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
Women's Hoops Looks To Rebound Against The Lobos
2/29/2000 12:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 29, 2000
Salt Lake City - GAME DATA: Utah will play New Mexico on Thurs., Mar. 2 at home at 7:00 p.m. (MST) and Air Force on Sat., Mar. 4 at home at 3:00 p.m. (MST).
PROBABLE STARTERS: Probable starters in the Utes' games against New Mexico and Air Force are: Lori Red (5-11, Jr., F), Lauren Beckman (6-2, So., F/C), Tiana Fuertes (5-3, Sr., G) Amy Ewert (6-0, Jr., G/F) and the fifth starter is TBA. Probable starters for New Mexico are: #12 Molly McKinnon (5-8, So., G), #21 Miranda Sanchez (6-1, Jr., F), #23 Sonya Bryant (5-11, Sr., G/F), #40 Jordan Adams (6-3, Fr., C), #44 Nikki Heckroth (5-8, Jr., G). Probable starters for Air Force are: #11 Morgan Bennett (5-9, Fr., G), #25 Rozalyn Russ (5-8, So., G), #33 Lindsay Payne (5-11, Jr., G/F), #34 Samantha Clifton (5-11, So., F), #35 Mollie Peters (6-0, Sr., F).
MWC Standings: Entering the final week of the regular-season, the race for the inaugural Mountain West Conference regular-season title could not be much tighter. Three teams (Utah, Colorado State and New Mexico) are tied at the top of the standings and a fourth (BYU) is just one game back. In addition, two teams (Wyoming and San Diego State) are tied for sixth place. With a full slate of action this week, the tournament seedings should shake out by the end of play Saturday. For the third week in a row, Utah will face a tough challenge as it tries to hold on to a piece of the regular-season title. The Utes will look to use the homecourt advantage in a showdown with New Mexico Thursday then wrap the season hosting eighth-place Air Force Saturday. Following Thursday's battle of first-place teams at Utah, New Mexico must travel to fourth-place BYU Saturday. The Cougars are just one game behind the Lobos in the standings and host Air Force on Thursday. Colorado State will be looking to remain the only team undefeated at home in conference action as the Rams host fifth-place UNLV Thursday and San Diego State, which is tied for sixth-place, Saturday. The battle for sixth-place in the standings will be head-to-head on Thursday when Wyoming plays host to San Diego State. The Cowgirls must also host UNLV Saturday.
Scouting New Mexico: The University of New Mexico women's basketball team is currently tied for first place with Utah and Colorado State. The Lobos post an 18-7 overall record, 9-3 in the MWC. On Sat. Feb. 26, the New Mexico women's basketball team climbed another summit with a 67-59 win over a solid Colorado State team that over the last five seasons has been one of the best programs in the West. New Mexico (18-7, 9-3 Mountain West) remained on track for another 20-win season and gave Flanagan his 100th coaching victory at New Mexico before a raucous crowd of 17,166. Jennifer Williams scored 16 points Saturday, Miranda Sanchez added 15 and the Lobos used a 13-4 run in the second half to avenge a 79-61 loss to CSU in Fort Collins last month. After several lead changes in the first 10 minutes of the second half, New Mexico took control on back-to-back 3-pointers by Sanchez and Aiyana Nash that gave the Lobos a 50-40 lead with 6:58 left. Down the stretch, New Mexico's Sanchez and Jennifer Williams hit 9-of-10 free throws. On Thurs., Feb. 24, freshman Jordan Adams paced a balanced scoring attack with 14 points as the New Mexico women's basketball team blasted Wyoming 88-52 in front of 7,151 fans at The Pit. UNM has won four straight against the Cowgirls. Miranda Sanchez and Susan Bocock scored 12 apiece as New Mexico outscored Wyoming 48-22 in the second period. Bocock, who set a career-high, had a perfect shooting night, making all four of her field goals and all four free throw attempts. Jennifer Williams and Molly McKinnon each added 10 points. The Lobos converted 56% (29-52) of their shots from the floor and 83% (24-29) of their free throw attempts. Meanwhile, the Cowgirls were held to just 30% (18-59) accuracy from the field. UNM held a dominating 42-28 rebounding edge for the game, including a whopping 26-10 advantage in the second half. McKinnon led UNM with nine boards, seven after halftime.
