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
AP: Utah-Duke Preview
3/24/2003 12:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 24, 2003
GAME: No. 9 Utah (24-6) vs. No. 1 Duke (32-1)
REGIONAL: Midwest, second round.
TIME: Tuesday, 7 p.m. EST.
SITE: Reynolds Coliseum; Raleigh, N.C.
After a slight scare in the opening round, Duke hopes to regain its shooting touch when it faces Utah in the second round.
The Blue Devils, who have won 13 straight games, hope to bounce back from a lackluster first round win.
Alana Beard had 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting to lead Duke to a 66-48 victory over 16th-seeded Georgia State. The Blue Devils set a school record for wins despite shooting just 34.4 against the Lady Panthers (20-11), the champions of the Atlantic Sun Conference.
Iciss Tillis added 12 points on 5-of-14 shooting for Duke. Beard also had eight rebounds and four blocks as Blue Devils dominated the offensive boards 21-6 to offset a poor shooting night.
Beard leads Duke in scoring at 21.8 points per game followed by Tillis at 14.7. The pair combine for 4.6 rebounds per game.
Duke coach Gail Goestenkors thinks her team needs to step it up on both ends of the court.
"One of our keys is to have an attack mindset," Goestenkors said. "I talked about having that mindset on both ends of the court."
Duke, which won 31 games last year in advancing to the Final Four, has won 12 straight heading into its match up with a talented Utah team led by freshman Kim Smith.
"I know they are a pretty good motion team, a smart team, with a great inside-outside game," Beard said about the Utes.
Smith scored 35 points to lead Utah to a 73-64 win over DePaul in its opening round game on Sunday. Smith, the Mountain West Conference player and rookie of the year, had 23 points in the first half as the Utes shot 50 percent.
Smith's point total set the single-game NCAA tournament mark for the Utes and was one off the school record of 36 set by Susana Tauteoli in 1993.
Smith finished 11-for-16 from the field and 10-of-12 from the foul line. The 6-foot-1 forward averages 16.7 points and 6.4 rebounds to lead Utah.
The Blue Devils and Utes will be playing for the first time.
PROBABLE STARTERS: Utah - F Smith, F Carley Marshall, C Mandie Little, G Kelsy Stireman, G Shona Thorburn. Duke - F Michelle Matyasovksy, F Tillis, G Lindsey Harding, G Beard, G Vicki Krapohl.
TEAM LEADERS: Utah - Smith, 16.7 ppg, 6.4 rpg; Shona Thorburn, 3.2 apg. Duke - Beard, 21.8 ppg; Tillis, 7.6 rpg; Lindsey Harding, 3.2 apg.
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Utah - At-large berth, Mountain West Conference; beat DePaul 73-64, first round. Duke - Automatic bid, Atlantic Coast Conference; beat Georgia State 66-48, first round.
ALL-TIME TOURNAMENT RECORD: Utah - 4-11, 11 years. Duke - 21-9, 9 years.
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballUtah: 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