Utah Women’s Basketball Star Alissa Pili Named WBCA All-American
Mar 30, 2023, 6:02 PM
SALT LAKE CITY – Utah’s Alissa Pili has been named an outright WBCA All-American after an outstanding junior season with the Utes.
This is the first time a member of the Utah women’s basketball team has been named and outright WBCA All-American and Pili is only one of 10 to earn the title in 2023.
Alissa Pili has been a force for Utah women’s basketball in 2023 with the Pac-12, AP, and USBWA all naming her to various postseason honors already.
So much winning happening right now for the #Utes.#GoUtes https://t.co/ZsYr9WgK87
— Michelle Bodkin (@BodkinKSLsports) March 30, 2023
Alissa Pili In 2023
Pili led the Pac-12 in scoring with 20.7 points per game, ranking 16th overall in the NCAA. Her shooting percentage of 59.0 placed first in the Pac-12 and ranked 14th nationally. Pili is also 12th nationally in total made field goals with 250 over the past season.
Pili put forth a scoring streak of 20 or more points through six consecutive games starting with her 27-point performance against Arizona and ending with 30 points against Oregon. She had back-to-back 28-point games in December that was the first consecutive games of 28 or more points by a Utah player since 2014. Pili was also the first Ute to do so in two road games since at least 1999-2000.
Pili scored an impressive career-high 33 points in the First Round of the NCAA tournament against Gardner-Webb and then followed it up with a 28-point performance in the Second Round against Princeton. The forward hit 30 or more points twice in 2023 and 20 or more points 18 times.
Pili crossed the 1,000-career-point mark this season when she added 643 of her 1,368 total career points as a first-time Ute. Pili was a key contributor for the Utes, helping them to their first Pac-12 regular season title and their first Sweet 16 appearance since 2006. Utah ended the season with a 27-5 overall record and a 15-3 Pac-12 record.
Michelle Bodkin is the Utah Utes Insider for KSLsports.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 Twitter and Instagram: @BodkinKSLsports
