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Utah Women's Basketball To Face Southern Methodist
11/20/2001 12:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 20, 2001
Salt Lake City -
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COMING UP: Utah travels to Dallas, Texas, matching up with the SMU Mustangs on Sat., Nov. 24 at 7:00 p.m.
A QUICK LOOK AT UTAH: The Utes are currently 2-1 overall, 0-0 in MWC play. Utah defeated Albertson College, 93-45 in a regular-season home opener on Tues., Nov. 20. Previously, the Utes split games last weekend at the Gopher Basketball Classic in Minneapolis, Minn. Utah lost to Santa Clara, 67-59 on Sat., Nov. 17 and defeated Butler, 77-54 on Sun., Nov. 18. The Utes finished third in the tournament and senior Lauren Beckman was named to the all-tourney team.
The Utes return three starters and nine letterwinners from a team which posted a perfect 14-0 league record and a 28-4 overall mark. Utah, which led the nation in scoring defense and made its 11th appearance in the NCAA tournament a year ago, has won or shared a conference title each of the past six years. The Utes add four newcomers to the roster this season.
Possible starters for the Utes in the match-up with SMU are: Erin Gibbons (Sr., G), Katherine McColl (Sr., F), Kelsy Stireman (So., G), Lindsay Herbert (Sr., G/F) and Lauren Beckman (Sr., F/C). Utah's 2000-01 final RPI ranking, produced by the NCAA, was 12th out of 316 teams. The Mountain West Conference was 7th out of 32 conferences.
SERIES SHORTS: Utah leads the series with SMU, 5-3. In the last meeting on Dec. 28, 2000, the Utes shut-down the Mustangs, 79-40 in Salt Lake City. Utah is 2-1 at home, 1-2 away and 2-0 at a neutral site vs. SMU.
QUOTING ELLIOTT: On the upcoming SMU game- "It is only the second week of the season and we have to keep perfecting things and keep improving in order to be successful."
UP NEXT: On Thurs., Nov. 29 the Utes are back at home taking on the Oregon State Beavers at 7:00 p.m. Utah will host UCLA on Sat., Dec. 1 at 4:34 p.m. in the Jon M. Huntsman Center. The Utes will travel to Eugene, Ore. on Sat., Dec. 8, to face the Oregon Ducks at 7:00 p.m. On Mon., Dec. 17, Utah will meet in-state rival Weber State in Ogden, Utah at 7:05 p.m. The Utes will travel to Reno, Nev., facing the Nevada Wolf Pack on Wed., Dec. 19 at 7:00 p.m. On Fri., Dec. 21, Utah will take on Montana at 7:35 p.m. in Missoula, Mont. The Utes will face San Francisco on Sun., Dec. 30 at 2:00 p.m. in San Francisco, Calif.
SCOUTING SOUTHERN METHODIST: The SMU women's basketball team fell to South Florida, 79-64, in the title game of the Boston University's Women's Basketball Invitational on Sun., Nov. 18 in Boston, Mass. SMU opened the 2001-02 season short-handed but came out with a win over Georgia Southern on Sat., Nov. 17 at the Boston University Invitational at Case Gymnasium. The Mustangs, short-staffed due to injuries, dressed only nine players. SMU is currently 1-1 overall. The Mustangs return three starters, eight letterwinners and add three newcomers to the roster in 2001-02. Head Coach Rhonda Rompola has a 194-103 career record in 10 years at SMU.
SMU Probable Starters: #34 Kaci Alexander (Jr., P), #30 Tyesha Glover (So., G), #44 Kenni Patton (Jr., G), #33 Jackee' Brown (So., G) and #4 Vanita Krouch (Jr., G).
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 376-153 (.711) career record in 18 seasons. In the last 11 years alone, Elliott has guided the Utes to nine 20-win seasons, six 1st-place, three 2nd-place and two third-place finishes in conference play. Overall, Elliott has led the Utes to thirteen 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, the 2000-01 IKON/WBCA Division I District 7 Coach of the Year, the 1999-2000 inaugural Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year and the 2000-01 Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year. Last season, Elliott led the Utes to a first-ever NCAA "Sweet 16" tournament appearance.
