Gianna Kneepkens (born March 4, 2003) is an American college basketball player for the Utah Utes of the Big 12 Conference.
| No. 5 – Utah Utes | |
|---|---|
| Position | Guard |
| League | Big 12 Conference |
| Personal information | |
| Born | March 4, 2003 |
| Listed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Marshall School (Duluth, Minnesota) |
| College |
|
| Career highlights and awards | |
Early life and high school career
editKneepkens was born in Duluth, Minnesota[citation needed] to Donald and Betsy Kneepkens.[1] The youngest of six siblings, Kneepkens grew up playing basketball against her five older brothers.[2] She played for Marshall School in Duluth. A varsity starter since the eighth grade, Kneepkens helped her team to two Minnesota state tournament appearances.[3] During her high school career, Kneepkens scored 3,704 points, fourth all-time in Minnesota.[3] In her final high school game, Kneepkens scored 67 points, another all-time state record.[3] As a senior, she was named Gatorade Minnesota Girls Basketball Player of the Year, joining Paige Bueckers who won the award the year before.[3] Kneepkens then committed to playing college basketball for Utah.[4]
College career
editKneepkens made her debut for the Utes on November 10, 2021, against Lipscomb University. She later earned a starting role after coming off the bench and putting up 29 points against in-state rival BYU on December 4, 2021.[5] During the season, Kneepkens went on to average 11.8 points per game, shooting 38.4% from three and 87.1% from the free-throw line.[1] Kneepkens was named Pac-12 freshman of the year, First Team All-Pac-12, and given Pac-12 All-Freshman honors.[1]
During her sophomore campaign, Kneepkens continued to see success, starting in every game and scoring an average 15.3 points per game.[1] During the Utes's NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament appearance that season, She was again named to the First Team All-Pac-12 and was named a WBCA Coaches' Honorable Mention All-American.[1]
Career statistics
edit| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| TO | Turnovers per game | FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| Bold | Career best | ° | League leader |
College
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021–22 | Utah | 33 | 25 | 23.7 | 44.6 | 38.4 | 87.1 | 4.4 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 11.8 |
| 2022–23 | Utah | 32 | 32 | 28.3 | 49.8 | 42.3 | 83.1 | 5.2 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 1.6 | 15.3 |
| 2023–24 | Utah | 8 | 8 | 25.1 | 63.3 | 54.0 | 78.9 | 5.5 | 3.9 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 2.3 | 17.8 |
| Career | 73 | 65 | 25.9 | 49.1 | 42.3 | 84.1 | 4.8 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 1.4 | 14.0 | |
| Statistics retrieved from Sports-Reference.[6] | |||||||||||||
References
edit- ^ a b c d e "Gianna Kneepkens". University of Utah. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
- ^ "Getting to Know U: Freshman Gianna Kneepkens". Pac-12. October 20, 2021. Archived from the original on October 20, 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
- ^ a b c d Nowacki, Jon (May 27, 2021). "Prep Girls Basketball: Duluth Marshall's Kneepkens earns Gatorade Minnesota Player of the Year Honors". Duluth News Tribune. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
- ^ Nowacki, Jon (May 5, 2020). "Girls Basketball: Marshall's Kneepkens Commits to Utah". Duluth News Tribune. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
- ^ Drew, Jay (February 8, 2022). "Freshman guard Gianna Kneepkens an instant success for Utah women's basketball". Deseret News. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
- ^ "Gianna Kneepkens College Stats". Sports-Reference. Retrieved April 15, 2024.