 Kneepkens with Utah in 2023 | |
| No. 5–Utah Utes | |
|---|---|
| Position | Guard |
| League | Big 12 Conference |
| Personal information | |
| Born | March 4, 2003 Duluth, Minnesota, US |
| 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.
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]
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]
On January 22, 2025, she posted a career high of 30 points, almost achieving a triple double with 10 rebounds, and eight assists, while shooting 66.7% from the field and setting a career high six 3-pointers (54.5%) in a 79-61 win over Kansas University. [11] In the same week against school rival’s BYU, she set a new career high of 32 points, making six 3-point shots (85.7%) and recording eight rebounds, two assists, and three steals, leading the team to an 81-76 victory. [12]
| 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 |
| 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. [13] | |||||||||||||
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