New Mexico Head Coach: Before Don Flanagan's arrival, UNM had never won a regular-season league title. UNM received a No. 1 seed during the 1999 WAC Tournament. Although the Lobos did not advance to the NCAA Championship, they accepted an invitation to the Postseason Women's NIT. UNM hosted all three games in The Pit and made it as far as the quarterfinal round. Flanagan brought the team into uncharted territory during the 1997-98 season. UNM won 26 games, an unprecedented feat. Flanagan's continued emphasis on defense was apparent during the 1997-98 season, as the Lobos stayed ranked in the top-5 of the NCAA for scoring defense. UNM did improve its shooting touch to 42% for the season to prove it was not a one-dimensional team. To top it off, Flanagan led the team into the WAC Tournament as the No. 4 seed and came away with its first conference championship. The Flanagan-led Lobos were rewarded with their first trip to the NCAA Tournament. UNM received a No. 8 seed in the East Region and faced the ninth-seeded Nebraska 'Huskers in the first round. Although UNM lost the game, it did not diminsh what the Lobos accomplished under Flanagan. After only three years, Flanagan has a 58-32 record at UNM.
Scouting Air Force: The Air Force Academy women's basketball team is currently in eighth place in the MWC standings. The Falcons post a 4-21 overall record, 1-11 in the MWC. The shots would not fall for the Falcons women's basketball team, as the team suffered its ninth consecutive loss on February 26. In the Falcons final home game of the season, Air Force suffered a 62-48 defeat to Wyoming. On a positive note, Air Force was particularly strong on the boards, grabbing a season-high 23 offensive rebounds. Led by Samantha Clifton with nine boards and Morgan Bennett with eight, the team finished with 41 rebounds. Mollie Peters led the team in scoring with 11 points. Lindsay Payne, who scored a career-high 10 points, was the only other Falcon to score in double figures. On Thurs., Feb. 24, Air Force lost to in-state rival Colorado State, 45-67. With the score knotted at seven apiece, the Falcons suffered a scoring drought. They did not score a point for over 11 minutes, and they watched the Rams rattle off 18 consecutive points. A flurry of three-pointers by the Falcons allowed them to pull within 12 points at the break. The second half, the Falcons battled, twice pulling to within seven points of the lead. But the Rams defense ended up being to much for Air Force, who committed 26 turnovers. CSU pulled away late to secure the 22-point victory. Senior Megan Thiedeman made four three-point field goals, breaking the Air Force record for most three-pointers in a single season. She entered the game with 70 treys on the season, trailing Kristin Hillary's record by three. Four minutes into the second half she tied the record, then with 11:56 remaining in the game nailed a shot from beyond the arc to break the record. She finished the game with 14 points. Mollie Peters also scored 14 points for the Falcons. Samantha Clifton had 13 rebounds and seven assists, both career highs.
Air Force Head Coach: Sue Darling starts her first year with a clean slate after the program went a combined 9-43 in its first two seasons in Division I. She has assembled her own coaching staff and brings a wealth of quality experience from all levels of the game. Darling is focusing on three areas -- team development, recruiting and community development. The first step is to coach the current players to the best of their abilities. Secondly, the Falcons will continue to recruit quality women who have the ability to help Air Force compete in a highly competitive conference. The final area is to get more involved with the community and get the community more involved with the program. Darling most recently honed her coaching skills with the Seattle Reign of the ABL, where she worked as an assistant coach through the end of 1997.
BYU Game Recap: The University of Utah women's basketball team lost to in-state rival Brigham Young, 46-41, in front of a crowd of 2,405 on Sat., Feb. 26, in Salt Lake City. Utah moves to 18-7 overall, 9-3 in the MWC. BYU improves to 18-7 overall, 8-4 in the MWC. Utah was outrebounded 47-35, and converted only 10-of-21 free-throws. BYU hurt the Utes at the free-throw line, making 20-of-32. Utah made only 7-of-17 free-throws in the second half, while BYU converted 14-of-23. Junior Kristina Andersen led the Utes with eight points and five rebounds. Junior Amy Ewert posted seven points , five rebounds and four steals. Lindsay Sodja also had seven points in the game. Lauren Beckman had four points and led the team with eight rebounds. As a team, Utah shot 28 percent from the field (13-of-47), 36 percent from behind the arc (5-of-14) and 48 percent (10-of-21) from the free-throw line. For the Cougars, Lisa Osguthorpe led the team with 10 points, making 3-of-5 from the field and 4-of-6 from the free-throw line. Teammates Lori Cuff and Cady Williams had eight points each. Jennifer Leitner led BYU on the boards, recording 10 rebounds. BYU shot 28 percent from the field (13-of-46), zero percent from the 3-point line (0-of-9) and 63 percent from the free-throw line (20-of-32). "It's difficult to think that we can give up only 46 points and still manage to lose the game. To have the chance to really put it all away makes it tough to realize that we didn't capitalize on that. Obviously the problems came at the offensive end and it was a real lack of aggressiveness on our part. We didn't respond the way we needed to," said Elliott.
