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Utah Women's Basketball Notes
12/4/2002 12:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 4, 2002
SALT LAKE CITY -
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COMING UP:
The University of Utah women's basketball team will host the Fresno State Bulldogs at 3 p.m. this Saturday, Dec. 7, at the Huntsman Center.
A QUICK LOOK AT UTAH:
The Utes are riding a three-game winning sweep. Last weekend, they won the Saint Mary's Thanksgiving Classic after breezing past Western Carolina 66-44 in the championship game. The Utes shot 38 percent on the game and held the Catamounts to just 26 percent. Utah also out-rebounded Western Carolina 42-39 and committed five less turnovers (18-23).
In the first round of the tournament, the Utes defeated Idaho 56-43. Utah shot just under 35 percent from the field on the game, including a season-low 3-for-14 from three-point range. Utah was out-rebounded 32-31, but forced 26 Vandal turnovers and committed only 10.
Freshman Kim Smith was named MVP of the tournament, after she averaged 25.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 1.5 assists. Junior Carley Marshall was also named to the all-tournament team. She averaged eight points, five boards and two blocks in the two games.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION:
Fresno State - The Bulldogs, who play on the road tomorrow, Dec. 4, against Santa Clara, evened their record at 2-2 last weekend after claiming their second straight Fresno State Classic tournament championship. Fresno State defeated Butler 63-60 in the first round, giving Head Coach Stacy Johnson-Klein a victory in her home debut. The Bulldogs then displayed their best defensive effort of the early season last Saturday, limiting San Diego State to just 34 percent shooting in a 59-49 win in the title game.
SERIES SHORTS:
* Utah leads the series 9-2. In their last meeting on Feb. 20, 1999, the Utes won 60-58 in Fresno, Calif. Utah is 5-0 at home, 3-2 away and 1-0 at a neutral site vs. the Bulldogs.
MWC STANDING
W L Pct.Wyoming 4 0 1.000 BYU 3 0 1.000UTAH 3 1 .750 New Mexico 3 1 .750 UNLV 3 1 .750 Colorado State 3 1 .750 Air Force 2 2 .500 San Diego State 2 2 .500
MWC PRESEASON MEDIA POLL
Rank Team (first-place votes) Points1 BYU (8) 110 2 Colorado State (7) 103 3 New Mexico (1) 914 UTAH 70 5 UNLV 69 6 Wyoming 49 7 San Diego State 31 8 Air Force 17
UTES ON THE RADIO
Utah's game against Fresno State will be broadcast live on KALL 910-AM. The game will be called by Brad Stone, Sports Director. In his 13th year with the station, Stone is also the host of the Ute men's basketball and football game broadcasts, as well as the "Redzone," an hour-long show devoted to Ute sports that airs from 1-2 p.m. Monday-Friday.
MWC LEADERS:
As a team, the Utes lead the conference in scoring defense (45.8), scoring margin (+21.5), turnover margin (+8.0), steals (11.25) and three-point field goal average (9.25). Utah ranks second in field goal percentage defense (.317), blocked shots (3.75) and assist/turnover ratio (1.03), and third in assists (15.25), three-point field goal percentage (.407) and rebounding defense (35.2).
Individually, freshman Kim Smith ranks second in scoring (19.5), tied for second in three-point field goal average (3.5), third in three-point field goal percentage (.636), fourth in steals (2.5), seventh in field goal percentage (.542), ninth in rebounding (6.0), tied for ninth in defensive rebounds (4.5) and tied for 13th in blocked shots (0.50). Sophomore Shona Thorburn ranks fourth in three-point field goal average (2.75), fifth in assist/turnover ratio (2.40), eighth in defensive rebounds (4.75), tied for ninth in steals (1.75), 13th in scoring (13.8) and assists (3.0), 15th in free throw percentage (.857) and tied for 15th in rebounding (5.2). Junior Carley Marshall is tied for first in free throw percentage (1.000), second in blocked shots (2.25), tied for 11th in offensive rebounds (1.75), tied for 14th in defensive rebounds (3.5) and 15th in rebounding (5.2). Junior Mandie Little ranks tied for first in free throw percentage (1.000), tied for fourth in offensive rebounds (2.75), fifth in rebounding (7.0), 10th in field goal percentage (.522), tied for 11th in defensive rebounds (4.25) and tied for 13th in blocked shots (0.50). Point guard Kelsy Stireman is fourth in assist/turnover ratio (2.83), tied for fifth in steals (2.25) and eighth in assists (4.5). Sophomore Lana Sitterud is tied for seventh in three-point field goals per game (1.5) and tied for 13th in steals (1.5), while junior Hanna Green is tied for 14th in three-point field goal percentage (.429).
DOMINATING DEFENSE:
Utah has held all four of its opponents this season under 37 percent shooting, including a season-low 26 percent by Western Carolina last Saturday. The Utes lead the MWC in scoring defense and scoring margin, and rank second in field goal percentage defense.
LOVING THE THREE:
In each of the Utes' wins over Montana Tech and Western Carolina last week, the team tied the school record for three-pointers in a game with 13. Utah has made a league-high 37 three-pointers on the season and is shooting over 40 percent from behind the arc. Sophomore Shona Thorburn hit 5-of-10 in the season opener and 4-of-6 against Montana Tech, while freshman Kim Smith was 3-of-5 against Montana Tech and an amazing 7-of-10 vs. Western Carolina en route to being named MVP of the Saint Mary's Thanksgiving Classic.
UP NEXT:
The Utes host Idaho State for a 4 p.m. game next Saturday, Dec. 14, and New Mexico State at 7 p.m. the following Monday, Dec. 16.
Players Mentioned
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