Completed Event: Women's Basketball at Eastern Kentucky on March 19, 2026 , Loss , 58, to, 72
Final Score
Women's Basketball
58
at Eastern Kentucky
72
The University of Utah Athletics
1999-2000 Women's Basketball Outlook
7/26/1999 12:00 AM | Women's Basketball
July 26, 1999
The Outlook: The Ute women's basketball team should have a familiar look in 1999-2000. Utah returns four starters and 11 of the 12 letterwinners from last year's team that went 21-7 overall, tied for first place in the Western Athletic Conference Pacific Division with a 12-2 record and earned a bid to the WNIT. What's amazing is that, after the loss of five seniors from the 1997-98 team, last season was supposed to be a "rebuilding" year. Instead, the Utes merely continued their winning ways under head coach Elaine Elliott. It was the fifth consecutive year in which the U. won 20 games, claimed a conference championship of some form and earned a postseason bid. Elliott embarks on her 17th season as Utah's head coach with a 323-140 career record. Utah will be one of the preseason favorites to win the inaugural Mountain West Conference championship.
Defense, Defense, Defense: Utah was one of the top defensive teams in the nation last season, ranking first in the NCAA in scoring defense (55.1 ppg). The U. outscored its opponents by an average of 10.8 points a game, ranking 30th in the nation in scoring margin. The Utes also ranked 25th in the NCAA in rebound margin in 1998-99 with an advantage of 5.5 boards per game and was fifth in the final NCAA rankings in field goal percentage defense (.361). Utah led the 16-team Western Athletic Conference in scoring defense, field goal percentage defense and rebound margin.
Utes Light It Up From Downtown: Utah's offense got a boost from its outside shooting last season. The Utes ranked 23rd in the final NCAA rankings in three-point field goals per game (6.1) and 37th in three-point field goal percentage (.352). Utah was third in the Western Athletic Conference in three-point field goal percentage and fourth in three-point field goals per game. A solid inside game also helped the Utes lead the WAC in field goal percentage last season (.443).
The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same: After losing five seniorsofour of which were startersofrom the 1997-98 team, it appeared as though Utah would be hard-pressed to continue its recent run of conference championships, 20-win seasons and postseason appearances last season. Then figure into the equation that Utah's 1998-99 roster featured no seniors and five freshmen, and it was no surprise that the conference coaches picked Utah to place third in the WAC Pacific Division. But, despite the team makeover, Utah continued its winning ways.
Balanced Attack: As the old saying goes, the whole is always greater than the sum of its parts. And Ute head coach Elaine Elliott had lots of quality parts to work with last season. Ten players appeared in at least 27 of the 28 games, averaging at least 9.6 minutes per contest. While Erin Gibbons was the only Ute to average in double-figures in scoring (11.7 ppg), seven players averaged 5.4 points per game or better. Nine different players led Utah in scoring in 1998-99.
Utes Move to Mountain West Conference: When the 1999-2000 season arrives, it will mark the beginning of a new era in Utah basketball history. The Utes joined seven other institutions on July 1, 1999 in the launch of the new Mountain West Conference. It is the newest NCAA Division I conference, but the names of its members should be very familiar. The new conferenceohalf of whose schools were charter members of the Western Athletic Conference when it was formed back in 1962oconsists of Utah, Air Force, Brigham Young, Colorado State, UNLV, New Mexico, San Diego State and Wyoming.
Craig Thompson is the conference's first commissioner. Amy Turner is the Assistant Commissioner for Communications. The league will conclude its first season of competition with the Mountain West Conference Tournament, March 8-11 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
Best of the Mountain West: This is the 26th season for the University of Utah women's basketball program, which has an all-time record of 509-204 (.714). Utah is the winningest women's basketball program among the Mountain West Conference schools and has the best overall record against the other seven league teams with a 170-63 (.730) mark. The Utes have also made more NCAA Tournament appearances (9) than any other MWC program.
Four Utes and Elliott Earn All-WAC Honors: Lori Red, Erin Gibbons, Kristi Rose and Lauren Beckman were named to all-Western Athletic Conference Pacific Division teams last season, while head coach Elaine Elliott was named the 1998-99 Pacific Division Coach of the Year. All but Rose return this season.
Gibbons, a 5-9 sophomore guard from Salmon Arm, B.C, was named the WAC Pacific Division Freshman of the Year, as well as earning second team all-conference honors and a spot on the all-newcomer team. Gibbons ranked 15th in the WAC in scoring (11.7 ppg), third in three-pointers per game (2.3) and eighth in three-point field goal percentage (.374), starting 17 games. Gibbons scored in double figures in 17 games and led the Utes in scoring 11 times.
