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 Begin Practice Saturday
10/13/2006 12:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Oct. 13, 2006
SALT LAKE CITY -- The University of Utah women's basketball team officially begins practice for the 2006-07 season Saturday morning.
Utah head coach Elaine Elliott, who is beginning her 24th season at the helm of the Ute women's program, is excited about getting back on the Jon M. Huntsman Center floor.
"We have a new team to build and we can't wait," Elliott said.
That new team will be without first-team All-Mountain West Conference players Kim Smith and Shona Thorburn, who have gone on to play professionally in the WNBA. This year's squad will also be without Julie Larsen, the top three-point shooter in the nation last season.
Elliott said losing those three seniors off last year's team will have an effect. But she also expects those returning and her newcomers to step up and take advantage of new opportunities.
"Those three seniors were the core around which the team built its success," Elliott said. "You don't lose two first-round WNBA draft picks and the leading three-point shooter in the country without noticing.
"I like to think that there is now simply more occasion for new players to step forward," Elliott added.
Returning starters for the Utes are senior guard Heidi Carlsen and junior forward Jessica Perry. The squad will be bolstered by seniors inside players Camie Oakey and Shauna Brouillard. Sophomores Morgan Warburton and Joh-Teena Filipe saw a great deal of action in their first collegiate seasons last year. Utah will also count on junior Marie Warner and sophomore Sasha McKinnon to step up their levels of play.
The Utes have five newcomers on the roster, although only four of them are eligible to play this season. Point guard Leilani Mitchell transferred to the Utes from Idaho, but will sit out this season per NCAA transfer regulations. She'll play her senior season next year.
Of the four newcomers eligible to play this season -- all are freshmen -- Nevada product Kalee Whipple, Kansas native Brette Ulsaker and Hawaiian Hennasea Tokumura are each expected to contribute.
Following Saturday's practice, the Utes will work out Sunday morning, Monday afternoon and Tuesday afternoon, before getting a day off on Wednesday. Utah's first exhibition game is Nov. 4 against Albertson College. Another exhibition follows on Nov. 7 against Fort Lewis College. The Utes open the regular season Nov. 10 at Gonzaga.
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