Utah Women’s Basketball has extended their winning streak to six games following a win over a solid Colorado Buffaloes team.

The Lady Runnin’ Utes gave the Buffaloes all they could handle in a true team effort on Wednesday night. Coach Gavin Petersen’s team was ready to go from the jump, getting out to a quick 17-2 lead early on in this matchup.

Utah carried that momentum throughout the game to earn a dominant 77-60 conference victory, boosting them past West Virginia in the standings.

Coach Petersen expressed the importance of starting games strong in conference play.

“It was a good team win today. We had a lot of people score, but I think we did a great job on the rebounding,” he said. “I know they’ve been hit with the injury bug, but we knew they were going to give us everything they had. We knew they would come in and attack us hard, so I was really excited to see our start in the first quarter to get us settled in early. As the game went on, we took our foot off the gas pedal in a few moments, but we were prepared and ready to go today.”

Utah out-rebounded Colorado 36-23 in what became a relatively stress-free victory.

Gianna Kneepkens has been the headliner for Utah Women’s Basketball this season. The superstar junior is averaging 19.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.1 assists on the year. Kneepkens has been a catalyst for this team all year and continues to be a leader on this team even when her shot isn’t falling.

When asked about her ability to be resilient during inevitable times of struggle, Kneepkens said, “I think the biggest thing is staying consistent in my effort. Missed shots and turnovers are going to happen. They’re part of basketball, but we can always give 100% effort. I can do a better job of staying consistent in that area so that when we aren’t making shots, it’s not compounding and affecting our defense. Just focusing on giving my best effort more consistently.”

A balanced performance opened the door for nine different Utes to score. A strong presence down low from Mayé Touré, Samantha Crispe and Reese Ross held Colorado in check offensively, allowing Utah to maintain the lead they took early on.

Coming up, the Lady Runnin’ Utes will take a trip to Tempe, Arizona, to take on the Arizona State Sun Devils. Tune in on ESPN+ as Utah looks to continue gaining momentum in the Big 12.

j.leone@dailyutahchronicle.com

@johnleone