Lynne Roberts Gives Heartfelt Praise For Utah Women’s Basketball Senior Class
Mar 26, 2024, 4:26 AM
SPOKANE, WA – Utah women’s basketball didn’t get the storybook ending many thought they could have before the season started, but that doesn’t change the impact the departing seniors had on the program.
Issy Palmer, Dasia Young, and Alissa Pili will be moving on from the Utes now that this season is over. Their legacy, however, will carry on for years to come.
Head coach Lynne Roberts took a moment during her postgame press conference to reflect on what her three seniors have meant to Utah women’s basketball.
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‘I’m Incredibly Proud Of Our Seniors’
Roberts had nothing but love and adoration for Dasia Young and Alissa Pili who were available during postgame, while also shouting out Issy Palmer who missed most of their season with a medical issue.
“These two-Issy Palmer is also a senior but just wasn’t healthy this year- she did a lot for our program,” Roberts said. “These two mean so much to me. Obviously, you can see their talent and their toughness, but who they are- my definition of success is leaving something better than you found it. These two and Issy can throw their shoulders back. They helped our program get to where now the NCAA tournament and advancing and not advancing is crushing. The bar has been raised and so much is because of these two.”
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Roberts isn’t wrong about her seniors being a big part of the bar being raised for Utah women’s basketball.
Palmer and Young were both part of the team in the 2021-22 season when they met Stanford in the final round of the Pac-12 Tournament and made their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2011.
Unfortunately, a bad combination of injuries and a tough schedule limited Utah a little bit in the women’s final season of college ball.
Despite the adversity, Utah managed to beat four Top 10 teams- something no other team this season can boast. They also still made the NCAA Tournament- a feat past Utah women’s basketball teams struggled to hit once injuries mounted.
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Dasia Young, Alissa Pili Have Love Right Back For Utes
It wasn’t just Roberts sharing the love in postgame. Young and Pili were equally as complimentary of their coach and time with the Utes.
COUNT IT!@alissa_pili #GoUtes
📺 https://t.co/RgxRxDlksq pic.twitter.com/loJ3RShNBk— Utah Women’s Basketball (@UTAHWBB) March 26, 2024
“My whole life changed when I came to Utah,” Pili said. “I’ve taken so many lessons from it, and learned so many things from Coach Lynne, my teammates, and the rest of the coaches. Just the whole university- like staff and everybody. They’re great people. The experiences will stick with me forever. I’m just really glad that I ended it with this group of people.”
Young echoed similar sentiments, noting how much she loves the toughness of the Utes, and how she wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
Dasia Young with the take and make!#GoUtes
📺 https://t.co/RgxRxDlksq pic.twitter.com/bUPXCbUeE6— Utah Women’s Basketball (@UTAHWBB) March 26, 2024
“Not the ending we wanted, but if I had to go out, glad that I went out with these people around me,” Young said. “We went down swinging, so I’m really- I’ll take the L, but I’ll take it with pride because we didn’t give up, we didn’t roll over. At one point we were down by a pretty good margin, but we kept fighting. I think that just atones to what this team does. We just keep beating the odds, keep fighting- swinging, doesn’t matter what’s in front of us. I’m glad that I came here. Everybody knows that. I say that every time I get a chance. Yeah, wouldn’t trade anything for the world.”
Michelle Bodkin is the Utah Utes Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of both the Crimson Corner Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and The Saturday Show (Saturday from 10 a.m.–12 p.m.) on The KSL Sports Zone. Follow her on X, Instagram, and Threads: @BodkinKSLsports
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