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.