by SAN FRANCISCO—Junior forward Alissa Pili (Inupiaq) has been named Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Player of the Week, the Conference announced Monday. Pili led 16th-ranked Utah to two wins last week at the Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Championship in Nassau, Bahamas, averaging 19.5 points and 5.5 rebounds on 15-23 shooting (78.3%).
It is Pili’s second Pac-12 Player of the Week honor. She earned the award during the 2020-21 season (Feb. 8) while playing for USC, after having won four Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors for USC during the 2019-20 season. Pili is Utah’s first Player of the Week since Dec. 14, 2020, when Brynna Maxwell won the award.
In Utah’s 93-86 tournament-opening win over Alabama on Nov. 21, Pili tallied 18 points on 7-9 shooting, and added two rebounds, along with two assists and one steal. She followed that up two days later by leading the Utes in scoring en route to a gritty 69-67 win over Ole Miss to close out the tournament. Pili’s night included 21 points on 8-14 shooting, nine rebounds, three assists and one blocked shot. She made all nine free throws she attempted in the two games.
Pili ranks sixth in the country in field-goal percentage (68.1%) this season, No. 1 among all Pac-12 players. Through six games, Utah ranks second nationally in scoring, averaging 95.0 points per game. The Utes also rank second in assists per game (21.7), third in field-goal percentage (52.4) and fifth in made free throws per game (20.0).
