In a fantastic start to the season, the University of Utah women’s basketball team fought valiantly against the Idaho Vandals to secure a win at home in the Jon M. Huntsman Center. The win comes after the Utes defeated both Northwest Nazarene and Westminster University in their preseason exhibition matches, offering fans a hopeful start to the season. 

The game began with sophomore Gianna Kneepkens and junior Isabel Palmer scoring one three-pointer apiece, quickly getting the Utes up on the board. The Vandals, on the other hand, decided to match the Utes’ energy and quickly added 9 points to their name in response. This drove Utah head coach Lynne Roberts to make a lineup change, and brought in USC transfer Alissa Pili to make her official Utah debut. Unknown to Idaho at the time, such a decision would prove deadly throughout the rest of the game. 

Once on the court, Pili swiftly claimed a three-pointer and offered an assist on another basket, bringing the Utes back up to 13-9. Idaho guard Tiana Johnson continued to power through for the Vandals, and brought the score up to 21-21 with just under three minutes left of the first ten. The two teams traded the ball back and forth for the remainder, and left the first quarter at 29-29. 

An interview with Roberts following the game showed some of the coach’s concerns regarding the first quarter, particularly in Idaho’s domination of the three-point line.

During the match, Roberts stated they “weren’t surprised they were shooting them. It was the game plan to defend the three-point line, and it took us 10 minutes to get going there… we’ll learn from it and clean things up, but we got a convincing win”. 

After enduring a relentless first quarter, the Utes came back at the start of the second quarter to keep the Vandals off the scoreboard for a full five minutes, and add nine more points to make it 38-29. Teya Sidberry added another three for the reds, and after allowing a few throws to the Vandals the Utes finished off the first half at 47-38. 

At their return after the half, the Utes continued to increase their end of the score with Jenna Johnson contributing a bucket to make it 54-40. Utah continued to hold onto their double digit lead with the help of Palmer, who secured another layup to bring the Utes to 60-45 at the five minute mark. After a rocky first half, the Utes closed the third quarter with a strong 68-53 lead. 

The start of the fourth and final quarter saw the Utes keep their momentum and widen the score gap even further, when freshman Lani White put away a couple of free throws to bring it to 73-53. Idaho could evidently feel the match slipping away and made an effort to break down the Utah defense, bringing the score to 73-59. At the last minute, Pili came through to deliver 11 straight points, finally putting the Vandals out of their misery. The Utes ultimately took the match with a final score of 88-63.

After this well-deserved victory to kick off the season, the Utes will look to preserve their winning streak as they welcome the Utah Valley Wolverines in the Huntsman this Friday. 

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