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Utah Women's Basketball To Face Oregon On Saturday
12/3/2001 12:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 3, 2001
Salt Lake City -
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COMING UP: The Utes will travel to Eugene, Ore. on Sat., Dec. 8, to face the Oregon Ducks at 7:00 p.m.
A QUICK LOOK AT UTAH: The Utes are currently 4-2 overall, 0-0 in MWC play. The women's basketball team took a 40-23 lead at the half and never looked back as they cruised on to defeat the UCLA Bruins, 89-42 on Sat., Dec. 1, at the Jon M. Huntsman Center. Utah defeated the Oregon State Beavers, 58-46 on Thurs., Nov. 29 at the Jon M. Huntsman Center. The Utes finished third in the Gopher Basketball Tournament and senior Lauren Beckman was named to the all-tourney team.
The Utes return three starters and nine letterwinners from a team which posted a perfect 14-0 league record and a 28-4 overall mark. Utah, which led the nation in scoring defense and made its 11th appearance in the NCAA tournament a year ago, has won or shared the conference title each of the past six years. The Utes add four newcomers to the roster this season.
Possible starters for the Utes in the match-up with Oregon are: Erin Gibbons (Sr., G), Katherine McColl (Sr., F), Kelsy Stireman (So., G), Lindsay Herbert (Sr., G/F) and Lauren Beckman (Sr., F/C). Utah's 2000-01 final RPI ranking, produced by the NCAA, was 12th out of 316 teams. The Mountain West Conference was 7th out of 32 conferences.
SERIES SHORTS: Oregon leads the series with Utah, 7-3. In the last meeting on Dec. 16, 2000, the Utes defeated the Ducks, 63-48 in Salt Lake City. Utah is 3-2 at home, 0-4 away and 0-1 at a neutral site vs. Oregon.
QUOTING ELLIOTT: On the upcoming Oregon game- "We seem extremely comfortable at home and not so much on the road. Our challenge now will be to find that comfort zone. We have to keep perfecting things and keep improving in order to be successful."
UP NEXT: On Mon., Dec. 17, Utah will meet in-state rival Weber State in Ogden, Utah at 7:05 p.m. The Utes will travel to Reno, Nev., facing the Nevada Wolf Pack on Wed., Dec. 19 at 7:00 p.m. On Fri., Dec. 21, Utah will take on Montana at 7:35 p.m. in Missoula, Mont. The Utes will face San Francisco on Sun., Dec. 30 at 2:00 p.m. in San Francisco, Calif. After the first of the year, Utah will be back in action at home facing Wyoming to open Mountain West Conference action on Thurs., Jan. 10 at 7:00 p.m. On Sat., Jan. 12, the Utes will host Colorado State at 3:30 p.m.
SCOUTING OREGON: The University of Oregon women's basketball team is currently 4-3 on the season. Most recently, the Ducks' Alyssa Fredrick had team-bests of 15 points and eight rebounds Sat., Dec. 1, to lead Oregon to a 67-60 win over Kansas in the Jayhawk Classic championship game.
Shaquala Williams, averaging a team-leading 17.5 points per game, is 66 points from becoming the 16th Oregon player to score 1,000. Williams, who has struggled from 3-point territory so far this season (4 of 24), is near-perfect from the free-throw line. Teammate Edniesha Curry has averaged 14.8 points on 49 percent shooting, including 39 percent from 3-point range. She also is second on the team to Williams in assists with 15 (3.8 per game).
Oregon's fifth head coach in women's basketball history, Bev Smith returns to lead her alma mater in her first U.S. college coaching stint. Most recently, the Canadian National Team coach (1997-01), she also has coached 15 years in the Italian pro leagues.
OREGON Probable Starters: #21 Alyssa Fredrick (Sr., F/C), #52 Ndidi Unaka (Sr., F), #00 Edniesha Curry (Sr., G), #3 Shaquala Williams (Jr., G) and #10 Jamie Craighead (Sr., G).