Lauren Beckman, a 6-2 sophomore center/forward from Elko, Nev., joined Gibbons on the Pacific Division's all-newcomer team. She played in all 28 games off the bench, averaging 21.7 minutes. Beckman ranked 29th in the nation and led the WAC in blocked shots (1.8 bpg). She also ranked 17th in the league in rebounding (6.1 rpg) and was third on the team in scoring (9.6 ppg). Beckman led the Utes three times in scoring and 11 times in rebounding.
Kristi Rose, a 6-4 center from Palmdale, Calif., was named to the all-defensive team. She started all 28 games and ranked fifth in the WAC in blocks shots (1.3 bpg). She also ranked second on team in scoring ( 7.5 ppg) and second in rebounds (4.8 rpg). Rose will not return for her senior season, electing to transfer out of the program.
Elliott earned WAC Coach of the Year honors for the third consecutive season. She was also the WAC Mountain Division Coach of the Year in 1997 and shared the honor in 1998.
Inside the Numbers: Two of the Utes' seven losses were by one point. Four of the other five losses were by 10 points or less ... 15 of Utah's 21 wins were by 10 points or more ... Prior to its seven-point loss at New Mexico on Feb. 27, Utah won its previous 12 games (all against conference opponents) by an average of 18.1 points. The only three victories by less than 10 points during that stretch were a 53-51 win over Brigham Young on Feb. 6, a 46-44 win at Hawai'i on Feb. 13 and a 60-58 win over Fresno State on Feb. 20 ... The Utes outshot their opponents from the field in 23 of 28 games. The exceptions were a loss at Brigham Young (30.4 percent), a loss to SMU, (37.5 percent), a win at San Jose State (39.3 percent), a win over Brigham Young (34.7 percent) and a loss at New Mexico (36.7 percent) ... Utah shot a better percentage than its opponents from three-point range in 21 of 28 games. It also made more three-pointers in all but seven games ... Utah was outrebounded eight times in 28 games: a win at Weber State, a win over San Francisco, a loss to SMU, a loss at BYU (Jan. 9), a win at San Diego State (Jan. 14), a win over New Mexico (Jan. 28), a win over Fresno State (Feb. 20) and a loss at Drake in the WNIT ... Utah had as many blocked shots as its opponents in all but six games: a loss to SMU (a 3-1 disadvantage), a loss at BYU (a 2-0 disadvantage), a win at Hawai'i (a 3-2 disadvantage), a loss at New Mexico (a 4-2 disadvantage), a loss to Rice in the WAC Tournament (a 2-1 disadvantage) and a loss at Drake in the WNIT (a 5-2 disadvantage).
Another Banner Recruiting Class: Utah will have three newcomers on this year's team. The Utes inked Carley Marshall, a 6-2 forward/center from Eugene, Ore., Whitney Sutak, a 6-0 guard from Mill Valley, Calif., and Sara Wobbe, a 5-9 point guard from Elmira, Ore.
Marshall earned honorable mention All-America honors from USA Today this past season. In 1997-98, she averaged 16.5 points and 12.7 rebounds for Williamette High School. She was a Blue Chip Illustrated All-American in 1997-98, as well as a second-team all-conference and an academic all-conference selection.
Sutak, who can play the one through three positions, was a first-team all-conference selection in 1997-98 at Branson High School. She averaged 12.8 points, 4.3 assists and 3.6 rebounds.
Wobbe comes to the U. from Marist High School, the same program that produced Ute junior forward Kristina Andersen. Wobbe was a pre-season honorable mention All-American by Street & Smith heading into the 1998-99. She earned third-team all-state and first-team all-conference honors in 1997-98, averaging 9.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, 7.6 assists and 5.2 steals per game.
The Schedule: Utah opens its 26th season on Nov. 20 against Washington State at 7:00 p.m. in the Jon M. Huntsman Center. The 1999-2000 schedule features 13 home games and 14 road games. Utah has nine games against six teams that were invited to postseason tournaments last year.
Out of the league, Utah's schedule is highlighted by games against Stanford, St. Mary's and former Western Athletic Conference rival SMU. Stanford, which the Utes host at the Huntsman Center on Dec. 29 at 7:00 p.m., made it to the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season. SMU made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and St. Mary's was invited to its first-ever NCAAs last season, losing in the first round. The Utes play those two teams back-to-back on the road, taking on SMU on Jan. 3 and St. Mary's on Jan. 6. Utah also has a home game against perennial Big Ten Conference power Iowa on Dec. 2 at 7:00 p.m.
In the new Mountain West Conference, Utah will have to contend with old WAC rivals Colorado State, Brigham Young and New Mexico for the league title. The Utes play CSU three timesotwice as part of their league schedule and once in a non-conference game on Nov. 22 in Fort Collins, Colo. The Rams won the WAC Mountain Division title last season and made it to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Brigham Young and New Mexico both made the WNIT last season. The Lobos, who tied Utah for the WAC Pacific Division title last season, advanced to the quarterfinals.