Series history: Utah leads the all-time series with New Mexico, 32-10. In their last meeting on Feb. 3, 2000, Utah lost to New Mexico,74-70 in overtime at the Pit. On Feb. 27, 1999, Utah lost to the Lobos, 52-45 in Albuquerque, N.M. On Jan. 28, 1999, the Utes defeated New Mexico, 61-50 in Salt Lake City. Utah is 21-0 at home vs. New Mexico, 10-10 in Albuquerque, N.M., and 1-0 at a neutral site game. Utah leads the all-time series with Air Force, 3-0. In their last meeting on Feb. 5, 2000, Utah defeated the Falcons, 85-49 in Colorado Springs, Colo. On Feb. 21, 1999, the Utes crushed Air Force, 100-39 in Colorado Springs, Colo. On Jan. 22, 1999, Utah defeated the Falcons, 97-54 in Salt Lake City. Utah is 1-0 at home vs. Air Force, 2-0 in Colorado Springs, Colo., and 0-0 at a neutral site game.
AFTER THIS: The Utes will compete for the inaugural MWC Championship Wed.-Sat., Mar. 8-11 in Las Vegas, Nev. Game times are TBA.
Statistical Leaders: As a team, Utah is first in the Mountain West Conference and second nationally in scoring defense, holding their opponents to an average of 52.1 points per game. Utah is currently 6th nationally in field goal percentage defense (.349) and 5th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (.404). The Utes are also first in scoring margin (+12.3), in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.297) and blocked shots, averaging 4.33 per game. Utah is second in free-throw percentage (.716), rebounding defense (34.1), in defensive rebounds (24.76) and in assist/turnover ratio (0.95). The Utes are third in turnover margin (+1.68) and in rebounding margin (+2.7). The Utes are fourth in three-point field goals made (6.40) and in assists (15.84) and fifth in rebounding offense (36.8) and in field goal percentage (.424). Utah is sixth in offensive rebounds (12.08), in scoring offense (64.4) and eighth in steals (7.68). Sophomore Lauren Beckman is second in blocked shots (2.00), in free-throw percentage (.794), fifth in rebounding (6.8), seventh in defensive rebounds (4.44), eighth in field goal percentage (.480) and ninth in offensive rebounds (2.36). She is 20th in scoring, averaging 10.8 points per game. Senior Tiana Fuertes is currently second in assists (4.48), third in assists/turnover ratio (1.78) and 14th in steals, averaging 1.60 spg. Junior Kristina Andersen is seventh in 3-point field goal percentage (.412), in blocked shots (0.76) and 11th in field goal percentage (.461). Andersen is tied for 12th in offensive rebounds (2.00) and 13th in 3-point field goals made (1.32/game). She is 16th in rebounding (5.0) and 23rd in scoring, posting 9.6 points per game. Erin Gibbons is 3rd nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (.487) and 10th in the MWC in 3-point field goals made (1.48/game). Amy Ewert is eighth in blocked shots (0.72), ninth in steals (1.88), in free-throw percentage (.735) and 12th in assists (2.72). Ewert is tied for 15th in defensive rebounds (3.24) and tied for 24th in scoring (8.4 ppg). Lori Red is sixth in 3-point field goal percentage (.420), and teammate Carley Marshall is 13th in blocked shots (0.55).
