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 vs. Montana - Game 14
1/3/2005 12:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 3, 2005
Game #14
University of Utah (9-4) vs. Montana (6-4)
7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2005 - Jon M. Huntsman Center (15,000)
Salt Lake City, Utah
Radio: Hot Ticket 700 AM
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Utah vs. Montana Fast Breaks
> This is the 21st meeting between Utah and Montana on the women's basketball hardwood.
> Montana leads the series 12-8.
> Montana won the last meeting in the series 61-58 on Jan. 10, 2004 in Missoula, Mont.
> The last Utah win in the series was a 77-38 victory on Jan. 9, 2003 at the Huntsman Center.
> Utah has won six of the last nine meetings in the series.
> Utah has won the last six meetings with Montana in the Huntsman Center. The Utes lost the first three meetings with the Lady Griz in Salt Lake City.
> Utah holds an all-time record of 97-17 against teams from the Big Sky Conference.
> Utah has played all but one Big Sky team (it has never met Sacramento State) and has a winning record against every Big Sky team it has faced, except Montana.
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 446-182. 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.
Montana Head Coach Robin Selvig
Robin Selvig is in his 27th season as a collegiate head coach, all at Montana. He has compiled a record of 608-177 during his career with the Lady Griz.
Selvig led Montana to a mark of 27-5 and a berth in the NCAA Tournament last season. The Grizzlies were 14-0 in the Big Sky Conference in the 2004 season.
Selvig has 24 winning seasons in his 26 full seasons at Montana. He has reached the 20-win plateau 22 times. Selvig has been named conference coach of the year 15 times and has led the Lady Griz to 19 national tournament appearances. Montana has 18 conference championships under his tutelage.
Utah Update
Utah got back on the winning track Saturday, defeating Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne (IPFW) 62-42. The Utes had lost two consecutive games - to Oklahoma and Gonzaga - coming into the IPFW contest.
Kim Smith was on fire against IPFW. She converted 11-of-16 from the field against the Mastodons and scored a season-high 28 points. Smith also pulled down a game-high nine rebounds.
Lana Sitterud was 3-of-8 from behind the three-point arc in the game and scored nine points for the Utes. Shona Thorburn dished out seven assists in the contest from her point guard position.
Twelve of the 13 Utes in uniform saw action in the contest. Utah held the Mastodons to just 28.6 percent shooting from the field. The Utes also held a 47-26 advantage on the boards. Jessica Perry pulled down a season- and career-high seven rebounds.
Scouting Montana
Montana is 6-4 and enters the game with Utah on a two-game winning streak. The Lady Griz defeated Florida State and Maine at home on Dec. 28 and 29. Prior to those two victories, Montana had lost three straight, falling to Miami, Gonzaga and Idaho.
The Lady Griz opened the season with a win over Montana-Western, before dropping a decision at Long Beach State. Montana then won three straight, stopping East Carolina, Pepperdine and Portland.
The Lady Griz are led by senior center Hollie Tyler, who averages 15.1 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Junior guard Katie Edwards also scores in double figures for Montana, tallying 11.2 points a contest.
Senior guard Lynsey Monaco runs the Montana offense, dishing out 6.1 assists per outing.
Homestanding Utes
The upcoming matchup with Montana is the second of five home games at the Huntsman Center for Utah in a span of 15 days.
The Utes opened the homestand Jan. 1 with IPFW and finish up the non-conference slate, hosting Northern Colorado on Jan. 8. Utah then opens Mountain West Conference play against Colorado State and Wyoming on Jan. 13 and 15.
The last time Utah had a homestand this long was a seven-game stretch at the beginning of the 2000-01 season.
The Defense Does Not Rest
Utah remains one of the top defensive teams in the Mountain West Conference.
The Utes are allowing just 56.4 points per game, good enough to rank third in the league in scoring defense. Utah has held 11 of its 13 opponents to 66 points or less. Six Ute opponents have been unable to reach more than 60 points.
Utah is No. 2 in the MWC in field-goal percentage defense. Opponents convert at a rate of just .397 from the field. Seven Ute opponents have shot less than 40 percent.
Smith Knocking On Door of Top 10
Kim Smith took over the No. 11 spot on the Utah all-time scoring chart against Oklahoma earlier this season.
After a season-high 28-point effort against IPFW on Saturday, Smith is on the threshold of joining an elite group of Utes in the Utah all-time career top 10.
With a total of 1,243 points, she needs just five more points to tie Mo Eckroth in the No. 10 spot. Eckroth scored 1,248 points from 1975-79. Smith is the two-time Mountain West Conference Player of the Year.
Thorburn Approaching 1,000
Junior Shona Thorburn is approaching a scoring milestone, while continuing to climb the Utah all-time assists chart.
Thorburn needs just 27 points to reach the 1,000-point plateau and become just the 18th player in Utah history to reach that mark. She is averaging 11.4 points per game and is on pace to join the 1,000-point club within the next three games.
Thorburn continues to dish out helpers at a stellar pace as well. She has 310 career assists, moving into the No. 8 spot all-time at Utah.
Thorburn is averaging 6.5 assists per game, which would put her third on the single-season assist charts.
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