Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus Western Colorado (EXHIBITION) on October 27, 2025 at TBD
TBD
Women's Basketball
vs Western Colorado (EXHIBITION)
2000-01 Outlook
12/5/2000 12:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The Utah women's basketball program made history last season and an impressive list of "firsts" will be forever recognized and associated with the 1999-2000 team. The Utes made their 10th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and swept the first-ever regular-season title and conference tournament championship for the first time. With a 23-8 overall record, Utah posted its sixth consecutive and 18th overall, 20-win season. Utah's first-place finish in the Mountain West Conference marked its 26th consecutive upper-division finish in conference play.
The Utes are ready to continue their winning tradition, aspiring to higher goals for the 2000-2001 season. Part of their aspirations come >from a senior class that has keyed Utah's success since its freshman year in 1997-98.
"I love to bring players in and provide them with experiences and opportunities that help them grow as players and as people, and that lets them grow within a group," says Head Coach Elaine Elliott. "I think there are so many experiences that are available to college student-athletes, and what our coaching staff tries to do is provide a program and an experience that gives them access to that opportunity. I think my coaching philosophy reflects the things I believe in personally. We try to coach to the best of our ability and ask our players to compete every day. We want them to be proud of all our accomplishments and remember not to take ourselves too seriously. These are all equally important factors from a coaching perspective."
LEADING THE UTES
The Ute team will be seasoned and experienced entering the 2000-2001 season. It returns four starters and 11 letterwinners, along with three top-notch newcomers to this year's roster.
"Experience is certainly something that we will need to take advantage of in order to be successful this season," says Elliott. "The lessons we learned have allowed us to reflect upon those experiences and progress from there. We will need to be a better team than we were last year in order to reach even the same level of success, much less a higher level of success."
Leading Utah into 2000-2001 will be seniors Kristina Andersen, Amy Ewert, Lori Red-Castagnetto and junior Lauren Beckman.
Kristina Andersen, a 2000 second-team all-MWC selection, started in 30 of the 31 games last season, and ranked second on the team in scoring, averaging 9.7 points per game. Andersen was also second in rebounds, averaging 4.9 per game.
"Kristina's career would be considered wonderful under normal circumstances, and yet she's done that in what can only be termed as extraordinary circumstances," says Elliott. "I am very proud of her growth, work ethic and maturity. Those characteristics have taken her a long way in the competitive arena."
Amy Ewert, Utah's biggest defensive threat, is back for her senior season and will split time between the forward and guard positions. Ewert started in all 31 games last season and averaged 8.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game. She too received second-team all-MWC honors last year.
"Amy Ewert has become the single most important force on this team," says Elliott. "She does so many things to help us win games. Her athleticism is fun to watch, her skills have improved each season through hard work and she has made herself a player that is irreplaceable."
Returning for the Utes is three-year letterwinner Lori Red-Castagnetto. Red-Castagnetto, a 5-11 senior from Provo, Utah, started in all 31 games and was fourth on the team, averaging 7.2 points per game.
"Lori has had a great career here at Utah," says Elliott. "She has some first-team all-conference credentials under her belt and with a senior wing player like Lori on the squad, you know that position is in good hands."
Lauren Beckman, another 2000 second-team all-MWC selection, led last year's team in scoring (10.7 ppg) and rebounding (6.6 rpg). She started in all 31 games and ranked 26th in the nation in blocked shots (2.0 bpg).
"I love Lauren's presence, I love her improvements, I love that we have her for two more seasons," says Elliott. "She certainly will be one of our leaders and her continued solid play will be a foundation to our success this season."
THE BACKCOURT GAME
Utah will have a lot of depth in the backcourt and small forward positions. The loss of Tiana Fuertes, the 2000 Mountain West Conference Tournament MVP, will be a tough act to follow, but Elliott is confident the depth of her bench will get the job done.
"We are going to be very deep in our backcourt and our small forward positions," says Elliott. "Not only do we have established players who have already learned how to win 20-plus games at this level, but we have some young players coming in and some sophomores whom I think are just as capable. We're attempting to put some strategies into play to take advantage of our depth and the different playing styles we have on the roster. We have some players that are well trained in the mechanics and fundamentals of the game and we have some players whose game is better suited towards a more up-tempo approach. We are going to find ways to incorporate all of the strengths and use them to our advantage."
Utah was very tough for opponents to handle last season at the perimeter and looks to continue the trend. The Utes ranked fourth in the final NCAA rankings in three-point field goal percentage (.401) and 24th in three-point field goals made per game (6.5). Individually, Erin Gibbons was seventh in the nation in three-point field goal percentage.
