Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus Western Colorado (EXHIBITION) on October 27, 2025 at TBD
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Women's Basketball
vs Western Colorado (EXHIBITION)
Wednesday, March 12
Las Vegas, Nev.
1:00 PM
University of Utah
83
vs
46
Air Force (MWC Tournament)
Utah Women Blowout Air Force 83-46
3/12/2003 12:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 12, 2003
LAS VEGAS, Nev. - In the first round of the Mountain West Conference women's basketball tournament today in Las Vegas, Nev., Utah easily defeated Air Force 83-46. The Utes will now face the winner of the BYU-UNLV game, which will be played at 3 p.m. (PST), at noon on Friday, March 14.
"I thought Air Force did a nice job early on until we increased our defensive pressure and intensity," Head Coach Elaine Elliott said. "I thought we played with great intensity throughout the game, especially in the second half."
Utah connected on 29-of-62 shots from the field (47 percent) and out-rebounded the Falcons 37-26, including 18-7 on the offensive end. Utah also forced 23 Air Force turnovers, and committed a season-low eight of its own.
Utah freshman Kim Smith, the MWC Player and Newcomer of the Year, led all scorers with 19 points. She is now just 26 points away from the Utah freshman scoring record. "Kim is an incredibly consistent performer and she did it again today," Elliott said.
Junior Mandie Little recorded her first career double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. "Mandie intended to come out much better than she did against them last Saturday," Elliott said. "She put her mind to it and did just that."
Sophomore Shona Thorburn added 11 points and a game-high five steals, while freshman Julie Wood finished with 10 points.
Air Force made eight of its first 12 shots in the first half, while the Utes were 5-of-13. Then, after five ties, Utah used a 19-0 run to jump ahead 34-18. The Utes were out-shot by the Falcons 48 to 44 percent on the half, but forced nine Air Force turnovers. Utah took a 16-point lead - 38-22 -- into the locker room at halftime.
In the second half, the Utes scored the first six points and never looked back. Utah nearly doubled the Falcons in points (45-24) and forced 14 Air Force turnovers. Utah also hit better than 10 percent more of its shots than did the Falcons on the half.
UP NEXT:
Utah will face BYU in the semifinals at noon on Friday, March 14. The Utes are 2-0 on the season vs. the Cougars and 1-1 in previous meetings at the MWC tournament.
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
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