Utah junior guard Gianna Kneepkens has been a go-to player for the Utes since arriving in Salt Lake City four seasons ago.
In the last two games, though, she has elevated that level particularly on the offensive end, setting a new career-high in points in back-to-back contests.
First, she scored 30 points in a home victory over Kansas and nearly had just the second triple-double in program history. Kneepkens finished with 10 rebounds and eight assists.
Then, last Saturday, Kneepkens dropped a new career-high 32 points in a five-point win at BYU.
Kneepkens shot 8 of 16 from the floor, 6 of 7 from 3-point range and 10 of 12 from the free-throw line.
The Duluth, Minnesota, native missed most of last season with a broken ankle, and it’s been a step-by-step process getting Kneepkens back to her normal self, Utah coach Gavin Petersen explained.
“Early on in the nonconference season, it was just getting back out there, that was the biggest thing. So she jumped that hurdle, and then it’s like, okay, now I’ve got to get back to being that reliable scorer, that reliable go-to player for my team. She proved that, and then it was like, alright, now I can kind of put four quarters together,” Petersen said.
That’s culminated in Kneepkens making an even bigger impact as the season has gone on. In league play, she’s averaging 20.3 points per game, fourth in the Big 12.
Kneepkens and the Utes (15-5, 6-3 Big 12) will start the second half of league play on Friday (6:30 p.m. MST, FS1), as Utah welcomes Arizona to the Huntsman Center.
“So it’s just gradually happening, and it’s more so because of the game minutes and the accumulation of games played as opposed to practice,” Petersen said. “... You just kind of got to get through those games and then, like you guys saw last week, that’s the old G and, yeah, she’s awesome.”
Kennady McQueen injury update
The Utes got senior guard Kennady McQueen back from a high-ankle sprain last Saturday, after she missed five games due to the injury.
McQueen came off the bench in Utah’s win over BYU and played 11 minutes. She finished with three points — making her only 3-point attempt of the game — and added two rebounds, an assist and a steal.
Petersen said that after shootaround for the Utes’ game against Arizona on Friday, the determination will be made whether or not to have McQueen back in the starting lineup.
“But from our training standpoint, and from our sports medicine team, it all looks like it’s the green light ready to go,” the coach said. “And she’s been doing fine, working her way back into the rhythm of things, just with game-like repetitions with the starters, with the reserves. It just doesn’t matter.”
Petersen praised the work McQueen has put in to get back on the court.
“We just got to get her back into the flow of things, and she’s done a tremendous job. I’m just so proud of how she’s attacked her rehab, because it could have been a lot longer her us playing without her,” Petersen said.
Previewing Utah-Arizona
Utah and Arizona will play for the second time this season Friday — in the first game, the Utes beat the Wildcats 69-48. It was Utah’s first win at Arizona in seven seasons.
The Wildcats (14-8, 5-4 Big 12) are on a three-game winning streak entering the matchup, though. That includes a victory over then-No. 16 West Virginia last Saturday.
That lifted Arizona above .500 in conference play and sets up the Wildcats well to finish in the upper half of the Big 12 standings, or perhaps higher, with a strong second half.
That begins Friday when Utah and Arizona meet at the Huntsman Center.
When the two teams met in Tucson, Arizona, on New Year’s Eve, Utah shut down the Wildcats offensively through the first three quarters, taking a 45-28 lead into the fourth quarter.
Now, the Wildcats will be trying to return the favor.
“That just shows you how hard it is to play there,” Petersen said. “We’re going to get their absolute best. They want to split with us, and it’s going to be a good game. We anticipate it to be a good game. And so we’ve got to be ready from the jump to be able to handle that.”
Dating back to Utah’s membership in the Pac-12 alongside Arizona, this is a rivalry that’s been competitive in recent years, though the Wildcats have gotten the better of the Utes more often than not in the past five seasons.
Last year, the Utes lost an overtime thriller in the only matchup between the two teams.
Two years ago, when Utah won a share of the Pac-12 regular-season title and made it to the Sweet 16, the programs split a pair of games, with the home team winning each time.
“I think both programs are competitors. We do it in our own different ways. They’ve established themselves as a really in-your-face type of defense with pressure and trying to take you out of your rhythm, and they’ve done a great job with that,” Petersen said. “We’ve got to do a better job if we want to come out ahead Friday night on handling that pressure and then just taking what the defense gives us.”
If Utah wins Friday, it will be the first time the Utes have swept two games against Arizona in the same year since the 2017-18 season.
“You know, it’s matchups that make good games, and that’s why I think it’s been such a good game over the years. And we have a lot of respect for them and their program, and we’re expecting their best. And we’ve got to be ready to give our best as well,” Petersen said.