Individual Milestones Lindsey Herbert scored a career-high 18 points vs. Washington State (11/20/99). Senior Janna Whitman scored a career-high 10 points vs. Whitworth College (12/10/99) and freshman Carley Marshall scored a career-high 15 points vs. Whitworth College (12/10/99). Marshall recorded a career-high seven rebounds against Wyoming on Jan. 20, 2000. On Wed., Dec. 22, Lauren Beckman was 15-of-18 from the free-throw line against San Francisco. This was a career-high for Beckman, she also tied the Utah single-game record for free-throws made. Beckman set the Utah single-game record for free-throws attempted, and she tied the Jon M. Huntsman Center record for free-throws attempted. She also scored a career-high 23 points in the game vs. San Francisco (12/22/99). Also against San Francisco (12/22/99), Amy Ewert totaled a career-high 17 points. Ewert tied a career-high five steals vs. Wyoming (1/20/00). Junior Kristina Andersen posted a career-high 22 points in Utah's win over BYU (1/28/00). Andersen led all scorers with a career-high 22 points as the Utes claimed an important win over BYU last weekend. She shot .700 (7-for-10) from the field, including 3-for-5 (.600) from three-point range and was near perfect (5-for-6 for .833) from the free throw line. Tied for fourth in conference games with a 14.0 scoring average, Andersen is listed 24th in overall games with a 9.3 average. Her .483 field goal percentage is eighth in overall games, but she is shooting .550 to tie for fifth in conference games. She also stands 17th in the league in rebounding with a 4.8 average. Senior Tiana Fuertes tied a career-high 10 assists against San Francisco (12/22/99). Erin Gibbons recorded a career-high five rebounds against Colorado State (1/22/00).
Senior Tribute The University of Utah women's basketball team will say goodbye today to its two seniors, Tiana Fuertes and Janna Whitman in their final regular-season home game on Sat., Mar. 4, vs. Air Force. Fuertes a two year starter at point guard is an exceptional ball handler who loves to penetrate. She scored a career-high 23 points against Wyoming (2/17/00) and tied a career-high 10 assists against San Francisco (12/22/99). Fuertes currently averages 4.5 points per game, 1.9 rebounds per game and leads the team in assists (4.5 apg). She is currently second in the MWC in assists (4.54) and third in assists/turnover ratio (1.85).Whitman has provided depth at the two-guard position. She is a good shooter with three-point range. Whitman is a smooth, fluid player who is very fundamentally sound. She scored a career-high 10 points vs. Whitworth College (12/10/99). Whitman averages 3.0 ppg, 0.6 rpg and 6.7 mpg. "T. (Fuertes) has really worked hard to become a college athlete and to compete at this level. I've got a lot of respect for her and her efforts in what she's done to become a successful Division I athlete. She is our court leader and has had a great senior year. Much of where we (Utah team) are now can be attributed to the consistency and quality of play that T. has exhibited," says Elliott. "Janna is the epitome of a college athlete and a dream player to have in our program. She is a talented, hardworking basketball player who has taken advantage of every opportunity offered to her. She will be a success in the future as well as a leader, and I know that without a doubt. She has made as big an impact on the Utah program in the four years she's been here as any player who has scored 20 points and pulled down 10 boards a night," says Elliott.
Player Notes Junior Kristina Andersen might have played her last game of the season Friday night against BYU. She left the team indefinitely Sat., Jan 29 to return home and attend to her mother, Diane, who has a form of cancer called multiple myeloma, which attacks her plasma cells. Her mom has been in the hopsital for the past three weeks and Andersen has been commuting home to Oregon and back to Salt Lake City trying to juggle a family crisis, school and basketball all at the same time. She made the decision to go home to spend as much time with her mother as possible and Andersen's abscense may be indefinite. Her status for the rest of the 1999-2000 season will be game-to-game.
Injury Report Sophomore Erin Hansen suffered a shoulder injury in Utah's game vs. Whitworth College, causing Hansen to sit out the rest of the season. After recovering from surgery in late December, Hansen will use this season as a red-shirt year.
Utah Newcomers The University of Utah women's basketball team announced the signing of three prep recruits Mon., Dec. 8. Head Coach Elaine Elliott received National Letters of Intent from Amy Bastman, Caroline Matthews and Kelsy Stireman. Matthews, a 6-3 forward from Preston, Victoria, Australia recently graduated from Santa Maria College, a prep school in Victoria. She arrived in the states just after the holidays and will be using this year's season to red-shirt.