HEAD COACH ELAINE ELLIOTT: The winningest coach in school history, Elaine Elliott has kept the winning tradition alive since earning the head coaching position in 1983-84. She has posted a 378-154 (.711) career record in 18 seasons. In the last 11 years alone, Elliott has guided the Utes to nine 20-win seasons, six 1st-place, three 2nd-place and two 3rd-place finishes in conference play. Overall, Elliott has led the Utes to thirteen 20-win seasons and three 19-win seasons, averaging 20 wins per season. Elliott was named the 1999-2000 IKON/WBCA Division I District 7 Coach of the Year, the 2000-01 IKON/WBCA Division I District 7 Coach of the Year, the 1999-2000 inaugural Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year and the 2000-01 Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year. Last season, Elliott led the Utes to a first-ever NCAA "Sweet 16" tournament appearance.
Most recently, Elliott recorded her 375th career win with a 77-54 victory over Butler University on Sun., Nov. 18 in Minneapolis, Minn.
ELLIOTT NOTCHES 375TH CAREER WIN: Elliott recorded her 375th career win with a 77-54 victory over Butler University on Sun., Nov. 18 in Minneapolis, Minn.
UTAH RANKINGS IN THE MWC: Utah, as a team is leads the MWC in 3-point field foal percentage defense (.216), field goal percentage defense (.297), scoring defense (50.5) and defensive rebounds (30.83). The Utes are second in rebounding offense (43.5), rebounding defense (35.5) and blocked shots (3.80). Utah is third in 3-point field goals made (6.3) and scoring margin (+20.2), and are fourth in 3-point field goal percentage (.388) and field goal percentage (.451). Utah is fourth in assists (17.33), assist/turnover ratio (1.08), and are fifth in offensive rebounds (12.67). The Utes are sixth in scoring offense (70.7), seventh in free-throw percentage (.719), and eighth in turnover margin (-1.50) and steals (5.33). Individually, seven Utah players rank among the top 20 in the MWC statistical leaders.
BECK BREAKING THROUGH: Lauren Beckman recorded her 1,000th career point on Sat., Nov. 17 at the Gopher Basketball Classic in Minneapolis, Minn. Beckman scored 22 points against Santa Clara in the season-opener for the Utes. Currently Beckman has racked up 1,103 career points. She became only one of seventeen other 1,000-point-plus scorers in Utah women's basketball history.
GOPHER BASKETBALL CLASSIC ALL-TOURNEY TEAM: Senior Lauren Beckman was selected to the 2001 Gopher Basketball Classic All-Tournament team. On the weekend, Beckman racked up double-doubles both nights, 17 points 11 rebounds against Santa Clara, and 22 points 12 rebounds against Butler.
UCLA GAME RECAP: The University of Utah women's basketball team took a 40-23 lead at the half and never looked back as they cruised on to defeat the UCLA Bruins, 89-42 on Sat., Dec. 1, at the Jon M. Huntsman Center.
The first half was all Utah. The Utes jumped out to a 16-1 lead early in the game from some top-notch shooting from seniors Erin Gibbons and Lindsay Herbert. Gibbons racked up 12 points and made 4-of-5 from behind the arc in the first half. She finished the night with 17 points and four rebounds. Herbert collected 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting in the first half. After a slight injury to her right knee early on in the second half, Herbert finished the game with 15 points.
Utah dominated the game inside the paint, out-scoring UCLA 28-16 underneath. After the break, center Lauren Beckman took control in the post to finish the game with 19 points and six rebounds. Beckman converted 5-of-8 from the free-throw line. Carley Marshall came out aggressive in the second half, racking up a career-high 12 rebounds and seven points. Senior Katherine McColl added nine boards and eight points, and teammate Lana Sitterud totaled eight points. Sophomore Kelsy Stireman posted a career-high with 11 assists on the night. The Utes cleared the bench as all 10 players saw time in the game.
UCLA's Michelle Greco was the Bruin's only double-digit scorer with 13 points. Malika Leatham and Shalada Allen picked up seven boards a piece.
The Utes shot 52 percent (31-of-60) from the field, while limiting UCLA to just 25 percent (16-of-65). Utah went 11-of-17 from three-point range and shot 80 percent (16-of-20) from the charity stripe. UCLA shot 18 percent (2-of-11) from behind the arc and 62 percent (8-of-13) from the free-throw line.
"It was a good game for us and a great night," said Utah coach Elaine Elliott. "We're getting better. We hit some shots early on and that always helps us. We seem extremely comfortable at home and not so much on the road. Our challenge now will be to find that comfort zone."
