2008-09 Women's Basketball Outlook

11/10/2008 12:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Nov. 10, 2008

After the success of the 2007-08 campaign, including the first 16-0 season in Mountain West Conference history, the Utah women's basketball team is looking to come back from a disappointing ending to the dream year.

Leading the way for Utah is honorable mention All-American senior Morgan Warburton and junior all-conference selection Kalee Whipple. Arguably the best wing duo in the MWC, they lead a strong group of returning letterwinners and newcomers who look to continue the Utes' success.

"Our two wing players keep getting better," head coach Elaine Elliott said. "We need to maximize their abilities and get improved performances from Katie King, Halie Sawyer and Deanne Stevensen. We will be playing freshmen at the point so we must be patient and realize we will not be getting the same skill set at that position as we had with Leilani Mitchell."

Mitchell was drafted by the WNBA following her graduation, while Jess Perry has also exhausted her eligibility.

"We will have two freshmen point guards, which is quite a departure from last season, and will look for Halie Sawyer and Deanne Stevensen to fill the power forward slot," Elliott said.

The road to the top won't be easy, as the schedule is highlighted by non-conference games against preseason top-25 teams Louisville and Virginia. Utah is receiving votes in both the AP Top 25 and ESPN/USA Today Poll, as are opponents South Dakota State, USC, Gonzaga and Marquette.

"Our schedule is very difficult," Elliott said. "If we can get some preseason wins and do well in league, it will set us up for a strong RPI by the end of the season. "The conference race is wide open. There will be a new set of leaders for most of the league teams."

The MWC portion of the schedule begins on Jan. 7 against Wyoming. TCU and New Mexico are both receiving votes in the polls. The Lobos are coming off the MWC Tournament championship. Both New Mexico and Wyoming joined Utah in the NCAA Tournament last year, while TCU reached the WNIT quarterfinals.

Wings Warburton and Whipple were both a significant part of last year's team that finished in the top-10 nationally in field goal percentage (46.7) and scoring margin (+14.8). The duo finished first and second in the league in three-point field goal percentage, with Whipple shooting .441 and Warburton hitting .424. Warburton, who is the only MWC player to have already eclipsed the 1,000-point mark, was second in the league in scoring (17.2 points per game). She also led the team with a .861 free-throw percentage. Whipple was second in the league in field goal percentage (.496) and finished fifth in the conference in both scoring (14.7 points per game) and rebounding (7.3 rebounds per game).

"Morgan can flat-out score and Kalee is very versatile," Elliott said. "Both will need to provide leadership and consistency."

Cydney Knight came off the bench in 31 games, averaging 2.2 points, 1.2 rebounds and a .344 field goal percentage.

"Cydney is getting more comfortable with our system and my hope is she can provide some consistency off the bench," Elliott said.

Injuries have affected Utah's depth, as Sasha McKinnon suffered a knee injury early in the preseason and Josi McDermott continues to recover from back surgery. Both may return in the middle of the year.

Point Guard The biggest loss for Utah is the graduation of Mitchell, who was drafted into the WNBA following her senior year and started as a rookie for the New York Liberty. In addition, junior Hennasea Tokumura, who played in 25 games at the point last season, is out with a knee injury.

Freshmen Hannah Stephens and Janita Badon will both see action at point guard early for the Utes.

"Leilani's absence will be noticeable," Elliott said. "You don't often have the luxury of a WNBA player on your roster. Multiply that by using freshmen replacements and you can see we need to prepare meticulously for using both Hannah and Janita as prudently as we can. We need to be sure we give them the time and room to grow, without burdening them with a role that cannot be easily met."

Stephens was ranked No. 45 nationally among guards by Scouts, Inc., and led Archbishop Mitty (San Mateo, Calif.) to two state titles. Badon twice earned all-state honors and also won a state championship at Jefferson High School (Portland, Ore.).

Another newcomer, Iwalani Rodrigues, will redshirt the 2008-09 season.

Kalee Whipple returns as Utah's leading rebounder last season.

Bigs Katie King earned a starting position last season in her first year, leading the team with a .503 field goal percentage, including 6.6 points, 4.9 rebounds per game and a team-high 32 blocks.

"Katie is playing very well and has improved since last season," Elliott said. "Her play will be very important to us this season."

Deanne Stevenson hopes to have a strong senior campaign after struggling with injuries her entire career. She played in every game last year, averaging 2.2 rebounds and 1.8 points per game.

"Deanne has a great passion for what she does, and she provides that to our team," Elliott said. "Her career has certainly been derailed by injuries and I hope she can put together a season she can be proud of."

Halie Sawyer came off the bench in all 32 games last season, averaging over 15 minutes a game with 2.4 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.

My preference would be to bring Halie off the bench as she can provide us a lift with her style of play," Elliott said. "It will depend on whether Deanne can get healthy enough to give us some consistent minutes."

Newcomer Mandy Munns will also provide minutes on the floor. She is an all-state player out of Box Elder High School in Utah.

"Mandy gets better each day and I believe she will become a very fine post player," Elliott said. "For now, she is a freshman and still has much to learn."