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 Notes
1/10/2003 12:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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Jan. 10, 2003
SALT LAKE CITY -
COMING UP:
The University of Utah women's basketball team (9-3) hosts Northern Arizona (7-5) for a 4 p.m. game on Saturday, Jan. 11, at the Jon M. Huntsman Center.
A QUICK LOOK AT UTAH:
The Utes avenged an earlier season loss with a 77-36 blowout of Montana Thursday night. The Utes shot 47 percent from the field on the game and held Montana to just 29 percent. Utah also pulled down almost twice as many rebounds (50-26) as the Lady Griz. Freshman Kim Smith led Utah with 16 points, 15 rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block. Junior Carley Marshall added a game-high 18 points to go along with eight rebounds, while sophomore Shona Thorburn finished with 12 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.
Utah, which lost 53-49 to the Lady Griz earlier this season, started junior Mandie Little and freshman Julie Wood for the first time this season. The lineup change was effective, as the Utes owned the first half, holding the Lady Griz to just eight points. Utah also out-rebounded Montana 29-9. The Utes shot nearly 52 percent on the half while holding the Lady Griz to just 14 percent. Additionally, Montana had more fouls (10) in the first half than points (eight).
The second half was played much more closely, with Utah owning a 33-30 advantage. Utah built its biggest lead of the evening (65-18) with 10:42 left in the game.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION:
Northern Arizona - The Lumberjacks (7-5) are coming off an 85-76 overtime win over UNLV last Saturday. Senior Jen Snitker scored 26 of her career-high 33 points in the second half, including 12 points in overtime, for just the 11th 30-point game in program history and her point total tied for the fifth-most in a single game by a Lumberjack. It was the most points by a Lumberjack in a game since Cristina Willis scored 33 against Valparaiso in December 1992.
After a tough first half in which Snitker had seven points but was just 2-of-6 from the floor, she exploded with a 9-of-13 effort after the intermission to lead NAU to the win. Forward Alexis Rhodes posted 14 points and a career-high-tying nine rebounds with a career-best four steals, while Joy Dixon added 13 points and career-high six assists. Senior Lindsey Foster recorded 10 points before fouling out with 6:38 left in regulation. Freshman Courtney Jackson recorded a season-high 13 rebounds to help NAU out-rebound the Rebels, 47-37.
SERIES SHORTS:
* Utah leads the all-time series with Northern Arizona 5-0. The Utes are 3-0 at home and 2-0 away vs. the Lumberjacks. The last time the two teams met, on Dec. 8, 1984, Utah won 98-80.
MWC STANDINGS:
W L Pct.
UTAH 9 3 .750
New Mexico 9 3 .750
Wyoming 9 3 .750
BYU 9 4 .692
Colorado State 9 4 .692
UNLV 8 4 .667
Air Force 6 6 .500
San Diego State 5 6 .455
MWC PRESEASON MEDIA POLL: Rank Team (first-place votes) Points 1 BYU (8) 110 2 Colorado State (7) 103 3 New Mexico (1) 91 4 Utah 70 5 UNLV 69 6 Wyoming 49 7 San Diego State 31 8 Air Force 17
UTES ON THE RADIO:
Utah's game against Northern Arizona will be broadcast live on KALL 910-AM. The game will be called by Brad Stone, Sports Director. In his 13th year with the station, Stone is also the host of the Ute men's basketball and football game broadcasts, as well as the "Redzone," an hour-long show devoted to Ute sports that airs from 1-2 p.m. Monday-Friday.
ELLIOTT APPROACHING 400TH WIN:
With a career record of 398-167 (.704), Utah Head Coach Elaine Elliott is just two wins away from 400. The earliest she could achieve this feat is next Thursday, Jan. 16, when the Utes open conference play at home against Wyoming at 7 p.m. Elliott, in her 20th season at Utah, has averaged just over 20 wins a year.
MWC LEADERS:
As a team, the Utes lead the conference in six statistical categories: scoring defense (51.8), scoring margin (+17.9), three-point field goal percentage (.382), rebounding defense (34.8), turnover margin (+5.6) and three-point field goal average (8.5). Utah ranks second in field goal percentage defense (.364) and assist/turnover ratio (1.05), and third in scoring (69.8), rebounding margin (+2.3), free throw percentage (.723) and defensive rebounds (24.3).
Individually, freshman Kim Smith ranks second in three-point field goal percentage (.532), third in scoring (18.1) and three-point field goal average (2.75), fourth in rebounding (7.1), fifth in offensive rebounds (2.6), tied for eighth in steals (1.7), ninth in defensive rebounds (4.2), and 10th in both field goal percentage (.497) and free throw percentage (.741).
Sophomore Shona Thorburn is tied for second in assist/turnover ratio (2.0), fourth in three-point field goal average (2.6), tied for sixth in defensive rebounds (4.8), seventh in scoring (15.1), 10th in assists (3.3), 11th in three-point field goal percentage (.373), tied for 11th in free throw percentage (.733), 12th in rebounding (5.6) and tied for 15th in steals (1.5).
Junior Carley Marshall ranks sixth in blocked shots (1.2), seventh in free throw percentage (.788), eighth in field goal percentage (.500), tied for 12th in offensive rebounds (1.8), 15th in rebounding (5.4) and 17th in scoring (10.0).
Point guard Kelsy Stireman is tied for second in assist/turnover ratio (2.0), tied for eighth in steals (1.7) and tied for 12th in assists (3.0). Meanwhile, junior Mandie Little ranks eighth in offensive rebounds (2.7), ninth in rebounding (5.9) and 13th in blocked shots (0.4).
Sophomore Lana Sitterud is tied for 11th in steals (1.6), and freshman Julie Wood is fourth in three-point field goal percentage (.450) and seventh in three-point field goal average (1.6).
FIRST HALF DOUBLE-DOUBLE:
In Thursday's rout of Montana, freshman Kim Smith recorded a double-double with 2:55 left in the first half. Smith went 3-for-3 from behind the arc on the half and went into the locker room with 15 points and 12 boards. She finished the game with 16 points and career highs of 15 rebounds and four assists.
IN THE POLLS:
For the second week in a row, the Utes received votes in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. Utah received two points, good for 53rd place nationally. Fellow Mountain West Conference schools Colorado State (31st) and Brigham Young (42nd) also received votes.
RANKING NATIONALLY:
Prior to the Montana win, the Utes ranked ninth nationally in scoring defense, 24th in scoring margin and 26th in average margin of victory.
UP NEXT:
At 7 p.m. next Thursday, Jan. 16, Utah opens Mountain West Conference play with a game against Wyoming in the Huntsman Center.
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