Utah Women’s Hoops Suffers First-Round Loss To Indiana

COLUMBIA, South Carolina – It’s the end of the road for the Utah women’s basketball team after suffering a 76-68 first-round loss to the Indiana Hoosiers.

No. 8 Utah (22-9, 13-5) opened the 2025 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament against the Indiana Hoosiers (20-12, 10-8) at Colonial Life Arena. The defending champion and top-seeded South Carolina Gamecocks are hosting the first two rounds in the Birmingham Region.

Final pic.twitter.com/vMVFA8WShG

— Utah Women’s Basketball (@UTAHWBB) March 21, 2025

Gianna Kneepkens’ game-high 24 points, and 18 from Mayè Tourè led the Utes.

Yarden Garzon led Indiana with 17 points. Shay Ciezki added 16 in the win.

First Quarter

Both programs traded misses to open the afternoon, easing the early tournament jitters. Utah missed its first three shots while holding the Hoosiers to a 1-for-5 start.

The Utes took their first lead on back-to-back buckets from Mayè Tourè. The grad senior scored Utah’s first six points while the rest of the team missed six straight shots.

Go to work Mayé!

▶️ ESPN2
📺 https://t.co/EImCTuaeP8#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/G8sYBbsqnJ

— Utah Women’s Basketball (@UTAHWBB) March 21, 2025

In the final six minutes of the quarter, they went back and forth, with lead changes on seemingly every possession.

The period ended in a 17-17 tie after 12 lead changes in the first ten minutes. Utah’s slow start disappeared as they shot 8-of-16.

Second Quarter

The Utes opened the second with an 11-3 run, opening up a six-point lead.

Sneaky @giannakneepkens cutting through the back door
▶️ ESPN2
📺 https://t.co/EImCTuaeP8#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/b0Abpat1oy

— Utah Women’s Basketball (@UTAHWBB) March 21, 2025

Both teams went ice cold from there, combining to miss 12 of 13 shots and going more than five minutes without a field goal on either end.

Gianna Kneepkens ended the Utah drought with a three, giving her team a 31-26 advantage.

G🤑 hits the three ball!@giannakneepkens

▶️ ESPN2
📺 https://t.co/EImCTuaeP8#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/QalRMpadcB

— Utah Women’s Basketball (@UTAHWBB) March 21, 2025

The Hoosiers closed the half on a 5-0 run to tie things up at 31 at the break. Kneepken’s 11 points led all scorers, followed by eight from Indiana’s Lilly Meister off the bench.

Third Quarter

A more than three-minute Utah scoring drought allowed the Hoosiers to take the lead with a 9-0 run. Indiana outscored the Utes 17-8 through the first 6:25, opening up a 48-39 lead.

Indiana hit six straight shots to close the quarter while hounding the Utes defensively. Utah trailed 58-47 after three quarters.

Fourth Quarter

Kennady McQueen knocked down a three after a frantic sequence, cutting the deficit to 62-56 with 5:11 left.

Minutes later, Jenna Johnson drained a triple, bringing the Utes within four with more than two minutes left.

Big three in the time of need@jenna_johnson22

▶️ ESPN2
📺 https://t.co/EImCTuaeP8#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/TYTwnubtpU

— Utah Women’s Basketball (@UTAHWBB) March 21, 2025

Utah had a chance to get the game within one in the final seconds, but an airball forced the Utes to start fouling.

Indiana held on for the 76-68 win.

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Steve Bartle is the Utah insider for KSL Sports. He hosts The Utah Blockcast (SUBSCRIBE) and appears on KSL Sports Zone to break down the Utes. You can follow him on X for the latest Utah updates and game analysis.

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