Kennady McQueen has fond memories of being a young girl filling out multiple men’s and women’s NCAA Tournament brackets and gathering with her family in their living room to watch the heart-stopping moments of March Madness.
“We were always watching as a family. ... We would go to school and turn on the games as soon as everyone got home,” she said. “It was a time we all looked forward to,”
Now many years later, McQueen is living out her dream of playing in the NCAA Tournament.
Her No. 2-seeded Utah Utes women’s basketball team, ranked among the country’s top 10 for most of the season, is preparing to play No. 3 Louisiana State University in the tournament’s Sweet 16 round in Greenville, South Carolina, on Friday, March 24. The game is scheduled for 3 p.m. MDT.
“Now I’ll be able to say I’m part of those games,” said the Latter-day Saint from Henefer, Utah. “I definitely dreamed about it as a kid. Now I’m here, and it has been so awesome.”
Family legacy
McQueen’s journey to college basketball and this year’s NCAA Tournament started before she was born.
Her mother — Melanee Brooks McQueen — played for the University of Utah women’s team and made the all-tournament team when the Utes won the WAC tournament in 1991.
Her father — Cory McQueen — was the team manager.
When the couple married and began raising children, the family naturally gravitated towards the sport. Kennady quickly discovered her passion for the game and wanted to follow in her mother’s footsteps.
“I was definitely always a Utah fan,” she said.
Becoming ‘Lightning’ McQueen
McQueen worked hard to make her dream of playing college basketball a reality.
Because she played at North Summit, a smaller Utah high school, recruiters questioned if she could compete at the Division I level. The determined young player often skipped parties and social time with friends to play more basketball and improve her skills.
She eventually impressed the recruiters and received offers to play at Utah and Gonzaga. It was a tough decision, she said, but her family loyalties won out.
The 5-foot-10 sophomore guard played consistently as a freshman and has increased her production each year. This season McQueen has averaged 9.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and one assist per game, while also becoming a defensive specialist.
“She just plays so dang hard,” Utah coach Lynne Roberts told the Deseret News. “She’s incredibly scrappy and coachable, and her progression has been fun to watch. … She loves doing the stuff that doesn’t show up necessarily in the stats, the energy plays. She takes pride in that.”
Roberts said Kennady’s speed, quickness and tenacity has earned her several nicknames, including “Lightning,” like the race car in the Pixar film “Cars” with the same last name, McQueen.
The only Latter-day Saint
McQueen says she is the only member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Utah’s roster.
It’s not something she expected in a state where her faith is the predominant religion, but the experience has provided her with opportunities to bond and learn more about her teammates and their different religions and backgrounds.
The experience has been a blessing in her life.
“[I have learned] to rely on God to get me through the hard, challenging times, whether that is an injury, a hard game, a mental block, whatever,” she said. “You can always turn to God.”
‘A season I will never forget’
Utah’s previous Sweet 16 appearances came in 2001 and 2006. The Utes reached the Elite Eight in 2006 before losing to Maryland, the eventual champion.
“It is really powerful when you bring together a group of girls that all have the same goal in mind, forget individual statistics and just want to get the win.” — Kennady McQueen
Although Utah is considered the underdog, McQueen and her teammates are prepared to give their best effort as they have all season long. It helps to know her family will be cheering in the stands.
Regardless, being part of the Utes’ 27-4 season and run to the Sweet 16 has already been an experience that McQueen said she will not soon forget.
“It is really powerful when you bring together a group of girls that all have the same goal in mind, forget individual statistics and just want to get the win at the end of the day,” she said. “That’s what has been so exciting — to be part of a group of people who have the same goal in mind and will show up every day, so steady and working for that same goal. Now our opportunity is here and it has been awesome. Definitely a season I will never forget.”