OREGON STATE GAME RECAP: The University of Utah women's basketball team shut-down the Oregon State Beavers, 58-46 on Thurs., Nov. 29 at the Jon M. Huntsman Center.
The first half was a seesaw battle, with seven lead changes. Lindsay Herbert took charge for the Utes, leading them with 10 points in the first half. The Utes allowed 11 points off of turnovers in the first half and combined to shoot one-of-nine beyond the arc. Utah held the rebounding edge, as they took a 25-25 tie to the locker room at halftime.
The game remained a tight battle in the second half until Herbert buried a jumper with 11 minutes left to give the Utes momentum. Erin Gibbons drained a three to put the Utes up by eight late in the game. The Utes continued to roll forward as they cruised to take a 12-point victory over the Beavers.
Utah dominated the game inside the paint, out-scoring Oregon State 28-14 underneath. Center Lauren Beckman took control in the post to finish the game with 21 points and nine rebounds. Beckman converted 7-of-8 from the free-throw line. Herbert finished with 13 points and added eight rebounds and three assists.
Oregon State's Felicia Ragland was the Beaver's only double-digit scorer with 20 points. The Utes shot 42 percent from the field, while limiting OSU to 32 percent.
"We came out and competed," said Utah coach Elaine Elliott. "We were sloppy early, but we began to take it to the basket and score. We played very good team defense. We still have a lot to work on, but we know we can get better. It's good to come away with a win."
MWC PRE-SEASON POLL: Utah, defending MWC regular season champion, placed second in the MWC preseason media poll with five first-place votes. Colorado State ranked first, BYU ranked third, followed by UNLV, New Mexico, Wyoming, San Diego State and Air Force. Utah senior Lauren Beckman was picked as to the MWC preseason all-conference team.
UTES ON THE RADIO/TV: Utah women's basketball is back on KALL 910-AM this season. KALL will carry 20 regular-season games and all post-season contests live. Clear Channel is in the third year of a four-year contract as the exclusive radio home of University of Utah sports.
Anchoring the broadcast team is KALL-910 AM Sports Director Brad Stone. Stone will broadcast the women's home games, while Kent Rupe will call the road games
As part of its agreement with the University of Utah, KJZZ-TV televised the Utah-UCLA game on Dec. 1 and is scheduled to televise the Utah-BYU game on Jan. 26 live from the Huntsman Center. KJZZ is also tentatively scheduled to televise one of the Utes' games in the MWC Tournament.
Veteran sportscaster Steve Brown will call the Ute women's basketball games on KJZZ.
PRACTICE SCHEDULE: The Utes practice from 3:30-6:30 p.m. Mon.-Fri. in the Jon M. Huntsman Center on the University of Utah campus. All practice times and dates are tentative and subject to change. For regular scheduled practice times, please contact Julie Lapomarda. Utah Women's Basketball practices are closed to the media. To set up interviews before or after practice with Head Coach Elaine Elliott or Ute players, please contact Julie Lapomarda women's basketball SID at: (801) 581-3771.
POST-GAME SERVICES/INTERVIEWS: Head Coach Elaine Elliott and Utah players will be available for interviews outside the Utah lockerroom following a 10 minute cooling off period. A member of the Utah sports information staff will gather interview requests immediately following the match. Box scores will be provided and faxed upon request.
WEEKLY INTERVIEWS: Members of the media who wish to interview Head Coach Elaine Elliott, and any interviews with the athletes should be arranged through Julie Lapomarda (801-581-3771).
THE MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE: The newest conference in the nation has quickly emerged as one of the best. The Mountain West Conference, which officially commenced operation on July 1, 1999, sent two basketball teams to NCAA post-season play and one team to the WNIT in its first year. The Mountain West Conference saw five out of the eight schools compete in either the NCAAs or the WNIT last season. League champion Utah made it to the NCAA "Sweet 16," Colorado State made it to the NCAA Second Round, while UNLV, New Mexico and BYU were all WNIT participants.
MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE MEDIA INFORMATION: Ron Christian, Assistant Director of Communications, handles all information requests related to women's basketball at the Mountain West Conference office. The MWC address is 15455 Gleneagle Drive, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, Colo. 80921. The MWC telephone number is (719) 488-4040. The fax number is (719) 487-7240.
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