Boise State All-Tournament Team Three Utah players were selected to the All-Tournament team. Juniors Lori Red and Lindsay Sodja were All-Tournament selections, while teammate Kristina Andersen was named the tournament MVP. Stephanie Block from Boise State, Tia Converse from Northwestern State, along with Megan Lofthouse from Southern Utah rounded out the All-Tournament team.
Poll Watch Utah received votes in the Dec. 6th, Jan. 16, Jan. 23, Jan. 31, Feb. 7, Feb. 13, Feb. 21 and Feb. 28 USA Today/ESPN Coaches Top 25. The Utes also received votes in the Jan. 23, Jan. 31, and Feb. 13 Associated Press Top 25.
College RPI The RPI has been used by the NCAA men's basketball committee since 1981 and officially by the women's basketball committee since 1984 as supplemental data to help select at-large teams and seed all teams for the men's and women's NCAA basketball tournaments. The NCAA does not make the RPI available to member institutions or the public because the data is kept confidential within the committees. Collegiate Basketball News duplicates the RPI that is generated by the NCAA using available formulas without input from the NCAA. As of Feb. 28, 2000, Utah is currently ranked 46th in the country, with an RPI index of 0.5793.
Utes on the Radio/TV Thursday's and Saturday's games can be heard live on KALL-910 AM or on the internet at www.UtahUtes.com. KALL-910 AM is the exclusive home of the Utah Women's Basketball team for the 1999-2000 season. SportsWest Productions and the Mountain West Conference announced Thurs., Feb. 3, that the Salt Lake City-based company will produce and air the quarterfinal and semifinal women's games of the Inaugural Mountain West Conference Basketball Championships from Las Vegas, March 8-11. All quarterfinal and semifinal games will be aired as point-to-point broadcasts and be shown on the local affiliates. The affiliates are: Adelphia Cable (Colorado Springs, Colo.), KSL-TV (Salt Lake City/Provo), AT & T Cable Systems (Ft. Collins, Colo.), KRQE -TV (Albuquerque), Cox Cable Systems (Las Vegas), Cox Communications (San Diego) and KTWO-TV (Casper, Wyo.). Additionally, all seven affiliates have the option to air any of the games produced by SportsWest Productions, regardless of the participating teams. The affiliates also have the option to air the games live or on a tape-delay basis.
2000 MWC Championship Tournament The inaugural Mountain West Conference Basketball Championship will be held at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nev. All eight MWC institutions will compete in the single-elimination event for the first league title March 8-11. Tickets for the event are available through the Utah ticket office. All requests for media credentials must be submitted in writing to Assistant Commissioner Amy Turner at the MWC office prior to the event. The media hotel for the tournament is the MGM Grand. Please call (719) 533-9506 to have a credential and hotel form sent to you. Hotel accommodations can be guaranteed only if requested by Feb. 23, 1999.
MWC Team Statistical Leader Utah continues to lead the way in both scoring and rebounding margins during conference games. The Utes own a league-best +15.0 scoring margin in conference games and an impressive +12.3 advantage in all games. Utah also boasts the best rebounding margin in conference action (+3.9), although UNLV owns the advantage in overall games with a +3.9 rebounding margin to New Mexico's 2.8 and Utah's 2.7.
A Decade of Success Three Mountain West Conference teams are listed among the winningest Division I women's basketball programs of the 1990s. With a record of 199-81 during the decade, Utah is ranked tied at No. 21 by win percentage (.712) and 35th by total wins. San Diego State is not far behind with a 167-108 (.607) record to rank 41st by percentage and 48th in wins. Wyoming's 131-136 (.491) mark comes in 55th by percentage and 58th by victories.
MWC Postseason History Historically, postseason action has been plentiful for Mountain West Conference member institutions with all eight programs competing in some capacity during the 1990s. Six of these programs have made a combined 29 appearances in the NCAA Division I tournament, and a seventh (Air Force) made two Division II appearances before moving up a level in 1996. The Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) has included six different Mtn. West teams a total of 11 times. Collectively, Mtn. West members have made 18 NCAA and five WNIT appearances during the `90s.
