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
2/13/2004 12:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 13, 2004
SALT LAKE CITY -
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COMING UP:
The league-leading Utah women's basketball team (18-4, 8-0) hosts Wyoming (8-13, 4-4) at 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14, at the Huntsman Center. The game will be broadcast live on KALL-700 AM in Salt Lake City and on the Internet at www.utahutes.com.
A QUICK LOOK AT UTAH:
Five Utes reached double figures scoring as Utah won its 25th straight game at home and remained undefeated in the MWC with a 71-57 win over Colorado State Thursday night. Utah shot 44 percent from the field on the game and 42 percent from downtown, while the Rams shot 42 percent from the field and 43 percent from three-point range. For just the third time this season, the Utes won a game in which they were out-rebounded, as CSU grabbed 36 boards to Utah's 35. The Utes committed nine turnovers on the game and forced 16 by the Rams. Sophomore All-America candidate Kim Smith led Utah with game highs of 17 points and eight rebounds. She also had a blocked shot and a steal. Junior Lana Sitterud added 15 points, all from three-pointers, thus setting a career high with five treys. Rounding out the group of double-figure scorers were senior Mandie Little, sophomore Shona Thorburn and senior Carley Marshall with 12, 11 and 10, respectively. Little also pulled down five boards, while Marshall dished out six assists. Senior point guard Kelsy Stireman finished with a game-high seven assists to go along with six points, five rebounds and two steals.
On the season, Utah is led by Smith, who averages 16.1 points and 7.5 rebounds, and Thorburn, who adds 11.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. As a team, Utah is holding opponents to 53.3 points per game and has an average margin of victory of 13.3 points.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION:
The Cowgirls fell to 4-4 in MWC play with a 67-50 loss at BYU Thursday night. Senior guard Brenda Pickup led the Cowgirls with 13 points, seven assists, four rebounds and three steals. Freshman Angiah Harris added a career-high eight points. Forward Michelle Lieber was the leading rebounder with seven. Wyoming finished the night shooting 15-of-48 (31 percent) from the field and 13-of-16 (81 percent) from the charity stripe.
The Cowgirls are led this season by Ashley Elliott, who averages 16.3 points, and Lieber, who adds 6.4 rebounds. As a team, Wyoming is shooting 35 percent from the field and averaging 32.2 rebounds per game.
SERIES SHORTS:
Utah leads the all-time series with the Cowgirls 48-6. The last time the two teams met, on Jan. 15, Utah won 57-39 in Laramie. The Utes are 24-1 at home, 22-5 away and 2-0 at a neutral site vs. Wyoming.
MWC STANDINGS:
Conference Overall W L Pct. W L Pct.UTAH 8 0 1.000 18 4 .818UNLV 5 2 .714 16 4 .800 New Mexico 5 2 .714 13 7 .650 Wyoming 4 4 .500 8 13 .381 BYU 3 5 .375 13 9 .591 Colorado State 3 5 .375 12 9 .571 San Diego State 2 5 .286 7 13 .350 Air Force 0 7 .000 3 17 .150
MWC LEADERS:
As a team, the Utes rank in the top half of nearly every statistical category. Utah leads the conference in scoring margin (+13.3), field goal percentage (.452), three-point field goal percentage (.399), rebounding defense (31.0), assists (15.3), turnover margin (+2.5), three-point field goal average (7.1) and assist/turnover ratio (1.2), and ranks second in scoring (66.6) and scoring defense (53.3), and third in rebounding margin (+3.9), field goal percentage defense (.385) and free throw percentage (.704).
In conference games only, the Utes rank in the top half of every statistical category but blocked shots and steals.
Individually, sophomore Kim Smith ranks third in scoring (16.1), defensive rebounds (5.0) and three-point field goal average (1.7), fourth in rebounding (7.5), field goal percentage (.508) and three-point field goal percentage (.422), seventh in offensive rebounds (2.6) and 10th in free throw percentage (.696). Sophomore Shona Thorburn ranks third in assists (3.6) and assist/turnover ratio (1.7), eighth in three-point field goal average (1.4), 10th in scoring (11.6), 11th in three-point field goal percentage (.341) and 14th in rebounding (5.5). Senior Kelsy Stireman ranks third in steals (2.2), fifth in assist/turnover ratio (1.4) and seventh in assists (3.3), while senior Carley Marshall is seventh in field goal percentage (.469). Sophomore Julie Wood leads the league in three-point field goal percentage (.500) and ranks sixth in three-point field goal average (1.6), while senior Mandie Little is fifth in field goal percentage (.500). Junior Lana Sitterud is 14th in three-point field goal percentage (.295).
