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
2/24/2004 12:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 24, 2004
SALT LAKE CITY -
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COMING UP:
The Utah women's basketball team (20-5, 10-1) hosts instate rival Brigham Young (14-11, 4-7) at 4 p.m. this Saturday, Feb. 28. The game will be televised live on Fox Sports Net. The game will also be broadcast live in Salt Lake City on KALL-700 AM and on the Internet at www.utahutes.com.
A QUICK LOOK AT UTAH:
Utah won its 20th game of the season, a 73-65 victory over Air Force last Saturday. The Utes shot 50 percent from the field and 50 percent from three-point range on the game, while the Falcons connected on 24-of-61 (39 percent) from the field and 42 percent from beyond the arc. Utah out-rebounded Air Force 32 to 30, but committed an unusually high 20 turnovers, compared to the 19 of the Falcons. Senior Carley Marshall led a group of four Utes in double-figure scoring with a career-high-tying 21 points and a season-high-tying seven rebounds. Sophomore All-America candidate Kim Smith added 14 points and seven rebounds, while senior Kelsy Stireman finished with 11 points and junior Lana Sitterud added 10. Sophomore Shona Thorburn dished out a career-high 10 assists to go along with seven points and six rebounds.
On the season, Utah is led by Smith, who averages 15.8 points and 7.5 rebounds, and Thorburn, who adds 11.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. As a team, Utah is holding opponents to 53.2 points per game and has an average margin of victory of 12.5 points.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION:
The Cougars dropped a very close, hard-fought game, 60-59, at second-place New Mexico last Saturday. BYU shot 44 percent from the field and 69 percent from the free throw line, and out-rebounded the Lobos 34 to 28. The one-point loss was the eighth game BYU has lost by seven points or less this season. Julie Sullivan had her fourth-straight double digit scoring game with a team-high 15 points. Kristen Kozlowski came off the bench for a season- and career-high 13 points. Ashleigh Chamberlain added 10 points and five rebounds.
The Cougars are led this season by Ambrosia Anderson with 10.8 points and 6.0 rebounds, and Danielle Cheesman, who adds 10.4 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. As a team, BYU is shooting 41 percent from the field and 33 percent from downtown on the year.
SERIES SHORTS:
Utah leads the all-time series with the Cougars 50-28. The last time the two teams met, on Jan. 31 of this year, Utah won 66-62 in Provo. The Utes are 26-7 at home, 17-14 away and 7-7 at a neutral site vs. Brigham Young.
AP TOP 25 POLL FEB. 23, 2004
Rank School 03-04 Total Last (first-place votes) Record Points Week1. Connecticut (45) 22-2 1,173 2 2. Tennessee 23-2 1,112 3 3. Duke 22-3 1,050 4 4. Purdue (2) 23-2 1,028 5 5. Texas 23-3 1,001 1 6. Penn State 21-4 892 7 7. Louisiana Tech 20-2 887 6 8. Texas Tech 23-4 871 9 9. Kansas State 21-3 852 8 10. Stanford 20-5 737 10 11. North Carolina 19-5 608 16 12. Minnesota 20-5 545 11 13. TCU 22-4 539 17 14. Colorado 20-5 490 13 15. LSU 21-5 471 15 16. Baylor 20-6 444 19 17. Houston 23-3 436 21 18. Auburn 20-6 428 14 19. Georgia 18-7 415 18 20. DePaul 22-4 295 12 21. Miami 20-4 259 22 22. Michigan State 19-6 176 20 23. Oklahoma 17-7 104 24 24. Vanderbilt 18-7 100 NR 25. Ohio State 17-8 79 NR
Others receiving votes: Boston College 51, SW Missouri State 49, Notre Dame 46, Utah 41, Virginia Tech 23, Montana 18, Arizona 15, Villanova 13, Chattanooga 9, UC Santa Barbara 5, Florida 4, Old Dominion 4, Idaho 2, West Virginia 2, N C State 1.
