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Women's Basketball
vs Western Colorado (EXHIBITION)
Wednesday, December 7
Salt Lake City, Utah
7:00 PM
University of Utah
65
vs
38
Weber State
Defensive Effort Lifts Utah Women Over Weber State
12/7/2005 12:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 7, 2005
SALT LAKE CITY - The No. 22/23 University of Utah women's basketball team held Weber State scoreless for more than six minutes to open the second half Wednesday night at the Huntsman Center. The defensive effort broke open what was a close game as the Utes cruised to the 65-38 victory.
The defensive effort at the beginning of the second half extended a Utah run that began in the first half. Over the final 3:28 of the first half, the Utes outscored the Wildcats 9-1, taking a 25-19 advantage into the intermission. Utah then scored the first 16 points of the second half to take a commanding lead, 41-19.
All together, the Utes put together a 25-1 outburst in 9:22, spanning the end of the first half and the beginning of the second. During that stretch, senior Julie Larsen (Logan, Utah) scored 11 of her 13 points.
Laura Porter finally scored the first bucket of the second half for Weber State at the 13:44 mark. But Utah answered with a 9-0 spurt, keyed by a traditional three-point play from sophomore Marie Warner (Hamilton, Ont.). That run gave Utah a 50-21 advantage midway through the second half.
The Utes pushed their edge to more than 30 at the 7:31 mark when senior Kim Smith (Mission, B.C.) hit her first field goal of the night, a three-pointer from the top of the key. Smith scored 10 points, despite missing her first nine field-goal attempts. She reached double figures for the 98th time in her Utah career and extended her streak to 45 straight games in double digits.
The Utes' biggest lead came with just more than six minutes to go when senior Shona Thorburn (Hamilton, Ont.) buried a three-pointer. Thorburn's trey gave Utah a 33-point advantage, 60-27. The Utes soon emptied the bench and cruised to the 27-point victory.
The first half was a struggle offensively for both squads. Utah shot just 27.3 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes. Meanwhile, Weber State shot 33.3 percent and committed 10 first-half turnovers.
Utah's Thorburn tallied game-high totals for points, rebounds and assists. She scored 15, grabbed eight caroms and dished out six assists. Larsen and Smith were the only other Utes in double figures. Laura Porter was the only double-figure scorer for Weber State, recording 11 points.
Utah is in action again Saturday, wrapping up its four-game homestand. The Utes will host Gonzaga in a 3 p.m. tipoff at the Huntsman Center.
-UU-
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
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