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 - Game #12 at New Mexico
1/2/2006 12:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 2, 2006
Game #12
University of Utah (9-2) at New Mexico (10-3)
7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 5, 2006 - The Pit (18,018)
Albuquerque, N.M.
Radio: Hot Ticket 700 AM
TV: CSTV
Audio Stream - www.UtahUtes.com
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Utah Opens MWC Play at New Mexico
The University of Utah women's basketball team opens Mountain West Conference play against the New Mexico Lobos in Albuquerque Thursday.
New Mexico is the one Mountain West team the Utes have not completely dominated in the past two seasons. The Lobos have won five straight over Utah. The Utes haven't won at "The Pit" since the 2001 season. Ironically, that last Utah victory at New Mexico was also in the MWC opener.
Utah is coming off a 79-47 victory over Southern Utah at the Huntsman Center on Dec. 30, which wrapped up the non-conference portion of the Utah schedule. Julie Larsen led all scorers with 18 points in the victory over the Thunderbirds. Kim Smith scored 12 in that game, while Shona Thorburn had 10 points and 10 assists for her second double-double.
Utah and New Mexico have both been nationally-ranked for much of the season and will both be in the Top 25 polls when they tip off on Thursday. The Mountain West Conference opener between Utah and New Mexico will be broadcast nationally on CSTV (College Sports Television).
Utah Fast Breaks
? After scoring just 55 points in its loss to Notre Dame, Utah has its offense back on track, scoring 70-plus in its last two games. The Utes have surpassed 70 points in four of their last five outings.
? Kim Smith is scoring 19.3 points per game through Utah's first 11 contests. She is the only Ute to reach double figures in all 11 games.
? Utah will be looking for its first victory over New Mexico since January of 2004. The Lobos have won the last five meetings between the two teams.
? Utah leads the series with New Mexico by a tally of 39-16. However, the Lobos have won seven of the last 10.
? Utah hasn't won at "The Pit" since the 2000-01 season.
Long-Distance Information
Utah averages more three-pointers per game than any other team in the Mountain West Conference. Through their first nine games, the Utes are hitting 7.6 shots per game from behind the arc. The Utes ranked No. 19 in the nation in three-pointers per contest in the latest report. Utah's three-point percentage is in the middle of the MWC pack. The Utes rank No. 6 in the conference, hitting at a .323 clip.
Last year, Utah was one of the more prolific three-point shooting teams in the nation. The 2004-05 squad made nearly seven (6.9) treys per game, ranking No. 15 in the nation in three-pointers made per game. That number was also good enough to rank second in the MWC, just behind Wyoming's mark of 7.14.
0 to 60 in 40 Minutes
Utah is 9-2 on the season. Through 11 games, the Utes are 9-0 when reaching 60 points or more. The two Utah losses both saw offensive outputs of less than 60 points. The Utes scored 56 in their defeat at Washington and 55 in their loss to Notre Dame.
On the flip side, Utah has held its opponent to less than 60 points in six games this season.
Last season, Utah failed to reach the 60-point plateau in five of its eight losses. The Utes were 3-5 when scoring less than 60 points in 2004-05.
Smith's Streak Hits Half a Hundred
Senior forward Kim Smith currently has a streak of 50 games of scoring in double figures. She currently ranks in the top 10 in seven of the Mountain West Conference's 12 statistical categories. In addition to ranking second in scoring (19.3), she is in the No. 8 in rebounding as well, averaging 7.3 per game.
Smith has only failed to reach double-figure scoring four times in her Utah career. She has scored at least 10 points in 103 of 107 games with the Utes. She currently ranks No. 3 all-time in scoring at Utah, with 1,838 points. At her current pace, she should finish as the school's all-time leading scorer.
A Sho-Time Original
Senior guard Shona Thorburn had struggled shooting the ball through the first five games of the season. At that point, Thorburn was shooting just .292 from the field and .545 from the free-throw line.
Thorburn turned things around against Weber State and Gonzaga in early December. For that week, Thorburn averaged 18.5 points, shot .610 from the field and .800 from the free throw line. She has pushed her shooting percentage to .388 for the season and her free-throw mark is up to .618.
Thorburn had her second double-double of the season vs. SUU with 10 points and 10 assists last week. Both of her double-doubles in 05-06 have come via points and assists.
-UU-
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