Most recently, Elliott recorded her 375th career win with a 77-54 victory over Butler University on Sun., Nov. 18 in Minneapolis, Minn.
ELLIOTT NOTCHES 375TH CAREER WIN: Elliott recorded her 375th career win with a 77-54 victory over Butler University on Sun., Nov. 18 in Minneapolis, Minn.
UTAH RANKINGS IN THE MWC: Utah, as a team is second in the MWC in 3-point field foal percentage defense (.211), field goal percentage defense (.304) and are third in 3-point field goal percentage (.387). Utah is third in rebounding margin, scoring defense (60.5), free-throw percentage (.789)3-point field goals made (6.00) and defensive rebounds (31.00). The Utes are fourth in rebounding offense (43.5), rebounding defense (36.0) and fifth in scoring margin (+7.5), blocked shots (3.00), assists (17.50), offensive rebounds (12.50) and assist/turnover ratio (0.81). Utah is sixth in scoring offense (68.0) and field goal percentage (.439), and eighth in turnover margin (-7.00) and steals (4.50). Individually, six Utah players rank among the top 20 in the MWC statistical leaders.
BECK BREAKING THROUGH: Lauren Beckman recorded her 1,000th career point on Sat., Nov. 17 at the Gopher Basketball Classic in Minneapolis, Minn. Beckman scored 22 points against Santa Clara in the season-opener for the Utes. Currently Beckman has racked up 1,044 career points. She became only one of seventeen other 1,000-point-plus scorers in Utah women's basketball history.
GOPHER BASKETBALL CLASSIC ALL-TOURNEY TEAM: Senior Lauren Beckman was selected to the 2001 Gopher Basketball Classic All-Tournament team. On the weekend, Beckman racked up double-doubles both nights, 17 points 11 rebounds against Santa Clara, and 22 points 12 rebounds against Butler.
ALBERTSON COLLEGE GAME RECAP: The University of Utah women's basketball team shut-down the Albertson College Lady 'Yotes, 93-45 on Tues., Nov. 20 at the Jon M. Huntsman Center.
The Utes jumped out to a 23-13 lead with 11:18 left in the first half and continued a very impressive shooting seminar led by senior Erin Gibbons. Gibbons racked up 16 points alone in the first half and ended the night with 21 points in 23 minutes of play. She was 7-of-11 from the field, 5-of-7 from behind the arc and 2-of-3 from the charity stripe.
Senior Lauren Beckman recorded her third straight double-double of the season by scoring 14 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Katherine McColl totaled 10 points and four rebounds, while sophomore Kelsy Stireman added 11 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. As a team, Utah went 35-of-61 from the field, 10-of-21 from three-point range and 13-of-23 from the free-throw line. The Utes scored 30 points from the bench, 36 points in the paint, 18 second chance points and 23 points off turnovers. Utah out-rebounded Albertson College, 44-33.
Albertson College saw two players score in double-figures. Megan Henrichs led the team with 16 points and seven rebounds. Henrichs went 7-of-12 from the field and 2-of-2 from behind the arc. Teammate Kristen Bailey added 10 points in the game. The Lady 'Yotes shot 29 percent from the field (18-of-62), 31 percent from three-point range (4-of-13) and 63 percent from the free-throw line (5-of-8).
"We still have areas that we need to work on," said head coach Elaine Elliott. "Tonight was a better effort on our part and we are starting to make improvements. We played more disciplined defensively and we have a lot of newcomers that are still making adjustments. It is a new team this year and we have to learn to relax a little and have fun," said Elliott.
BUTLER GAME RECAP: Utah defeated Butler, 77-54 at the Gopher Basketball Classic on Sun., Nov. 18 in Minneapolis, Minn.
