For the fourth year in a row, Utah women’s basketball program is going dancing.
In the Utes first season as members of the Big 12, they finished with a 22-8 overall record and a 13-5 mark in conference play.
Now they’ll be heading to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 8 seed, set to take on No. 9 Indiana on Friday in Columbia, South Carolina.
“I’ve seen them from afar, not so much in terms on the detail side of things,” Utah head coach Gavin Petersen said. “But, in terms of style of play, they’re very similar to us. ... I think with our crew and the way we’ve been practicing, we’re looking forward to getting back to Utah basketball, being fearless and letting the three from the corners fly when they’re open.”
If the Utes were to advance past the Hoosiers in round one, they’d likely run into a tough matchup against reigning-champion South Carolina in the second round. The Gamecocks, led by head coach Dawn Staley, have won the national championship three times in the last 10 years.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) BYU Cougars guard Kemery Congdon (15) and Utah Utes guard Gianna Kneepkens (5) as Utah hosts BYU, NCAA basketball in Salt Lake City on Saturday, March 1, 2025.
Utah is coming off a loss to Texas Tech in the Big 12 championship. To advance past Indiana and, potentially, South Carolina, Petersen knows he’ll have to get his team refocus on the details.
And, he thinks, if Utah could do that, the Utes could be primed for another run to the Sweet 16.
“I think we need to relax,” Petersen said of his team. “I think we need to fall back on who we are, what we do, and what we’ve been doing. We’ve been doing it for a long time, so we don’t need to put added pressure on ourselves ... We have nothing to lose here. We’ve made it to the NCAA tournament for the fourth time in four years, and we’re excited about that. We’re excited about where our program is, the foundation, and where we are and where it’s going to continue to go.”
