Though this year’s Utah women’s basketball team has already lost half as many games through four contests as last year’s squad did over an entire season, U coach Elaine Elliott is hardly concerned.
After all, four games is hardly sufficient time to work out all the kinks on a team that has two new faces in the starting lineup and a bench comprised of sophomores and freshman.
Consequently, as the Utes prepare to host a pair of Pac-10 foes this weekend, with Oregon State invading the Huntsman Center tonight and UCLA coming Saturday afternoon, Elliott is simply focusing her efforts on getting the 2-2 Utes to find God in the details, so to speak.
“It is only the third week of the season and we have to keep perfecting things and keep improving in order to be successful,” she said.
For instance, while the Utes’ defense, which has led the nation in fewest points per game and lowest field goal percentage allowed the last two years, is off to fast starts in both categories again (53.8 ppg, 30.5 percent shooting), it is the little things that have hurt the team.
Utah has committed 68 personal fouls?or 17 per game?which has allowed its four opponents to take a combined 84-80 advantage in free throws attempted?an area of improvement Elliott cited after the team’s season-opening Gopher Classic tournament in Minnesota.
A bigger problem has been the inconsistent offense, however. While seniors Lauren Beckman, Erin Gibbons and Lindsay Herbert are averaging double-digit points, and the team as a whole is scoring 69.2 ppg, the Utes have been plagued by a turnover problem, having coughed it up 65 times already this year?or 10 times more than their opponents.
Sophomore point Kelsy Stireman is indicative of the ballhandling struggles, having racked up just 15 assists against 12 turnovers.
Consequently, the U will face a tough test in trying to sort things out against the Beavers and Bruins.
Utah did score victories over both opponents a year ago, defeating UCLA in Los Angeles 65 42 last November, and scoring a 53-49 triumph over OSU in Corvallis, Ore., in December.
This time around, Oregon State comes in at 2-2 overall, and brings back seven players from last year’s 16-13 finisher that played in the WNIT?the team’s first postseason appearance since ’96. Chief among the returnees is Pac 10 player of the Year, Felicia Ragland, who is leading the Beavers with 16.8 points and 7.0 rebounds per contest.
As for the Bruins, they come in at 3-1 after scoring a win over BYU earlier this week. UCLA returns all 12 players from last year’s roster and added three more, just for good measure. Leading the way is Michelle Greco, the conference’s leading scorer at 26.3 ppg.
Meanwhile, Beckman is leading the Utes in scoring (18.0 ppg), rebounding (11.3 rpg), and shooting (.625 fgp), while Gibbons is adding 17.3 ppg while shooting nearly identical percentages from the field (.467) and the 3-point stripe (.464).