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Utah Utes
RECORD: 24 - 7
REGION: xxxx SEED: xxxx
COACH: Elaine Elliot CONFERENCE: MWC |
RESULTS
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Kim Smith
The 6-foot-1 sophomore forward -- who was one of the country's best freshmen a year ago -- repeated as Mountain West Player of the Year in '04 after leading Utah in scoring (15.4) and rebounding (7.5) and tallying seven double-doubles in the regular season. Smith nailed 44 3-pointers prior to the postseason, and her 37.6 percent accuracy from downtown ranked fifth in the league. On Saturday, Smith topped the 1,000-point plateau, setting a new single-season record for Utah sophomores with 1,008 points ... and counting.
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ANALYSIS BY ESPN'S STACEY DALES-SCHUMAN
 Elaine Elliot's Utes are no longer an up-and-coming team. They have just outright emerged as one of the best team's in the country thanks to deliberate execution and a fundamental attack. Oh yeah, and they have sophomore rock Kim Smith.
Smith, the Mountain West's first player to garner both Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year honors a season ago, has continued right where she left off. This time, however, she has a little more help from her friends. With almost 16 points and eight boards per game, Smith is a deceivingly mobile player who relies on good smarts and fundamental roots. Her brute strength makes her one of the most underrated players in the country, and her ability to move without the ball provides her with a ton of easy layups.
Residing from America's neighbor to the north, Smith is complemented by another Canadian in Shona Thorburn. Though not blessed with lightning speed, Thorburn is another savvy player who relies on good instinct. She is an excellent passer tallying four assists per outing, and her leadership is top tier.
You wouldn't know by looking at a stat sheet just how important junior guard Lana Sitterud is to the Utes' success. A team bent on defense, this intense, physical specimen is the best they have to offer. She flat out makes it a mission to deny the best player on the opposition any chance to score. It is perhaps because of her defense that her offensive exploits have increased as she is averaging 55 percent on treys.
Offensively, Utah executes a basic motion offense that allows the Utes to use the shot clock. While the team doesn't necessarily look to run, they exercise excellent cutting principles and really look to stroke the 3.
Utah's defense and solid rebounding pockets, however, are what truly lead the Utes to victory. Utah stresses a firm player-to-player help rotation that is typically capable of shutting down more athletically inclined teams. Also, don't be surprise if Utah decides to toss in a zone, which ultimately depends on the opponent in question. Understand this is a team that relies upon smarts and preparation to defeat adversaries, and it has worked well to the Utes' advantage.
Now they just have to put that Mountain West final -- a 71-50 defeat that marked their worst loss of the season -- behind them. Utah has reached the NCAA Tournament for the eighth time in 10 years.
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