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
Utah Women's Basketball Begins Seven Game Homestand
11/21/2000 12:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 21, 2000
Salt Lake City - COMING UP: The Utes are back at home for the next seven games, opening up with Montana Tech on Wed., Nov. 22, at 7:00 p.m. (MST). On Sat., Nov. 25, Utah will take on the Weber State Wildcats at the Jon M. Huntsman Center at 3:00 p.m. (MST).
A QUICK LOOK AT UTAH: The University of Utah's women's basketball team opened play with a grueling road-trip, capturing two big wins. Utah defeated UCLA, 65-42 on Fri., Nov. 17, in Los Angeles, Calif., and traveled to Iowa City, Iowa on Sun., Nov. 19, shutting down the Iowa Hawkeyes, 66-42. Utah is currently 2-0 overall, 0-0 in MWC play.
For the first-time in school history, Utah begins a season as the defending regular-season and conference tournament champions. The Utes return four starters and 11 letterwinners from a team which posted an 11-3 league record and a 23-8 overall mark. Utah, which led the nation in scoring defense and made its 10th appearance in the NCAA tournament a year ago, has won or shared a conference title each of the past five years.
Possible starters for the Utes in the match-up against Montana Tech and Weber State are: Kelsy Stireman (Fr., G) or Whitney Sutak (So., G), Kristina Andersen (Sr., F), Amy Ewert (Sr., F/G), Lindsay Herbert (Jr., G/F) or Lori Red-Castagnetto (Sr., F) and Lauren Beckman (Jr., F/C). Utah's 1999-2000 final RPI ranking, produced by the Jeff Sagrin Women's College Basketball Ratings, was 44th out of 316 teams. The Mountain West Conference was 9th out of 32 conferences.
SCOUTING MONTANA TECH: The Montana Tech women's basketball team is currently 1-3 overall. On Sun., Nov. 19, Montana Tech won its first game of the season with a 72-66 showing over Dickinson State.
Against Dickinson State, sophomore Kaila Minehan led the Orediggers with 16 points and seven boards, making 4-of-8 from the field and 8-of-11 from the free-throw line. Teammates Stacy Ferentchak and Jaime Scharnowske totaled 11 points each. Ferentchak made 3-of-10 from the field and 5-of-7 from the free-throw line, while Scharnowske shot 5-of-12 from the field. Melissa Ritter and Hannah Gunderson combined for 20 points in the game, while sophomore Tricia Slaughter added eight steals. As a team, the Orediggers shot 33 percent from the field and 62 percent from the free-throw line.
After the game with the Utes, Montana Tech will participate in the Peg Sarsfield/Butte Rotary classic on Nov. 24-26 at Butte, Mont.
Meg Murphy starts her first year as the head women's basketball coach at Montana Tech. She was an assistant coach with Montana Tech in 1999-2000. Murphy is a 1988 graduate of Western Montana. She is also the head softball coach at Butte Central High School. Her softball teams went undefeated and clinched the Class A State Softball Champions for the past two years.
SCOUTING WEBER STATE: As of Mon., Nov. 20, the Weber State women's basketball team is currently 1-0 overall, 0-0 in the Big Sky Conference. On Fri., Nov. 17, Weber State won its first game of the season with a 73-54 showing over St. Martin's College.
Against St. Martin's College, sophomore Crystal Howe led the Wildcats with her first-double-double of the season. Howe posted 26 points and 17 rebounds, making 11-of-17 from the field and 4-of-8 from the free-throw line. Teammate Stephanie Stanger totaled 14 points, five rebounds and four steals. She went 5-for-12 from the field and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. Meghan Geddes added six boards and Stephanie Harward-Sharp had five assists for the Wildcats. Weber State out-rebounded St. Martin's College, 47-44. As a team, the Wildcats went 24-of-65 (.369) from the field, 4-of-21 (.190) from behind the arc and 21-of-28 (.750) from the free-throw line.
After the game with the Utes, Weber State will host Boise State on Nov. 30 at 7:05 p.m.
Coach "CT", Carla Taylor, has spent the better part of 16 years building and establishing Weber State Women's Basketball, both as a player and as a coach. As a player, for the Wildcats, from 1980-84, Taylor was a four-year starter who averaged 10.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game , despite having two ACL reconstructive knee surgeries during her playing career. She was a member of the 1982 Wildcat team which competed in the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT), and is currently ninth among the All-Time Leaders in Scoring at Weber State with 1,122 career points.
