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2006 MWC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP POSTGAME NOTES
3/11/2006 12:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Recap | Final Stats | Quotes | Photo Gallery
March 11, 2006
- This is the third straight year and the fourth time overall the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds have met in the championship game of the Mountain West Tournament and the first time the No. 2 seed has won the tournament, with the Utes winning 84-60.
- The 84 points by Utah is the most in a tournament game, breaking the old record of 83, also by Utah from the game against Air Force in 2003. The margin of victory of 24 points is the largest in a championship game, breaking the previous margin of 21 from the New Mexico (71) vs. Utah (50) final in 2004.
- Utah shot .558 (29-52) from the field, breaking the final record of .550 (22-40), held by New Mexico vs. Utah in the title game in 2004.
- With her second assist at the 13:51 mark of the first half, Utah senior guard Shona Thorburn broke the Mountain West all-time assist record, surpassing Mandi Moore's (New Mexico) record of 651 from 2001-05. Thorburn now has 661 assists in her career.
- Thorburn also broke the tournament record for assists with 30, surpassing the previous record of 25 by Tiana Fuertes of Utah in 2000. She now has four of the top five single-game assists performances in Mountain West Tournament history. (11 vs. Air Force, 2006; 11 vs. BYU, 2006, 9 vs. Air Force, 2005; 8 vs. UNLV, 2006)
- Thorburn became the first player in Mountain West Conference history (tournament and regular season) to record a triple-double in a game, posting 15 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds.
- Utah sunk 11 three-pointers in the game, tying for the second-most in a Mountain West Tournament game and tying the record for most in a championship game (11, Colorado State vs. BYU, 2001).
- The 44 points by Utah in the first half is a new tournament championship record for points in a half and ties for third most in any tournament game. The previous record for the final game was 39 in the second half by New Mexico vs. Utah in 2004.
- Utah junior guard Heidi Carlsen and senior guard Julie Larsen scored the first 11 Utes' points of the game, with Carlsen sinking two three-pointers and Larsen one. Larsen also scored 12 of the final 18 Utes' points in the half, nailing four triples.
- Larsen tied her career-high in scoring with 19 points in the first half, hitting 5-of-5 three-pointers. Her high of 19 came against Western Kentucky in 2003 and against Air Force earlier this year. She ended the game with a game-high 24 points.
- The two teams combined to make 12 three-pointers in the first half, tying the Mountain West Tournament record for combined triples in a half and establishing the new championship game record. The previous record for three-pointers was nine from the BYU vs. Colorado State title game in 2001.
- Utah held BYU without a field goal for 8:11, the final 4:34 of the first half and the first 3:37 of the second half. The Cougars sank all six of their free throws during the stretch, but the Utes extended their lead from three points (31-28) to 18 (51-34) in that 8:11.
- Utah senior forward Kim Smith has scored in double figures in 10 of 11 Mountain West Tournament games in her career, scoring 20 or more on two occasions (28 vs. San Diego State, 2004; 29 vs. Air Force 2006). She also has scored in double figures in 121 of the 126 games in her career.
- BYU broke the Mountain West Tournament record for three-pointers attempted with 28, breaking the previous record of 27, New Mexico vs. Colorado State, 2001.
2006 Mountain West All-Tournament Team
Kim Smith, Utah
Shona Thorburn, Utah
Julie Larsen, Utah
Dani Kubik, BYU
Ambrosia Anderson, BYU
2006 Mountain West ATournament MVP
Shona Thorburn, Utah
Players Mentioned
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