"On paper, we will be every bit as strong from the three-point line this season, as we were last season," says Elliott. "We lost 'T' (Tiana Fuertes) who shot a very fine percentage for us last year, but she did not have a lot of attempts. We will miss her, but we certainly have an arsenal of players who are very comfortable shooting from the three-point line and we will be very comfortable using that weapon. I will give many of our players the green light from the three-point line this season. The presence of good perimeter shooting is what really helps give your post game a better chance to be successful with some space to operate."
Gibbons will anchor the backcourt for the Utes this season. She played in every game last year and put up some very impressive numbers. Elliott expects nothing less this season.
"I'm really pleased with where I think Erin is right now," says Elliott. "She came back from the off-season much more at-ease as a player. She seems very settled going into this season. Her conditioning and her mentality shows it. I'm very excited knowing that we've got Erin for two more seasons and that she is as capable and as ready as I think she has ever been in any time of her career."
Joining Gibbons in the backcourt is Sarah Wobbe, who is ready to take over at the point. Wobbe served as a back-up to Fuertes last year and averaged 6.5 minutes per game in 26 games played.
"Sarah had a really nice apprentice year last season and returns with some experience," says Elliott. "Certainly the progress of Sarah, and anyone who pushes Sarah as far as time and ability at the point guard position is going to go along way towards improving the play of our team in general."
Whitney Sutak saw limited time at the wing position last year. Sutak has great speed and agility and should see more minutes in 2000-2001.
"I love a lot of things that Whitney brings to our program," says Elliott. "She gives us running skills on the wing and the ability to score from different places on the floor. She has tremendous speed and can create different scoring opportunities for herself and the team. As Whitney continues to learn the game and refine some of her other skills, she will start to become an all-around player for us. The challenge is to find a nitch for her in a wing-saturated squad."
Rounding out the backcourt for the Utes in 2000-2001 will be Amy Bastman, a 6-0 freshman from Gilbert, Ariz. and Kelsy Stireman a 5-7 freshman from Ogden, Utah.
"Amy is a physical player with good skills who will have the chance to compete daily with some excellent senior wing players. That will help her in her development throughout the year," says Elliott. "Kelsy comes into the program with great athleticism and a 'gym rat' mentality. Those are things you want to see in a point guard. She had a great high school career and is committed to working hard and becoming the best player that she can. I look forward to coaching her and watching her develop a role on this team."
THE FRONTCOURT GAME
Utah's frontcourt is loaded with experience and talent. Out of the 15 players on the roster, nine of them can play at either the foward or center positions.
"We have great experience in the post and in our power forward positions," says Elliott. "Kristina Andersen and Lauren Beckman are both coming off great seasons and I would expect the same again this year. We have good size and an experienced front line. With the addition of Caroline Matthews, a little bit younger, less experienced player, but someone who certainly possesses great potential, I think we've got a good combination of players who can work well together in our system."
Along with Andersen, Ewert, Red-Castagnetto and Beckman in the frontcourt are Ute veterans like Lindsay Sodja-Boudreau, Katherine McColl, Lindsay Herbert, Erin Hansen and Carley Marshall, as well as newcomer Caroline Matthews.
Sodja-Boudreau played in 31 games, starting in one, and averaged 4.9 points per game for the Utes. She grabbed 1.8 rebounds a game last season.
"Lindsay is capable of turning around any game with her scoring abilities, as evidenced by some of the 20-point scoring nights she displayed last season," says Elliott. "She is a gifted athlete and is very fun to watch."
McColl was a big physical presence for the Utes last season. She added the extra depth and power Utah needed to contend with some of the more physical teams in the paint and will be expected to continue her role in the frontcourt.
"You always need someone on a squad that can take it as well as give it out and Katherine is that person," says Elliott. "She is a great physical presence for us and makes sure we're not going to be manhandled along the line. Her skills and knowledge of the game have continued to improve. She is an undersized, overachieving six-footer in the paint."
Herbert, a 5-11 junior, saw action in 30 games and came on late in the season to be Utah's most well-rounded player. She can swing between the frontcourt and the backcourt and will be utilized where she is needed the most.
"During the last month of the season last year, I thought Lindsay became our most well-rounded performer," says Elliott. "I really want her to carry that kind of aggressiveness into this year. She has a chance to break the log jom at the wing spot and separate herself from the crowd"
Hansen, a 6-3 forward, is back after a shoulder injury that caused her to sit out most of last season. Her size will give Utah an extra advantage they didn't have last season.
"Erin gives us size and scoring ability that we sometimes lacked last season," says Elliott. "She handled her injury year very well and really learned and grew from that experience. Those things will actually serve her well as she continues to grow and develop her game."
Marshall, a sophomore, is recovering from ankle surgery she had over the summer. Marshall was the primary back-up at the five spot last year and expects to be fully recovered in time for the 2000-2001 season.