Taylor's success didn't end with her playing career, in fact, it was just beginning. Prior to becoming one of the youngest Division I coaches in the nation, at 26, CT spent two years at Morgan High School (Utah) teaching and coaching volleyball, basketball, and boys and girls track. Following her high school teaching stint, Taylor headed to Salt Lake City where she was an assistant coach at the University of Utah. In 1988, Taylor returned to her alma mater and was named head coach at Weber State University. After two short years, the Wildcats were back on top and finished tied for third place in the Big Sky Conference. Taylor posts a 143-184 (.437) career-record at Weber State in 12 years.
A native of North Powder, Oregon, Taylor received her bachelor's degree in 1984 in physical education with minors in history and health from Weber State University.
SERIES SHORTS: The match-up on Wed., Nov. 22 will be the first meeting between Utah and Montana Tech. Utah leads the series with Weber State, 34-4. In their last meeting on Dec. 9, 1999, the Utes defeated the Wildcats at home, 62-42. Utah is 16-1 at home, 15-3 away and 3-0 at a neutral site vs. Weber State.
INJURY REPORT: Sophomore guard Sarah Wobbe injured her left knee trying to catch a pass, as she got tangled with a Hawkeye defender in the Iowa game on Sun., Nov. 19. The initial prognosis is a MCL ligament sprain. Wobbe is scheduled for an MRI next Monday to rule out other possibilities.
QUOTING ELLIOTT: On the upcoming Montana Tech and Weber State games: "Our direction now is to come home and play with a lot of focus and intensity. We're not going to take our home games for granted and we're not going to be complacent. We have still have many things to work on. We were very pleased to get the wins that we did and we played well at times. We certainly have many things that we want to get better at and we're going to continue to hit it hard to become a better team."
UP NEXT: The Utes will host Pacific on Wed., Nov. 29 at 7:00 p.m. On Sat., Dec. 2, Utah will host Boise State at 3:00 p.m. (MST). The Utes will take on Montana on Thurs., Dec. 7 at 7:00 p.m. (MST) in the Jon M. Huntsman Center. Utah will play Nevada at home on Sat., Dec. 9 at 3:00 p.m. (MST). The Utes take on the Oregon Ducks on Sat., Dec. 16 at 3:00 p.m. in the Jon M. Huntsman Center. On Mon., Dec. 18, Utah hits the road, facing the Oregon State Beavers in Corvallis, Ore. at 7:05 p.m. The Utes are back at home on Thurs., Dec. 28, matching up with Southern Methodist at 7:00 p.m. Utah travels to Stanford, Calif. on Sat., Dec. 30, taking on the Stanford Cardinal at 2:00 p.m.
IOWA GAME RECAP: The University of Utah women's basketball team earned a season-opening sweep on the road, beating Iowa (1-1), 66-42, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sun., Nov. 19.
Against Iowa, the Utes out shot the Hawkeyes 48 percent to 23 percent. After a 7-7 tie in the early going, in which both teams traded three-point buckets, Utah bolstered a 16-1 run with a majority of those points coming off cuts for lay-ups. Utah staked a 35-22 halftime lead after Iowa tried closing the gap with a nine point run just before the intermission. Defense was the story of the second half. Iowa hit a three-pointer with 12 seconds left to avoid the lowest scoring half in Hawkeye history, which is 19. The remaining 12 seconds may have been more costly than not holding Iowa to a record low, though. Sophomore guard Sarah Wobbe injured her knee trying to catch a pass, as she got tangled with the Hawkeye defender. The initial prognosis looks like possible ligament damage.
Senior Amy Ewert led all scorers with 13 points and had a career-high six steals. She also pulled down a team high six rebounds in the game. Two other Utes scored double-digits. Senior Kristina Andersen tickled the twine for 12 points, while junior Lauren Beckman netted 11. Junior Lindsay Herbert also grabbed six rebounds. Iowa was led by Lindsey Meder's 12 points, while teammate Leah Magner dropped in 1.
"I'm proud of our team on this road trip. It was very physically demanding," said Head Coach Elaine Elliott. "The effort was there. We never let fatigue be a factor. We played very good defense, forcing them to score from where they weren't comfortable on the floor. We did the two things in this game we wanted to. We forced them to try and score over the top of our defense, and we back cut them to create scoring opportunities."