SMITH NAMED MWC PLAYER OF THE WEEK FOR FEB. 2-8:
Kim Smith was named MWC Player of the Week for Feb. 2-8, marking her first career award. Smith helped the Utes remain unbeaten in conference play after averaging a double-double last week. In a 56-29 victory at San Diego State, the All-America candidate tallied her seventh career double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds, while also picking up two blocks and two steals. In a 72-55 victory at UNLV, Smith tallied 20 points and 10 boards. She connected on all five free throw attempts vs. the Rebels and collected two assists and a steal. For the week, Smith averaged 18 points, 11.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals, 1.5 assists and 1.0 blocks, while shooting 52 percent from the field (13-of-25) and 88 percent from the free throw line.
RANKING NATIONALLY:
In NCAA statistics through Feb. 9, Utah ranks third nationally in three-point field goal percentage (.398) and turnovers per game (12.8), fourth in scoring defense (53.1), 13th in winning streak (7) and personal fouls per game (14.4), 17th in three-point field goal average (7.0), 20th in scoring margin (13.3), 21st in won-lost percentage (.810) and 24th in field goal percentage (.452).
LIVE BY THE THREE, DIE BY THE THREE:
Utah, which is shooting 40 percent from three-point range this season, has connected on 30 or more percent of its treys in all but four games (UC Santa Barbara, Oklahoma, Weber State, UNLV) this season, with two of those four games resulting in losses for the Utes. Utah has shot 50 percent or better from downtown seven times this season and won those games by an average of 23.9 points.
HOME SWEET HOME:
Utah, 9-0 at home this season, has won 25 games in a row at the Huntsman Center, dating back to the 2001-02 season. That is tied with Louisiana Tech and Arizona for the second longest home win streak in the nation behind Texas (32).
Last year, Utah went a perfect 13-0 at home. It was the ninth time Utah recorded an undefeated home season in the program's 30 years of existence. The Utes' last home loss came on Jan. 31, 2002, when the team fell 79-71 to UNLV.
WINNING THE REBOUNDING BATTLE:
Utah has out-rebounded its opponent in all but six games this season (UC Santa Barbara, Fresno State, Oklahoma, Oregon State, Brigham Young and Colorado State), and three of the Utes' four losses came when they were out-rebounded by their opponent.
TAKING CARE OF THE BALL:
Utah, which currently ranks third nationally in turnovers per game, has only committed more turnovers than its opponent on three occasions (Washington State, Northern Arizona and Montana) this season. The Utes have committed 10 or fewer turnovers in six games and 15 or fewer in 16 of 22 games this season.
CONSISTENCY IN THE STARTING LINEUP:
Utah is the only team in the Mountain West Conference to have the same five players start every game this season. The Utes start three seniors - Mandie Little, Carley Marshall and Kelsy Stireman - and two sophomores - Kim Smith and Shona Thorburn. Stireman has started all but two games on her career (110 of 112), while Smith and Thorburn have started all 53 games since coming to Utah.
STEADY SMITH:
Sophomore Kim Smith has reached double digits scoring in 50 of 53 games on her career at Utah. She also has one or more treys in 47 of 53 career games. This season alone, Smith has at least one three-pointer in 19 of 22 games and has pulled down five or more rebounds in 20 of 22 games.
THORBURN DOES IT ALL:
Shona Thorburn, who ranks second on the team in scoring and rebounding, has reached double figures scoring 12 times this season and has scored five or more points in all 22 games. The guard also has at least one assist in 21 of 22 games, one three-pointer in 16 of 22 games and five or more rebounds in 12 of 22 games.
MARSHALL AND LITTLE DEPENDABLE INSIDE:
Senior post players Mandie Little and Carley Marshall have come up big for the Utes this season. Marshall has shot 50 percent or better from the field in 14 games, while Little has done the same in 13 of 22 games. In addition, Marshall has four or more rebounds in 14 games and Little has four or more boards in 13 of 22 games this season.
STIREMAN RUNS THE POINT, DEFENDS WELL:
Senior point guard Kelsy Stireman has at least one steal in 18 of 22 games this season. She grabbed three steals in four games, four steals in four games and nabbed a career-high seven steals against Weber State. She also has three or fewer turnovers in 17 of 22 games and at least one assist in 20 of 22 games.