ESPN/USA TODAY POLL FEB. 24, 2004
Rank School 03-04 Total Last (first-place votes) Record Points Week1. Connecticut (39) 22-2 998 1 2. Tennessee 23-2 956 3 3. Duke 22-3 907 4 4. Purdue 23-2 862 5 5. Texas 23-3 844 2 6. Louisiana Tech (1) 20-2 759 6 7. Penn State 21-4 744 7 8. Kansas State 21-3 722 8 9. Texas Tech 23-4 713 9 10. Stanford 20-5 625 10 11. North Carolina 19-5 553 15 12. Minnesota 20-5 448 12 13. Colorado 20-5 432 13 14. Houston 23-3 413 18 15-T. Georgia 18-7 394 17 15-T. TCU 22-4 394 19 17. LSU 21-5 380 14 18. DePaul 22-4 377 11 19. Miami (Fla.) 20-4 249 21 20. Auburn 20-6 229 16 21. Baylor 20-6 196 24 22. Michigan State 19-6 183 20 23. Oklahoma 17-7 127 22 24. Boston College 18-6 88 23 25. Virginia Tech 19-6 87 25
Others receiving votes: Southwest Missouri State (23-2) 67; Chattanooga (24-2) 45; Vanderbilt (18-7) 36; Montana (21-4) 28; Notre Dame (17-8) 25; Villanova (19-5) 20; Arizona State (17-8) 17; Arizona (20-7) 16; Ohio State (17-8) 14; Utah (20-5) 9; Rutgers (16-9) 8; George Washington (19-6) 7; Liberty (18-6) 7; Southern California (14-11) 7; Florida (16-9) 5; Loyola Marymount (20-5) 3; West Virginia (18-7) 3; Miami (Ohio) (18-6) 2; Creighton (17-7) 1.
MWC STANDINGS
Conference Overall W L Pct. W L Pct.UTAH 10 1 .909 20 5 .800New Mexico 8 2 .800 16 7 .696 UNLV 7 3 .700 18 5 .783 Colorado State 6 5 .545 15 9 .625 Wyoming 5 6 .455 9 15 .375 BYU 4 7 .364 14 11 .560 San Diego State 2 8 .200 7 16 .304 Air Force 0 10 .000 3 20 .130
MWC LEADERS:
As a team, the Utes rank in the top half of nearly every statistical category. Utah leads the conference in scoring margin (+12.5), three-point field goal percentage (.404), free throw percentage (.721), rebounding defense (30.8), assists (15.3), turnover margin (+2.3), three-point field goal average (7.2) and assist/turnover ratio (1.2), and ranks second in field goal percentage (.450) and scoring defense (53.2), third in rebounding margin (+3.4) and field goal percentage defense (.387), and fourth in scoring (65.7).
In conference games only, the Utes rank in the top half of every statistical category but blocked shots, steals and offensive rebounds.
Individually, sophomore Kim Smith ranks third in scoring (15.8) and three-point field goal percentage (.413), fourth in rebounding (7.5) and three-point field goal average (1.7), fifth in field goal percentage (.505) and defensive rebounds (4.8), sixth in offensive rebounds (2.7) and eighth in free throw percentage (.714). Sophomore Shona Thorburn ranks third in assists (4.0) and assist/turnover ratio (1.8), eighth in three-point field goal average (1.4), 10th in scoring (11.4), 12th in three-point field goal percentage (.340), 14th in rebounding (5.6) and 15th in free throw percentage (.658). Senior Kelsy Stireman ranks second in steals (2.1), fifth in assist/turnover ratio (1.4) and seventh in assists (3.2), while senior Carley Marshall is seventh in field goal percentage (.478). Sophomore Julie Wood leads the league in three-point field goal percentage (.493) and ranks seventh in three-point field goal average (1.4), while senior Mandie Little is sixth in field goal percentage (.484). Junior Lana Sitterud is ninth in three-point field goal percentage (.352) and 10th in three-point field goal average (1.3).