They Didn't Play Like Freshmen: Utah's quick rebuilding project last season was due at least in part to the solid production Elaine Elliott got from her freshman class. Of the five newcomers, four averaged at least 9.6 minutes per game and three averaged 17.0 minutes per contest or better. Erin Gibbons, Lauren Beckman and Katherine McColl were among the top seven on the team in scoring, with Gibbons ranking first (11.7 ppg), Beckman third (9.6 ppg) and McColl seventh (5.4 ppg). Beckman led the team in rebounding (6.1 rpg) and McColl was fifth (4.0 rpg).
Oh, Canada: Utah has raided the pool of talent to the north, featuring three Canadians on its roster this season. Junior 6-0 forward/guard Amy Ewert, a native of Vancouver, British Columbia, became the first-ever Canadian to play for the Utes in 1997-98. Ewert was joined by two others last season. Erin Gibbons, a 5-9 guard from Salmon Arm, British Columbia, and Katherine McColl, a 6-0 forward from Hamilton, Ontario, also made the trek south. All three are averaged at least 14.4 minutes per game and ranked among the Utes' top nine scorers and top eight rebounders last season.
Gibbons started 17 games last season, while Ewert started the last nine games and 10 overall. Ewert, Gibbons and McColl each played in 27 of the 28 games.
Home Sweet Home: Utah closed out its 1998-99 home schedule with a win a 12-2 home recordoincluding a 7-0 mark against WAC teams. It was the first time since 1994-95 and just the 10th time in 25 years that Utah had lost two home games in a single season.
Entering this season, the Utes have won seven in a row and 52 of their last 55 games in the Jon M. Huntsman Center dating back to a loss to Western Athletic Conference rival San Diego State on Jan. 12, 1995. Utah has an all-time record of 254-30 (.894) under the silver dome.
With Utah's 70-69 loss to 12th-ranked Colorado State on Dec. 3, 1998, a 16-game homecourt winning streak was terminated. It was the 11th-longest active streak in the nation before it ended. The Utes' previous loss at the Jon M. Huntsman Center was also to Colorado State, 79-68, in triple overtime on Feb. 8, 1997.
Classroom Champions: Five members of the University of Utah women's basketball team made the Dean's List and were joined by five others on the Athletic Director's Honor Roll for the 1999 spring semester.
The 10 Utes making the Athletic Director's Honor Roll (3.00 GPA) or better were walk-on Karie Allen, Kristina Andersen, Lauren Beckman, Amy Ewert, Katherine McColl, Lori Red, Kristi Rose, Lindsay Sodja and Janna Whitman. Allen, Andersen, Beckman, Ewert, McColl and Whitman made the Dean's List (3.50 GPA or better).
In addition, Andersen, Ewert and Red were named academic all-Western Athletic Conference. Andersen, Ewert, Red and Whitman were honored as WAC scholar-athletes.
"We are extremely proud to showcase this fine group of athletes who represent the University as committed academicians," said Ute head coach Elaine Elliott.
Returning Starters (4)
Name Pos. Ht. Yr. Exp. GP/GS 1998-99 Statistics Kristina Andersen F 6-1 Jr. 2L 28/27 7.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.1 apg Amy Ewert F/G 6-0 Jr. 2L 27/10 2.4 ppg, 2.1 rpg Tiana Fuertes G 5-3 Sr. 3L 27/27 5.9 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 4.9 apg Lori Red F 5-11 Jr. 2L 28/28 9.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.4 apg
Other Returning Letterwinners (7)
Name Pos. Ht. Yr. Exp. GP/GS 1998-99 Statistics Lauren Beckman F/C 6-1 So. 1L 28/0 9.6 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.8 bpg Erin Gibbons G 5-9 So. 1L 27/17 11.7 ppg, 2.6 apg Erin Hansen F 6-3 So. 1L 14/0 1.1 ppg, 0.9 rpg Lindsay Herbert G/F 5-11 So. 1L 27/2 1.5 ppg, 1.3 rpg Katherine McColl F 6-0 So. 1L 27/1 5.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg Lindsay Sodja F 6-1 Jr. 2L 27/1 4.9 ppg, 1.9 rpg Janna Whitman G 5-10 Sr. 3L 14/0 0.7 ppg, 0.5 apg
Newcomers (3)
Name Pos Ht. Yr. Exp. Hometown (Previous School) Carley Marshall F/C 6-2 Fr. HS Eugene, Ore. (Williamette HS) Whitney Sutak G 6-0 Fr. HS Mill Valley, Calif. (Branson HS) Sara Wobbe G 5-9 Fr. HS Elmira, Ore. (Marist HS)
Starters Lost (1)
Name Pos. Ht. Yr. Exp. GP/GS 1998-99 Statistics Kristi Rose C 6-4 Sr. 3L 28/28 7.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.3 bpg
Other Letterwinners Lost (0)
None
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