Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus Western Colorado (EXHIBITION) on October 27, 2025 at 7:00 PM
7:00 PM
Women's Basketball
vs Western Colorado (EXHIBITION)
Saturday, February 28
Salt Lake City, Utah
4:00 PM
University of Utah
73
vs
62
BYU*
Utah Women Defeat BYU 73-62
2/28/2004 12:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 28, 2004
SALT LAKE CITY - Senior Mandie Little scored a career-high 22 points and sophomore Shona Thorburn added 18 as the Utah women's basketball team won its 27th consecutive home game, a 73-62 victory over Brigham Young at the Huntsman Center this afternoon. With the win, the Utes improve to 21-5 overall and 11-1 in Mountain West Conference play.
Utah shot 48 percent from the field on the game, compared to the 51 percent of the Cougars. BYU also made nearly twice as many of its three-pointers, shooting 50 percent from downtown, while Utah managed just 27 percent. However, the Utes out-rebounded the Cougars 29 to 27 and forced 16 BYU turnovers. Utah also shot 26 free throws, compared to the seven of BYU.
"It wasn't always pretty - I thought we have some pretty big defensive letdowns - but we kept making good plays," Head Coach Elaine Elliott said. "This is a good win since these are two good teams and two good programs."
"Mandie is a bulldog," she continued. "She was undersized and out-manned and it didn't matter. She and Shona just took charge."
Little also added five rebounds and one blocked shot, while Thorburn had four boards, four assists and a block. Sophomore All-America candidate Kim Smith finished with nine points, a team-high seven rebounds and two steals. Senior Kelsy Stireman also grabbed seven boards to go along with seven points and six assists.
After taking an early lead, Utah trailed by as many as five points twice in the first half. The Utes took the lead back, 25-24, at the 1:50 mark, and went into the locker room up by one, 29-28. Utah shot 38 percent from the field and 36 percent from downtown on the half. Meanwhile, the Cougars shot 48 percent from the field and 33 percent from beyond the arc. BYU out-rebounded the Utes 17 to 14. Little led Utah with seven points, followed by sophomore Julie Wood with six.
BYU took the lead back early in the second half, but Utah quickly regained the lead for good, building it to eight (56-48) at the 6:48 mark. The Cougars then narrowed it to three, but Utah went on a 17-6 run to take a 14-point lead. The Utes shot 54 percent from the field and out-rebounded the Cougars 15 to 10 on the half.
UP NEXT:
Utah closes out the regular season next week at home against UNLV and San Diego State. The Utes face the Lady Rebels at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 4, and play the Aztecs at 3 p.m. next Saturday, March 6.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Basketball
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