SALT LAKE CITY — Coming off of a 20-10 season — Utah’s most wins since the 2012-13 season — but coming off of a first-round loss in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament, Utah women’s basketball head coach Lynne Roberts isn’t satisfied with where her team is quite yet.
“We have won and we have progressed, and every year we’ve gotten better, and every year our recruiting has improved, and every year our fanbase has increased — but we’re still not where we want to be. That’s exciting. I think the climb is the most fun thing in sports. It’s fun to be where we’re at,” Roberts said.
The Utes held their first practice of the season on Thursday morning. As Roberts enters her fifth season at the helm, she believes the Utes could be poised for their best season yet under her tenure.
“Right now, we’re cautiously optimistic that this could be the best year we’ve had yet in the Pac-12,” Roberts said.
Utah has to replace its best player from last season, Megan Huff, who led the Utes in scoring with 19.6 points last year. Roberts says that the team won’t have just one player to replace Huff, but it will be by committee.
“If you remove a major spoke in the wheel, you just have to realign the spokes so that the wheel stays round, and it’s kind of the same thing. We’re just going to have to realign a little bit,” Roberts said.
“Right now, we’re cautiously optimistic that this could be the best year we’ve had yet in the Pac-12.” — Utah women’s basketball coach Lynne Roberts
Helping Utah’s cause is Daneesha Provo, who is back after being granted a sixth year of eligibility. Provo averaged 13.5 points in 13 games last year, along with leading the team in steals before suffering a season-ending ACL injury.
“We’re super grateful that the NCAA came through and granted her sixth year. Our compliance office did a tremendous job in presenting her case,” Roberts said.
Provo, who had surgery last winter, is allowed to practice with the team but will wear a penny to indicate that she can’t be touched.
“She can do everything, but she can’t be hit,” Roberts said.
Roberts anticipates that Provo could be back in games by December.
“We’re super grateful that the NCAA came through and granted her sixth year. Our compliance office did a tremendous job in presenting her case.” — Coach Roberts on sixth-year senior Daneesha Provo
Other key contributors from last season’s team include guards Dru Gylten and Kiana Moore.
Three incoming freshmen — Kemery Martin, Lola Pendande and Brynna Maxwell — will help bolster the Utes.
Martin, a five-star recruit from Corner Canyon, was named Ms. Basketball by the Deseret News after averaging 22 points per game.
“Kemry Martin is a talent, and you guys will all see that. She’s a freshman, so everything has a little asterisk with that, but she’s a talent. … Having her and Dru in the backcourt for three years is pretty exciting,” Roberts said. “Kemry brings the passing and all that, but also the shooting.”
Pendande represented Spain in the 2019 FIBA U19 Women’s World Cup this summer.
“She’s been playing internationally in the summers for like four years, and it shows,” Roberts said. “We haven’t done a whole lot, we’ve been on the court two hours a week, and so it’s very limited what we’ve been able to do, but I’ve done this long enough to know when you see a player that just gets it.”
Maxwell is a three-star recruit from Washington and led Gig Harbor High School to a state championship. Roberts also tabbed Julie Brosseau, a redshirt junior transfer that led Maine in scoring, as a player to watch.
Roberts said the Utes did a lot of things well last year — building around talent, shooting the ball well, being unselfish, playing up-tempo, scoring in transition and being better defensively and in a half-court offense.
“We’re going to build on all of those things. I think we’ve got a lot of new faces, but the system, the program, the way we do things doesn’t change,” Roberts said.