Gianna Kneepkens

Gianna Kneepkens (born March 4, 2003) is an American college basketball player for the Utah Utes of the Pac-12 Conference.

Early life and high school career

Kneepkens was born in Duluth, Minnesota to Donald and Betsy Kneepkens. The youngest of six siblings, Kneepkens grew up playing basketball against her five older brothers. She played for Marshall School in Duluth. A varsity starter since the eighth grade, Kneepkens helped her team to two Minnesota state tournament appearances. During her high school career, Kneepkens scored 3,704 points, fourth all-time in Minnesota. In her final high school game, Kneepkens scored 67 points, another all-time state record. As a senior, she was named Gatorade Minnesota Girls Basketball Player of the Year, joining Paige Bueckers who won the award the year before. Kneepkens then committed to playing college basketball for Utah.

College career

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 putting up 29 points against in-state rival BYU on December 4, 2021. 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. Kneepkens was named Pac-12 freshman of the year, First Team All-Pac-12, and given Pac-12 All-Freshman honors.

During her sophomore campaign, Kneepkens continued to see success, starting in every game and scoring an average 15.3 points per game. 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.

Career statistics

College

, -
, style="text-align:left;", 2021–22
, style="text-align:left;", Utah
, 33, , 25, , 23.7, , 44.6, , 38.4, , 87.1, , 4.4, , 1.2, , 0.7, , 0.4, , 1.1, , 11.8
, -
, style="text-align:left;", 2022–23
, style="text-align:left;", Utah
, 32, , 32, , 28.3, , 49.8, , 42.3, , 83.1, , 5.2, , 2.1, , 0.9, , 0.5, , 1.6, , 15.3
, -
, style="text-align:left;", 2023–24
, style="text-align:left;", Utah
, 8, , 8, , 25.1, , 63.3, , 54.0, , 78.9, , 5.5, , 3.9, , 2.0, , 0.3, , 2.3, , 17.8
, - class="sortbottom"
, style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career
, 73, , 65, , 25.9, , 49.1, , 42.3, , 84.1, , 4.8, , 1.9, , 0.9, , 0.5, , 1.4, , 14.0
, - class="sortbottom"
, style="text-align:center;" colspan="14", Statistics retrieved from Sports-Reference.

References

External links

Utah Utes bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kneepkens, Gianna
Living people
2003 births
American women's basketball players
Guards (basketball)
Utah Utes women's basketball players
Basketball players from Minnesota
Sportspeople from Duluth, Minnesota
21st-century American sportswomen