RANKING NATIONALLY:
In NCAA statistics through Feb. 23, Utah ranks second nationally in three-point field goal percentage (.404), third in turnovers per game (12.9), fifth in scoring defense (53.2), eighth in personal fouls per game (14.2), 15th in three-point field goal average (7.2), 18th in won-lost percentage (.800), 26th in scoring margin (12.5) and 28th in field goal percentage (.450).
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 nine times this season and won those games by an average of 21.0 points.
In addition, Utah is one of just three schools nationally (Stanford and Idaho are the others) to have four players with 30 or more three-pointers on the season.
HOME SWEET HOME:
Utah, 10-0 at home this season, has won 26 games in a row at the Huntsman Center, dating back to the 2001-02 season. That is tied with Louisiana Tech and Western Illinois for the third longest home win streak in the nation behind Texas (32) and Arizona (27).
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 seven games this season (UC Santa Barbara, Fresno State, Oklahoma, Oregon State, Brigham Young, Colorado State and Wyoming), and three of the Utes' five 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 five occasions this season, including its last two games. The Utes have committed 10 or fewer turnovers in six games and 15 or fewer in 18 of 24 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 (113 of 115), while Smith and Thorburn have started all 56 games since coming to Utah.
STEADY SMITH:
Sophomore Kim Smith has reached double digits scoring in 53 of 56 games on her career at Utah. She also has one or more treys in 50 of 56 career games. This season alone, Smith has at least one three-pointer in 22 of 25 games and has pulled down five or more rebounds in 23 of 25 games.
THORBURN DOES IT ALL:
Shona Thorburn, who ranks second on the team in scoring and rebounding, has reached double figures scoring 14 times this season and has scored five or more points in 24 of 25 games. The guard also has at least one assist in 24 of 25 games, one three-pointer in 18 of 25 games and five or more rebounds in 15 of 25 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 15 games, while Little has done the same in 13 of 25 games. In addition, Marshall has four or more rebounds in 17 games and Little has four or more boards in 13 of 25 games this season.
STIREMAN RUNS THE POINT, DEFENDS WELL:
Senior point guard Kelsy Stireman has at least one steal in 21 of 25 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 19 of 25 games and at least one assist in 23 of 25 games.
WOOD DEADLY FROM DOWNTOWN:
Sophomore Julie Wood, the MWC leader in three-point shooting, is a definite threat from long range. Of her 42 baskets this season, 36 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. In the last five games, she has reached double figures scoring all but once, when she had nine points. During that time, she has connected on 61 percent of her shots (20-of-33) from the field and 62 percent (16-of-26) from three-point range.
SMITH COULD REACH 1,000 POINTS THIS SEASON:
Forward Kim Smith currently has 394 points on the year. Combined with her 540 from last season, the sophomore currently has 934 career points. With a minimum of four games left this season (provided the Utes' season ended in the first round of the MWC Tournament), at her current pace, Smith would finish the season with 457 points, giving her 997 points on her career, one point away from making her the 18th Ute and just the second sophomore ever to reach 1,000 points.
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. For the week, she 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.
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 one of Utah's remaining games this season (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 March 6 game 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 will make its fifth and final regular-season television appearance against BYU on Saturday. The game will be shown on Fox Sports Net, which also regionally televised Utah's wins at CSU on Jan. 17 and at UNLV on Feb. 8. MWC women's basketball made its debut on College Sports Television (CSTV) last Thursday when New Mexico hosted Utah. CSTV will also televise the MWC Tournament semifinal games on March 12. ESPN2 televised the New Mexico at Utah match-up on Jan. 25, and will also broadcast the title game of the MWC Tournament.
UP NEXT:
The Utes close out the regular season with games at home next Thursday and Saturday against UNLV and San Diego State. Thursday's game against the Lady Rebels begins at 7 p.m., while Saturday's game vs. the Aztecs starts at 3 p.m.
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