Utah Women’s Basketball Independent
Unaffiliated but friendly with the University of Utah, the Big 16 Conference, and other Pac-12 remnants
A team’s desired state at this time of year is “still getting better”, though that team isn’t as scary as “the team no one wants to play”. The teams that are “still getting better” were known contenders in November, whose preferred trajectory is incremental improvement through April. The teams “no one wants to play” can […]
Utah beat interstate rival BYU 76-73 in overtime Saturday, completing a regular season in which the Utes lost to all the teams that finished above them in the Big 16 standings, and won against teams beneath them. Utah junior guard Matyson Wilke hit the winning 3-pointer from halfcourt as time expired. I watched that video […]
With 11 days remaining in the Big 12 Conference season, two games separate the top six teams. Utah sits in fourth place — in position for one of the invaluable byes into the tournament quarterfinals. With four games left to play, two of them are against 6th-place Oklahoma St. today, and 5th-place West Virginia (in […]
The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame named finalists Friday for 2025 induction. They include players on the 2008 Olympics gold medalist team (Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard), Jennifer Azzi, Maya Moore, and Molly Bolin. Before the WNBA, before the ABL, there was the WBL: The Women’s Professional Basketball League, which operated 1979-1981.The first player signed in […]
A courtside interview with Paige Bueckers scrolled into view, and I thought: Hey, I should watch this. Because, I thought, I’ve never heard Bueckers talk to the media, and I wonder where she is in relation to Caitlin Clark. Remember, if not for injured knees, Bueckers had the inside track on the position held by […]
The 2025 Utah Utes lost three of their last four, while senior guard Kennady McQueen is out with an ankle sprain. The 2024 Utes ended their season with an NCAA second-round loss to host Gonzaga. They played their last 30 games without junior guard Gianna Kneepkens, lost to a broken foot. Last year, the Kneepkens […]
Tuesday was a bad day. I often grumble during my chess classes that no one listens to me. I try to do that in a light-hearted way, because chess is difficult — even the best chess teachers’ most fundamental instructions (“examine every threatening move” and “use inactive force”) are hard to do, for experienced tournament […]
The dissolution of the Pac-12 served to disperse the Oregon State Beavers who didn’t want to play in the mid-major West Coast Conference. It’s working out great for #1 UCLA, who got Talia Von Oelhoffen, and NCAA team of the week Oklahoma, who got Raegan Beers. On the other hand, Lily Hansford, a most accurate […]
The San Antonio Spurs beat the Nets 96-87 in Brooklyn Friday. Last season’s rookie of the year Victor Wembanyama had a team-high 19 points and 6 blocks for the Spurs, then made a stir in the basketball and chess worlds by asking where he could find a game of chess. Wembanyama was directed to Washington […]
My seat in the Chase Center affords an excellent view of the pregame introductions. There’s a kid on every team who knows the ritual greeting for each starter. At Utah, it’s Alyssa Blanck. Here’s how I think this evolved: Long ago, the first player introduced would run on the court, then stand alone for a […]