"Carley did a wonderful job for us last year in a back-up role in the post," says Elliott. "Her ankle surgery has been a setback, but as far as the long-term prognosis goes, we expect that it will be just fine. We need to have patience and work her in at a pace that allows her to be successful."
Matthews, a 6-4 forward/center from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, will have an extra advantage over most incoming freshman. Matthews finished high school and came to Utah for the second semester last year. Although she redshirted, Matthews was able to practice with the Utes and learn their system and Elliott expects good things from her.
"Caroline will officially be a freshman, but we did have her for a semester last year which allowed her to progress a little bit quicker than most freshman," says Elliott. "We're excited about her size and flexibility. She can go to the perimeter and we can use her in the post. She has shown us possibilities and capabilities that excite us about her future here at Utah."
THE SCHEDULE
Last year, the Mountain West Conference saw exactly one half of its member schools participate in post-season play. Brigham Young and Utah received bids to the NCAA's, while Colorado State and New Mexico played in the WNIT. Utah's strength of schedule with both conference and non-conference teams should be very challenging in 2000-2001.
"We had a wonderful season last year," says Elliott. "We accomplished so much with very high expectations and I have a lot of respect for our players who managed those expectations with a great deal of success. We progressed throughout the season, became a better team as time went on and started playing our best basketball late in the season. The conference season was a great success and I give all the credit to our players for an outright championship. To follow that up with a tournament championship is very difficult to do and was quite an accomplishment. We wanted to press on and move forward, but losing in the first round of the NCAAs wasn't pleasant for any of us. We felt like we could have been more successful. We will need to remember those lessons and try to improve upon them this season."
Utah will face seven teams in 2000-2001 that made it to post-season play last year and will be challenged by some tough non-conference teams in the early part of their schedule. The Utes open their season on the road, facing non-conference opponents UCLA and Iowa in early November. Utah will be back at home for the next seven games leading into mid-December. They will face four Pac-10 opponents, two Big Sky, Big West and Western Athletic Conference opponents, and one Big 10, Frontier and West Coast opponents before their conference schedule even starts. In early January, the Utes open their Mountain West Conference schedule facing New Mexico at The Pit, in Albuquerque, N.M.
"Our schedule is certainly a challenge that we wanted to give this team," says Elliott. "We feel this team deserves the opportunities to play the schedule we've built. We've got some great pre-season contests against the Pac-10 Conference. We play Oregon and Stanford, the favorites to win the Pac-10 championship. Our schedule in the pre-season is designed to help build our RPI and to help our players play the caliber teams that are seen in post-season play. It doesn't lend itself to an easy 20 plus win season, I can promise you that. If we hit 20 wins this season, it is going to be because these kids really buckled down and accepted this challenge. I'm excited about it and they are excited about it, but it is a great challenge. The conference itself will be more difficult than ever and there are numerous teams capable of winning the championship. It was a very young conference last year, so there will be a lot of returning players, with teams that return their whole starting five. They are the teams that won 20 games with those kids last year. Any team in this conference is going to have to be a better team this year to be just as successful. You could be a better team and do worse, that is how competitive this year's conference is going to be."
THE SYNOPSIS
Reaching the same level of success as last year won't be an easy task. With the level of competition elevating as well as the growth of the game, the 2000-2001 season will be every bit as tough if not tougher than last year.
"We're going to enter the season much as we do any other season, with high expectations," said Elliott. "Expectations for ourselves is the groundwork and motivation for continuing to try to be better players.The biggest challenge in how we prepare ourselves for the tough non-conference and conference schedule. We want to be sure that we measure ourselves not just by what happens in terms of wins and losses in our non-conference schedule, but we also want to try and look at ourselves in a little more detail. We need to figure what our game is about, what we are doing well, what we're not doing well, and not be just 'results oriented' early on in the season. That will be important because of the level of competition we are up against early. We want to be sure to stay level headed, evaluate ourselves in a way that allows us to really know what our strengths and weaknesses are and not make those evaluations based solely on results.
If the Utes can stick to their game plan and go the distance with their competition, things will be just fine in 2000-2001. With a veteran coach and an experienced staff to help guide them on their way, Utah should be a contender once again for the Mountain West Conference crown as well as a contender in post-season play.
Fan Fest 2025 Coaches and Players Interviews: Women's Basketball
Sunday, August 17
Utah Women's Basketball: 76 - BYU: 73 | Postgame Press Conference
Saturday, March 01
Utah vs BYU - The Rivalry Continues
Saturday, March 01
Utah Women's Basketball: 46 - West Virginia: 75 | Postgame Press Conference
Thursday, February 27