Against Kansas State, we started missing shots and got tight and we started rushing and losing our spacing. We had to switch up our mindset to focus on the little things and not hyper-focusing on our missed shots.”
The Utes will play Baylor on the road on Tuesday night before heading to TCU on Jan. 18. The team’s next home game is Jan. 22 when the Kansas Jayhawks come to the Huntsman Center.
(Eli Lucero | AP) Utah State guard Dexter Akanno (7) and guard Drake Allen (8) celebrate with guard Ian Martinez after he was fouled while making the game winning 3-pointer against Boise State in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025, in Logan, Utah.
Aggies on the rise
Utah State moved up three spots to No. 22 in the AP men’s poll on Monday.
The Aggies rallied to beat Boise State on a four-point play by guard Ian Martinez over the weekend. USU is now 16-1 on the season under new head coach Jerrod Calhoun.
Utah State plays at UNLV on Wednesday.
BYU looking for answers
The Cougars are on a three-game losing streak as the prepare to take on Oklahoma State and the Utah Utes this week.
For first-year head coach Kevin Young, the search for answers takes him down two paths.
“I’m constantly asking myself, are we on the right path? And I think the path for me is defined in a couple of different ways,” he said Monday. “One is, are you playing the right guys? And if so, are you playing the right combinations of guys? That’s number one. Number two is, schematically, are you on the right path? And so the general answer to most of those questions is yes. There are some combinations that I’m still tinkering with that are holding us back. I’ve got to get that right.”
Young is preaching patience and perspective as the Cougars work their way through a difficult Big 12 schedule.
“This league is tough. Nothing’s given to us,” he said.
