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7:00 PM
Women's Basketball
vs Western Colorado (EXHIBITION)
Friday, November 14
Salt Lake City, Utah
7:00 PM
University of Utah
76
vs
65
Preseason WNIT - SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE
Utah Women Defeat Southeast Missouri State 76-65 in WNIT
11/14/2003 12:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 14, 2003
SALT LAKE CITY - The No. 19 Utah women's basketball team defeated Southeast Missouri State 76-65 in the first round of the Women's National Invitational Tournament tonight at the Huntsman Center. With the win, the Utes advance to the second round, where they will face the winner of the No. 18 UC Santa Barbara-San Diego game, which will be played Saturday at 1 p.m. (PDT).
"This was a tough first match-up," Head Coach Elaine Elliott said. "Their style is our worst nightmare - that's about as much pressure as we've seen in a long time. They're also a great three-point shooting team and are quick to the basket. They were difficult to defend."
Utah shot 51 percent from the field on the game (28-of-55), including 44 percent from behind the arc. The Utes also out-rebounded Southeast Missouri State 33-25. The Utah defense forced 16 Otahkian turnovers, which it converted into 20 points. Southeast Missouri State also committed 21 fouls, compared to the Utes' eight.
Sophomore Shona Thorburn led all scorers with 24 points. She also added eight rebounds, three assists and three steals. "Shona's play on the offensive end was tremendous," Elliott said. "She's the type of player that can take advantage of over-pressure and that really helped us."
Sophomore Kim Smith added 17 points and a game-high nine rebounds, while senior Carley Marshall finished with 12 points. Junior Lana Sitterud chipped in nine points, all from three-pointers, while senior point guard Kelsy Stireman dished out five assists.
After a close start to the game, the Utes slowly built an eight-point lead (22-14), but the Otahkians used a 7-0 run to cut it to one (22-21). Utah built its lead to four on three occasions, but Southeast Missouri State had cut it to one by halftime, 37-36. Utah pulled down ten more boards than the Otahkians on the half (19-9).
Southeast Missouri State led for the first 7:27 of the second half before Utah took the lead for good, 53-52, on the first of two free throws by freshman Camie Allen. Thorburn led the Ute charge in the second half, scoring 19 of her 24 points in the second stanza. Utah forced nine Otahkian turnovers on the half.
UP NEXT:
Utah will face the winner of the No. 18 UC Santa Barbara-San Diego game, which will be played Saturday at 1 p.m. (PDT). Should Santa Barbara win, Utah will play there at 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 17. Should San Diego win, the Utes will host them at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 16.
Players Mentioned
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