The Utes lead at the half, 31-29, taking the lead with under a minute to go off of a 3-point shot by freshman Lana Sitterud. Utah started the second half with two 3-point shots by seniors Erin Gibbons and Lindsay Herbert, which gave Utah a 12 point lead over the Bulldogs.
For the Utes, senior Lauren Beckman recorded her second double-double of the season by scoring 22 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. She went 10-of-15 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line. Gibbons notched 23 points on 8-of-14 from the field and 2-of-2 from the line, 5-of-8 from behind the arc. Sitterud added 12 points and Herbert contributed 10 points in the game. Utah went 28-of-58 (48.3 percent) from the field, 9-of-19 from three-point range (47.3 percent) and 70.6 percent (12-of-17) from the free-throw line.
Butler saw two players score in double-figures. Dionne Goodwin led the team with 12 points and 16 rebounds. Goodwin went 5-of-10 from the field, and 2-of-4 from the free-throw line. Lisa Pryor scored 12 points, making 4-of-13 from the field, 2-of-6 from 3-point range and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line. The Bulldogs shot 28.3 percent from the field (17-of-60), 15.8 percent from behind the arc (3-of-19) and 60.7 percent from the free-throw line (17-of-28).
"We still struggled overall," said head coach Elaine Elliott. "Our biggest problem is our turnovers and giving the other team too many chances at the free throw line. We also need to get comfortable sooner in the game and have fun." said Elliott.
SANTA CLARA GAME RECAP: The Utes fell to Santa Clara, 67-59 at the Gopher Basketball Classic on Sat., Nov. 17 in Minneapolis, Minn.
For Utah, senior Lauren Beckman recored a double-double by scoring 17 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Beckman recorded her 1,000th career point at the start of the second half off of an assist from Kelsy Stireman. Beckman is the 17th player in Utah women's basketball history to score 1,000 points. She went 7-of-11 from the field and 3-of-3 from the free-throw line. Senior Erin Gibbons notched 18 points on 4-of-12 from the field and 8-of-8 from the line, 2-of-7 from behind the arc. Lindsay Herbert added 13 points in the game. Utah went 19-of-49 (38.8 percent) from the field, 3-of-12 from three-point range and 85.7 percent (18-of-21) from the free-throw line.
Santa Clara saw three players score in double-figures. Julie Butler led the team with 21 points and nine rebounds. Butler went 8-of-14 from the field, and 5-of-9 from the free-throw line. Becki Ashbaugh scored 12 points and notched eight assists, making 2-of-9 from the field, 1-of-4 from 3-point range and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line. Caroline Gruening finished with 10 points, making 2-of-6 from the field, 1-of-2 from 3-point range, and 5-of-5 from the line. The Broncos shot 32.7 percent from the field (18-of-55), 26.3 percent from behind the arc (5-of-19) and 72.2 percent from the free-throw line (26-of-36).
"The biggest disappointment was that we were out-played. We turned the ball over too many times, which cost us scoring opportunities. In the last part of the game we gave them too many chances at the foul line which cost us." said Elliott.
MWC PRE-SEASON POLL: Utah, defending MWC regular season champion, placed second in the MWC preseason media poll with five first-place votes. Colorado State ranked first, BYU ranked third, followed by UNLV, New Mexico, Wyoming, San Diego State and Air Force. Utah senior Lauren Beckman was picked as to the MWC preseason all-conference team.
UTES ON THE RADIO/TV: Utah women's basketball is back on KALL 910-AM this season. KALL will carry 20 regular-season games and all post-season 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-UCLA game on Dec. 1 and the Utah-BYU game on Jan. 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. Huntsman 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.
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, and any 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. The Mountain West Conference saw five out of the eight schools compete in either the NCAAs or the WNIT last season. League champion Utah made it to the NCAA "Sweet 16," Colorado State made it to the NCAA Second Round, while UNLV, New Mexico and BYU were all WNIT participants.
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 15455 Gleneagle Drive, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, Colo. 80921. The MWC telephone number is (719) 488-4040. The fax number is (719) 487-7240.
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