A QUICK LOOK AT UTAH: 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 was one of the preseason favorites to win the inaugural Mountain West Conference championship. Returning for the Utes is two-year letterwinner Lori Red. Red, a 5-11 junior from Provo, Utah, was named to the first-team all-WAC Pacific Division in 1998-99. She started in all 28 games, second on the team in scoring, averaging 9.9 points per game. Red was third on the team, averaging 4.6 rebounds per game and 2.4 assists per game. She scored in double figures in 15 out of 28 games last season. Back at guard for Utah is three-year letterwinner, Tiana Fuertes. Fuertes started in 27 games last season, averaging 5.9 points per game. Fuertes ranked 3rd in the final WAC standings in assists, averaging 4.9 assists per game. Kristina Andersen, a 6-1 forward is back for her third season with Utah. Andersen started in 27 games last season, where she was fourth in scoring, averaging 7.1 points per game. She was second on the team in rebounds, averaging 5.3 rebounds per game. Amy Ewert, a two-year letterwinner is back, spending time between the forward and guard positions. Ewert started in 10 games last season, seeing action in 27. She posted 2.4 points per game and 2.1 rebounds per game last season. Erin Gibbons is back for her second season with the Utes. 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. Katherine McColl, a 6-0 sophomore was seventh on the team in scoring last season, averaging 5.4 points per game. McColl was fourth in rebounding, averaging 4.0 rebounds per game. She played in 27 games, starting in one. Junior Lindsay Sodja returns at the forward position. Sodja played in 27 games, starting in one and averaged 4.9 points per game for the Utes. Sodja grabbed 1.9 rebounds a game last season. Lindsay Herbert, a 5-11 sophomore saw action in 27 games, starting in two. Herbert averaged 1.5 points per game and 1.3 rebounds per game. Erin Hansen, a 6-3 forward is back for her second season with Utah. Hansen saw time in 14 games last season. Janna Whitman, a three-year letterwinner played in 14 games last season. Utah has 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 Sarah Wobbe, a 5-9 point guard from Elmira, Ore. Marshall earned honorable mention All-America honors from USA Today last season. In 1997-98, she averaged 16.5 points and 12.7 rebounds for Willamette High School (Eugene, Ore.). 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 (Mill Valley, Calif.). She averaged 12.8 points, 4.3 assists and 3.6 rebounds. Wobbe comes to the U. from Marist High School (Elmira, Ore.), the same program that produced Ute junior forward Kristina Andersen. Wobbe was a preseason honorable mention All-American by Street & Smith heading into the 1998-99 season. 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.
POSTGAME 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 game. Box scores will be provided and faxed upon request.
UTES FAVORED TO WIN INAUGURAL MWC CHAMPIONSHIP: Utah was selected by both the league coaches and the media as the preseason favorite to win the conference crown. Utah received 60 votes in the coaches' poll and 195 votes (11 first place votes) in the media poll. The results of both polls were very similar with only two positions being reversed. Expected to finish second is Colorado State University, third belongs to the University of New Mexico, fourth to Brigham Young, and fifth to UNLV. The coaches gave the edge to the University of Wyoming for sixth, while the media listed San Diego State University in the No. 6 position. These two schools were reversed in the No. 7 slot in the opposite poll. Air Force Academy placed eighth in both polls. Utah's Lori Red is one of just two first team all-conference selections (the other being Froehlich, UNLV) back for the 1999-2000 season. Red averaged 9.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game last season and was selected as the conference player of the week twice in 1998-99. She was chosen to the preseason team by both the coaches and the media. The preseason all-conference teams also have a similar look with four players appearing on both teams. Named as both the coaches and media's choice as the Top Returning Player is UNLV's Linda Froehlich. Also named to both squads were Utah's Lori Red, Colorado State's Heather Haanen and BYU's Cady Williams. Rounding out the coaches' five-member team is New Mexico's Mirando Sanchez. The media chose BYU's Jill Adams.
FLASHBACK TO `98-'99
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
Utah: 66, Cincinnati: 73 | Big 12 Tournament | Utah Basketball Postgame Press Conference
Wednesday, March 11
Utah: 75, Baylor: 101 | Utah Basketball Postgame Press Conference
Sunday, March 08
Utah: 78, Colorado: 92 | Utah Basketball Postgame Press Conference
Wednesday, March 04
Utah: 81, Colorado: 67 | Women's Basketball Postgame Press Conference
Sunday, March 01