Big crowd spurs Utes to nab share of the Pac-12 regular season title

For much of the season, Alissa Pili has been the face and the focus of the University of Utah’s women’s basketball program.

But on Saturday afternoon, the Utes found a “12^th (wo)man,” a home-court advantage that coach Lynne Roberts has been searching for since taking over the program eight years ago.

Gianna Kneepkens scored 28 points and Pili had 14, and the Utes’ tenacious defense frustrated third-ranked Stanford. Those factors allowed No. 8 Utah to beat the longtime Pac-12 power 84-78 at the Jon M. Huntsman Center and earn a tie with the Cardinal for the conference’s regular-season championship.

But Roberts wasn’t referring to either of the two players or to the team’s defensive performance. It was the crowd of 9,611 fans that cheered the Utes to their 25^th victory.

With the win, Utah earned the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Pac-12 postseason tournament in Las Vegas, where they will have a first-round bye and play Thursday against the winner of an earlier matchup between Washington State and California.

”We’ve been working hard to make this a championship program, and we did,” Roberts said, as she watched the Utes accept a trophy and cut down the arena’s nets.

“To create something, you’ve got to have a vision, and I did envision it. Sometimes people told me I was crazy to think that it was possible, but I knew it was, and incredibly satisfying for it to happen,” she said.

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The Utes will likely host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Last week, they were predicted to be one of the four top seeds.

Roberts is hoping that seeding will help move them to the “Sweet 16.” Utah is, after all, 14-0 at home this season.

Kneepkens led the Utes’ offense against Stanford on Saturday. She had a tough time getting off shots in the physical contest, frequently going against taller opponents, but made a three-pointer with 2:12 left after Stanford cut a 12-point deficit to 73-72. The sophomore guard made 5-of-9 treys overall and her drives to the basket also drew fouls.

The physical contest featured 51 fouls. By the end, one Stanford player was disqualified, and each team also had four players with four personals.

Kneepkens’ season-high points total was needed after Pili was called for three fouls by early in the second quarter. That reduced her playing time and aggressiveness, so the rest of the squad stepped up.

Sophomore Kennady McQueen had 10 points, and also recorded six steals. Junior Dasia Young made all six of her charity shots, and was an important defensive presence against Stanford, which came into the game with the league’s second-most potent offense (behind Utah).

Freshman Lani White scored five points in just seven minutes on the court. Roberts said Kelsey Rees and Peyton McFarland didn’t have impressive statistics but imposed their presence at times against the Cardinal while Pili was on the bench.

Roberts and Kneepkens both said the team’s belief in itself, and the fact that this could be a special season, helped them turn away Stanford’s frequent threats.

”It’s incredible, and just the trust coach Rob has in me and all of us, that’s why we also do so well, because we don’t have to play tentative out there, we can just play free,” Kneepkens said. “It was awesome, and having that crowd just elevated it, like, infinity.”

Stanford scored the game’s first nine points, but Utah quickly rallied with a 10-0 run. The Utes took the lead for good on a Kneepkens three-pointer with 5:44 left in the second quarter, but the game wasn’t decided until Kneepkens’ final basket from long range and Utah forced three straight turnovers in the final minute.

”They were more aggressive, and our turnovers were bad,” said longtime Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer, who has been at Stanford since 1985 and won three national titles. “Our lack of execution (hurt us). They were the better team.”

Hannah Jump had 24 points for Stanford, and Cameron Brink had 14 points and 12 rebounds. The Cardinal received the top seed at the Pac-12 tourney by virtue of their win over Colorado Thursday, and will appear on the opposite side of the bracket as Utah.