Utah's Smith Named Co-MWC Player of the Week
12/5/2005 12:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 5, 2005
SALT LAKE CITY -- COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Utah forward Kim Smith and Colorado State guard Vanessa Espinoza were named the Mountain West Conference Women's Basketball Co-Players of the Week Monday.
Smith, a 6-1 senior from Mission, B.C., scored 16 of her season-high 22 points in the second half against Oregon State. Starting her 100th straight game for the Utes, she tallied 11 of Utah's final 18 points in the win over OSU, a total that included 5-of-6 shooting at the line in the final minute of play. Against Loyola Marymount, Smith recorded her second double-double of the season, while dishing out a season-high and tied for a career-high five assists against LMU.
For the week, Smith averaged 21.0 points and 7.0 rebounds, and dished out eight assists. She shot 51.7 percent from the field (15-for-29) and was 11-for-14 at the free-throw line (.786).
Espinoza, a 5-3 senior from Highlands Ranch, Colo., came up one point shy of her career-high in the Rams' 86-83 win over Colorado after scoring 23 points. Espinoza was the spark for the Rams, as the team ended a three game losing streak to the Buffs. In the 70-58 victory against Portland, she was 4-of-7 from three-point range and scored a game-high 19 points.
For the week, Espinoza averaged 21.0 points and tallied nine assists and six steals. She shot 52 percent from the field (13-for-25) and was 7-for-12 from beyond the arc (.583).
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