WOOD DEADLY FROM DOWNTOWN:
Sophomore Julie Wood, the MWC leader in three-point shooting, is a definite threat from long range. Of her 41 baskets this season, 35 are from downtown. Additionally, all five of her double-digit scoring games came when she made three or more three-pointers.
SITTERUD COMING UP HUGE:
Junior captain Lana Sitterud has been huge in some of the Utes' recent wins. Against CSU on Thursday night, she scored 15 points on five three-pointers, including three in a row, to cut the Ram lead to two and get Utah back into the game. Last Sunday at UNLV, Sitterud, defending RanDee Henry, held the junior to just six points on 1-of-11 shooting. It was the first time all season that Henry didn't reach double figures scoring. At Brigham Young, sophomore Ambrosia Anderson had 17 points and nine rebounds in the first half. Utah made some adjustments, putting Sitterud on Anderson, and the Cougar was held to just five points and four rebounds in the second half.
SMITH ON PACE TO REACH 1,000 POINTS THIS SEASON:
Forward Kim Smith currently has 354 points on the year. Combined with her 540 from last season, the sophomore currently has 894 career points. With a minimum of seven games left this season, at her current pace, Smith would finish the season with 467 points, giving her 1,007 points on her career and making her the 18th Ute and just the second sophomore ever to reach 1,000 points.
UTES PICKED TO WIN MOUNTAIN WEST:
Utah was selected as the unanimous favorite to win the 2003-04 MWC crown. The Utes received all possible first-place votes to repeat as MWC regular-season champions (coaches cannot vote for their own team).
SMITH, THORBURN NAMED PRESEASON ALL-MWC:
Sophomore Kim Smith was tabbed as the MWC preseason Player of the Year and sophomore Shona Thorburn was also named to the preseason all-conference team. Smith earned Top Returning Player honors following a freshman campaign that saw her named MWC Player and Newcomer of the Year (a conference first), Kodak honorable mention All-America, and a Freshman All-American by both Full Court Press and womenscollegehoops.com. She is one of 35 players and just three sophomores nationally named to the Wade Trophy watch list.
Thorburn, a second-team all-conference pick last year, ranked sixth in the league in scoring, averaging 14.7 points per game. She led Utah in assists (3.3 per game) and minutes played (36.5) last season.
UTES ON THE RADIO:
All but two of Utah's remaining games this season (Feb. 21 and March 6) will be broadcast on KALL-700 AM. Anchoring the broadcast team is KALL-700 AM Sports Director Brad Stone. In his 14th year with the station, Stone is the host of the Ute men's basketball and football game broadcasts. Color commentary for Utah home games is done by Utah's all-time leading scorer, Julie Krommenhoek. Utah's 2003-04 road games are called by Chris Tunis, who served as the president of the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association from 1999-2001. The Feb. 21 and March 6 games can be heard live on the Internet at www.utahutes.com.
INTERNET AUDIO/VIDEO BROADCASTS:
All Utah women's basketball home games are available to be seen and heard on the Internet. To get to the game broadcasts, go to http://155.99.112.235/wbball/ or go to the women's basketball page at www.utahutes.com and click on "Watch/Listen to Utah Home Games Live." To watch/listen to the broadcasts, you are encouraged to a have high-speed internet connection. You will also need to have QuickTime Player installed on your computer. QuickTime Player is free software available at http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/. Although this is an Apple product, it can be loaded onto both Apple and PC machines.
UTES MAKE FIVE TELEVISION APPEARANCES:
Utah is making a school-record five regular-season appearances on television this season. ESPN2 televised the New Mexico at Utah match-up on Jan. 25, and will also broadcast the title game of the MWC Tournament. Fox Sports Net regionally televised Utah's wins at CSU on Jan. 17 and at UNLV on Feb. 8, and will also broadcast the BYU at Utah game on Feb. 28. MWC women's basketball will make its debut on College Sports Television (CSTV) when New Mexico hosts Utah on Feb. 19. CSTV will also televise the MWC Tournament semifinal games on March 12.
UP NEXT:
The Utes travel to Albuquerque, N.M., where they will face New Mexico at 7 p.m. next Thursday, Feb. 19. The game will be televised live on College Sports Television (CSTV). Satellite coordinates for the game are as follows: Galaxy 1R, Transponder 22, Band: L-Band.
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