UCLA GAME RECAP: The University of Utah women's basketball team went on a second half tear to rout UCLA (0-3), 65-42, in the season opener in front of 735 in attendance at Pauley Pavilion.
The Utes took a 28-26 lead into halftime and rolled off a 17-0 run with 16:17 left in the game. During the offensive outburst, Utah's defense picked up as well. The Utes held UCLA scoreless for 7:29. The Bruins broke the drought at 9:08 left in the game, before Utah got offensive again with another 10-0 run. In the end, Utah had rolled off a 27-2 advantage in 12:52, and reassured a spot as only the eighth team to beat UCLA in all-time home openers. The 42-point output was the third lowest offensive total by any UCLA teams.
The game was a tale of two halves for the Utes. Utah shot only 23 percent from the field in the first half, including 1-11 from the three-point line. The Utes also committed 10 turnovers and recorded no assists in claiming the two-point advantage at half. The first half was also a foul fest, that favored Utah in the end, as Utah went 22-28 from the free throw line to 11-20 for UCLA. Utah went 14-26 from the field in the ensuing period. Sophomore Erin Gibbons led the way with 14 points. Senior Amy Ewert ripped the nets for 12 points, while senior Kristina Anderson popped in 10. Anderson also pulled down nine rebounds. Junior Lauren Beckman contributed eight points and seven boards, while dishing out two assists. Sophomore Whitney Sutak spured the defensive effort with four steals.
"It wasn't pretty early on for both teams," said Head Coach Elaine Elliott. "We got a good run going in the second half. We had a lot better ball distribution on offense and our shot selection improved. In the second half we gave ourselves an easier opportunity to score. We fell in love with the three-point shot early on and it gave us nothing. We also rebounded better in the second half and handled the ball well on the floor by containing our dribble."
HEAD COACH ELAINE ELLIOTT: The winningest coach in school history, Elaine Elliott has kept the winning tradition alive since earning the head coaching position in 1983-84. She has posted a 348-148 (.702) career record in 17 seasons. In the last 10 years alone, Elliott has guided the Utes to eight 20-win seasons, five 1st-place, three 2nd-place and two third-place finishes in conference play. Overall, Elliott has led the Utes to twelve 20-win seasons and three 19-win seasons, averaging 20 wins per season. Elliott was named the 1999-2000 IKON/WBCA Division I District 7 Coach of the Year and the 1999-2000 inaugural Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year.
UTES ON THE RADIO/TV: Utah women's basketball is back on KALL 910-AM this season. KALL will carry 26 regular-season games and all postseason contests live. Clear Channel is in the third year of a four-year contract as the exclusive radio home of University of Utah sports.
Anchoring the broadcast team is KALL-910 AM Sports Director Brad Stone. Stone will broadcast the women's home games, while Kent Rupe will call the road games
As part of its agreement with the University of Utah, KJZZ-TV is scheduled to televise the Utah-BYU game on Feb. 26 live from the Huntsman Center. KJZZ is also tentatively scheduled to televise one of the Utes' games in the MWC Tournament.
Veteran sportscaster Steve Brown will call the Ute women's basketball games on KJZZ.
PRACTICE SCHEDULE: The Utes practice from 3:30-6:30 p.m. Mon.-Fri. in the Jon M. Hunstman Center on the University of Utah campus. All practice times and dates are tentative and subject to change. For regular scheduled practice times, please contact Julie Lapomarda. Utah Women's Basketball practices are closed to the media. To set up interviews before or after practice with Head Coach Elaine Elliott or Ute players, please contact Julie Lapomarda women's basketball SID at: (801) 581-3771 (office), or at (801) 468-0571 (home).
POST-GAME SERVICES/INTERVIEWS: Head Coach Elaine Elliott and Utah players will be available for interviews outside the Utah lockerroom following a 10 minute cooling off period. A member of the Utah sports information staff will gather interview requests immediately following the match. Box scores will be provided and faxed upon request.
WEEKLY INTERVIEWS: Members of the media who wish to interview Head Coach Elaine Elliott should contact her at her office (801-581-7037) between 12:30 to 2:00 p.m. weekdays. Interviews with the athletes should be arranged through Julie Lapomarda (801-581-3771).
THE MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE: The newest conference in the nation has quickly emerged as one of the best. The Mountain West Conference, which officially commenced operation on July 1, 1999, sent two basketball teams to NCAA post-season play and one team to the WNIT in its first year. League champion Utah and runner-up BYU made it to the NCAA First Round, while Colorado State made it to the WNIT Semifinals.
MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE MEDIA INFORMATION: Ron Christian, Assistant Director of Communications, handles all information requests related to women's basketball at the Mountain West Conference office. The MWC address is P.O. Box 35760, Colorado Springs, CO 80935-3567. The MWC telephone number is (719) 533-9500. The fax number is (719) 533-9512.
FACTS AND FIGURES: With a 23-8 overall record, Utah posted its sixth consecutive, and 18th overall, 20-win season. The Utes' .742 overall winning percentage equaled the tenth-best in school history. Utah equaled the eleventh-best conference winning percentage in school history last season (11-3, .786). Utah finished first in the MWC, marking its 26th consecutive upper-division finish in conference play. The 1999-2000 season marks the first-ever Utah women's basketball team to win both the regular-season title and the conference tournament championship. Utah won the regular-season title with an impressive 92-42 win at home over Air Force. The Utes ended their conference schedule with an 11-3 mark. Utah claimed the first-ever McLeodUSA Mountain West Conference Tournament with a 61-47 win over BYU, in Las Vegas, Nev.
1999-2000 ACCOLADES: Regular-season and tournament champion Utah placed the most individuals on the all-conference list with three second-team selections in junior Lauren Beckman and seniors Kristina Andersen and Amy Ewert. After leading Utah to the inaugural regular-season title and its sixth consecutive 20-win season, Elaine Elliott was named 2000 Mountain West Conference Women's Basketball Coach of the Year. Tiana Fuertes was selected as the Mountain West Conference Tournament MVP and teammate Kristina Andersen was selected to the MWC All-Tourney team. Andersen, Beckman, Ewert, Caroline Matthews, Lori Red-Castagnetto, Lindsay Sodja-Boudreau and Janna Whitman earned Academic All-Mountain West Conference recognition. Andersen and Beckman were also named Mountain West Conference Scholar-Athletes in 1999-2000.
NATIONALLY SPEAKING: Utah led the nation in scoring defense in 1999-2000, holding their opponents to an average of 52.2 points per game. Utah was fourth in the nation in field goal percentage defense (34.8%) and 3-point field goal percentage (40.1%). The Utes were 19th in scoring margin (13.0 margin) and 24th in 3-point field goals made per game (6.5 per game). Erin Gibbons was seventh in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage and Lauren Beckman was 26th in the nation in blocked shots (2.0 bpg).
UTES AND THE NCAAS: Utah made its 10th appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 1999-00, and stand 1-10 in NCAA Tournament play. The Utes, seeded No. 11 in the Midwest Region, lost to Illinois, 73-58 in the first round at Ames, Iowa.
THE FANS: In 13 games at home, the Utes brought in 10,484 fans in 1999-00, an average of 806 fans per game. The Mountain West Conference as a whole ranks in 6th in the nation in attendance. In 115 total games or sessions, the MWC has brought in 257,276 fans.
UTAH CAREER-LIST: Tiana Fuertes ended her career on Utah's all-time career leaders list in 3-point field goals, 3-point field goal attempts, 3-point field goal percentage, assists and assists average.
1999-2000 INDIVIDUAL AND TEAM NOTES: Junior center Lauren Beckman led the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 10.7 points per game (19th in MWC) and 6.7 rebounds per game (5th in MWC). Beckman was second in the Mountain West Conference in blocked shots (2.03) and sixth in free-throw percentage (.779) and field goal percentage (.500). Senior forward Kristina Andersen was the team's second leading scorer and rebounder (9.9 ppg, 22nd in MWC, 5.0 rpg, 16th in MWC). Andersen was fifth in the MWC in 3-point field goal percentage (.411), eighth in field goal percentage (.486) 11th in blocked shots (0.63) and 14th in 3-point field goals made (1.23). Senior Amy Ewert, who averaged 8.2 points and 3.8 boards per game, ranked sixth in the league in blocked shots (0.80). Ewert was 10th in steals (1.80), 12th in assists (2.77) and 14th in field goal percentage (.449). Senior forward Lori Red-Castagnetto was eighth in 3-point field goal percentage (.386) and was fourth on the team in scoring (7.0 ppg). Coming off the bench for the Utes, junior Erin Gibbons was third nationally (first in MWC) in 3-point field goal percentage (.480) and ninth in the MWC in 3-point field goals made (1.57/game).
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