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Utah Women Crack Top 25, Host Oklahoma Tuesday Night
12/20/2004 12:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 20, 2004
Game #11
No. 25 University of Utah (8-2) vs. Oklahoma (6-3)
7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2004 - Jon M. Huntsman Center (15,000)
Salt Lake City, Utah
Radio: Hot Ticket 700 AM
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Utes Crack Top 25
On the strength of a seven-game winning streak, the University of Utah women's basketball team has broken into the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time this season. The AP poll, released Monday afternoon, holds down the No. 25 spot this week.
This is Utah's first appearance in the AP Top 25 since the week of Feb. 16 last season, when the Utes were also No. 25.
Utah-Oklahoma Fast Breaks
> This is just the third meeting on the hardwood between Utah and Oklahoma in women's basketball.
> Oklahoma leads the series 2-0.
> Oklahoma won the last meeting in the series, taking a 73-65 victory in Norman, Okla. last season.
> Both teams were nationally ranked when they met last season. Utah came in Nos. 19/23, while Oklahoma was ranked Nos. 16/17.
> OU won the first meeting 72-68 in Pullman, Wash. on Dec. 2, 1994.
> Utah holds an all-time record of 19-13 against teams from the Big XII Conference.
Utah Head Coach Elaine Elliott
University of Utah head women's basketball coach Elaine Elliott is in her 22nd season at the helm of the Ute program.
Elliott has a career record of 445-180. She is the winningest coach in Utah basketball history. Elliott has led the Utah women to 11 NCAA Tournament appearances, eight regular-season conference titles, three divisional crowns and five conference tournament championships. Elliott has been regarded for years as one of the best women's basketball coaches in the country. She has the longest tenure of any coach in the Mountain West Conference.
In 21 years, Elliott has had an astounding 20 winning seasons. She has been named her conference's coach of the year eight different times. Elliott has coached 28 first-team all-conference players and six Players of the Year.
Elliott was named the John and Nellie Wooden National Coach of the Year following the 2000-01 season.
Oklahoma Head Coach Sherri Coales
Sherri Coale is in her ninth season as the head coach at Oklahoma. She has a 162-98 record during her time in Norman.
That record includes six straight postseason berths, including an appearance in the Final Four in 2002. Coale has also led OU to three Big XII regular-season championships and two Big XII Tournament titles.
Prior to taking over the Oklahoma program, Coale was the head coach at Norman (Okla.) North High School. She was the head coach at Norman North from 1990-96 and won two Oklahoma Class 6A State Championships during her tenure there.
Utah Update
Utah saw action in just one game last week. The Utes were involved in final exams during the week, before jetting off to Los Angeles for a Saturday matinee with Loyola Marymount.
Utah used a stifling defensive effort in the second half of Saturday's game to put the Lions away. After a tight first half, the Utes held Loyola Marymount to just nine points in the second stanza, while pulling away for the 56-33 victory.
Utah trailed for much of the first half. A Kim Smith layup with three minutes remaining until halftime gave Utah the lead for good. But it was a Shona Thorburn three-point play just before the end of the half, which gave the Utes some breathing room, 29-24.
Julie Wood hit a three-pointer to open the second half and Utah's defense did the rest. Smith scored 18, while Thorburn added 14 points, nine boards and five assists.
Scouting Oklahoms
Oklahoma is coming off perhaps its best victory of the season. The Sooners dismantled traditional powerhouse Louisiana Tech 86-59 Saturday evening at the Nike Classic in Eugene, Ore.
Oklahoma converted from the field at a rate of 48.5 percent in Saturday's win over La Tech. The 27-point loss was the worst for the Lady Techsters since 1999.
Erin Higgins led the way for Oklahoma, scoring a career-high 19 points. She converted five three-point attempts in the contest. For the game, the Sooners were 11-of-22 from behind the arc.
All-America and National Player of the Year candidate Dionnah Jackson recorded a double-double for Oklahoma, scoring 18 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.
Jackson averages 14.9 points and 7.7 boards per contest. Leah Rush is averaging 12.7 points and 7.1 rebounds per game for OU.
Dominating Defense
Utah held Loyola Marymount to just nine points in the second half of Saturday's game in Los Angeles. The Utes used that stifling defensive effort to roll over the Lions to a 23-point victory.
The nine points in a single half was the lowest output from a Utah opponent since Feb. 20, 2003 when the Utes held San Diego State to just eight points in the second half.
Utah held the Lions scoreless for stretches of more than five minutes twice in Saturday's victory, including the final 6:50 of the contest.
Bangin' the Boards
Utah out-rebounded Loyola Marymount 40-27 Saturday. It was the fourth time this season that the Utes reached the 40-rebound plateau. It was also the fifth time this season that Utah enjoyed a double-digit margin on the boards.
Through 10 games this season, Utah is averaging 37.8 rebounds per game, while allowing just 32.1. The Utes' average rebound margin is +5.7 so far this season, as compared to just a +3.4 margin last year.
Climbing the Charts
Kim Smith needs just 10 points to take over the No. 11 spot on the Utah all-time scoring chart. The junior forward enters Tuesday's game with 1,186 points in her career.
Sitting just in front of Smith on the all-time chart is Mila Rogers-Stender, who scored 1,195 points from 1982 through 1987.
At her current pace, Smith would be less than four games away from reaching the top 10. After Rogers-Stender, Smith's sights will be set on the No. 10 position and Mo Eckroth's total of 1,248 points.
Getting to the Point
Junior Shona Thorburn isn't your prototypical point guard. She runs the Utah offense, brings the ball down the floor on virtually every possession and still manages to contribute greatly in other ways.
Thorburn is the Utes' second-leading scorer and rebounder. She is the only point guard in the Mountain West Conference to be ranked among the top 15 in the league in scoring, rebounding and assists.
Thorburn is No. 2 in the MWC in assists, dishing out 6.5 helpers per contest. She is No. 9 in rebounding, grabbing 7.7 boards a game. She also ranks No. 11 in the conference in scoring, averaging 12.6 points an outing. She's also No. 3 in the MWC in assist-turnover ratio.
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