Gianna Kneepkens
| 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 | |
Gianna Kneepkens (born March 4, 2003) is an American college basketball player for the Utah Utes of the Big 12 Conference.
Early life and high school career
[edit]Gianna Kneepkens was born in Duluth, Minnesota[1] to Donald and Betsy Kneepkens.[2] The youngest of six siblings, Kneepkens grew up playing basketball against her five older brothers.[3] She played for Marshall School in Duluth. As a varsity starter beginning in eighth grade, Kneepkens helped her team to two consecutive Minnesota State Tournament appearances.[4] In her final high school game, Kneepkens scored 67 points, an all-time state record.[4] She was named 2021 Gatorade Minnesota Girls Basketball Player of the Year, joining Paige Bueckers who won the award the year before.[4] During her high school career, Kneepkens scored 3,704 points, which ranked fourth all-time in Minnesota state history at the time.[4] She committed to playing college basketball for Utah.[5]
College career
[edit]Kneepkens 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 scoring 29 points against in-state rival BYU on December 4, 2021.[6] During the season, Kneepkens went on to average 11.8 points per game, shooting 38.4% from the 3-point line and 87.1% from the free-throw line.[2] Kneepkens was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, First Team All-Pac-12, and given Pac-12 All-Freshman honors.[2]
During her sophomore campaign, Kneepkens continued to see success, starting in every game and scoring an average of 15.3 points per game.[2] She helped lead her team to a second consecutive NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament appearance. The Utes advanced to the Sweet 16 where Kneepkens scored a team-high 20 points in a loss to eventual NCAA champion LSU on March 24, 2023.[7] She was again named to the First Team All-Pac-12 and was named a WBCA Coaches' Honorable Mention All-American.[2]
During her junior year (2023-2024), she was named a Pac-12 Preseason All-Conference selection.[8] She started in 8 games before suffering a season-ending foot injury. She averaged 17.8 points per game, shooting a career-high 63.3% from the field and 54.0% from the 3-point line. She also reached 1,000 career points in just 62 games.[8]
Prior to her redshirt junior year (2024-2025), she was named to the Naismith Trophy Women's Player of the Year Watch List.[9] She returned to play November 4, 2024, scoring a team-high 18 points against Southern Utah.[10]
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.[11] | |||||||||||||
References
[edit]- ^ WDIO Staff (2022-10-22). "Duluth native, Utah's Gianna Kneepkens up for prestigious DI women's basketball honor". WDIO.com. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "LSU 66-63 Utah (Mar 24, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
- ^ a b "Gianna Kneepkens - Women's Basketball". University of Utah Athletics. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
- ^ "Utah's Gianna Kneepkens named to Naismith Trophy Women's Player of the Year watchlist". Utah Utes On SI. 2024-10-31. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
- ^ "Gianna Kneepkens' return headlines a successful season opener for Utah". Deseret News. 2024-11-04. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
- ^ "Gianna Kneepkens College Stats". Sports-Reference. Retrieved April 15, 2024.