Sophomore All-America candidate Kim Smith was named tournament MVP Saturday night as she led the No. 22 U women’s basketball team (3-1) to the Fresno State Tournament title with a dominating 66-53 victory over host Fresno State.
After a tough start to a season that began two weeks earlier than usual with an appearance in the women’s Preseason NIT, the nationally ranked Utes found their stride over the weekend, as they easily defeated both of their opponents in the four-team Fresno tourney.
In the first game Friday night, the Utes faced last year’s Sun Belt Conference champions, the Western Kentucky Lady Toppers. Known for their quickness, the Lady Toppers had trouble with the relentless Utah attack, and after falling to an early 9-0 deficit, found themselves playing catch-up for the rest of the game.
At one point in the second half of play, WKU pulled within 11 points, but the Utes finished with a statement making 22-5 run to close out the game.
Thanks to effective ball movement, Utah found a new star in sophomore Julie Wood, whose 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting from behind the three-point arc complemented Smith’s 19 points and seven rebounds.
“We had better distribution of the ball tonight,” U coach Elaine Elliott said.
“We were more patient, so different players got shots tonight. We were more effective offensively than we were in the first two games of the year.”
After a hot start to the season, preseason all conference pick Shona Thorburn struggled with her shot early in the game. She added just nine points of her own, but contributed with six rebounds and a career-high nine assists. Not to be left out, senior Carley Marshall added 14 points while contributing significant minutes as a low-post player.
Saturday night, the Utes faced tournament host Fresno State in the championship game. Playing on their home court, the Bulldogs hung tight early, surviving an early 13-2 deficit before ending the half down by only two.
The second half, however, was all Utah. The Utes opened the second half by allowing just three points in the first eight minutes.
Utah built its lead to 18 before the Bulldogs fought back, but FSU would never come closer than 11 points after that.
The number 13 may be feared by some, but the Utah women’s basketball program seems to like it. On the way to a 13-point victory, the Utes set a team record with 13 three-pointers for the game.
On her way to being selected tournament MVP, Smith again led her team with 22 points (18 on three-pointers), six rebounds and two steals. Thorburn filled her stat line with a double-double (13 points and 10 rebounds, as well as five assists) while Wood made another great contribution with nine points, all coming on three-pointers.
Having already faced a variety of different opponents at such an early point in the season, the Utes have gained a significant amount of experience that should help them during the course of the season.
“We’re moving forward,” Elliott said. “We’ve seen a lot for the early season-pressure, trapping-and that’s been great. I like the competition we’ve faced early and our response to it.”
Three-point shooting was the key for the Utes in their run to the Fresno tournament title, averaging as a team better than 50 percent shooting from beyond the arc in both games (the Utes shot an astounding 83 percent in the second half of the WKU game).
After playing only a few minutes per game prior to the tournament, Wood emerged as a serious threat from the three-point line, being named to the all-tournament team after blazing performances that netted her nine threes in the two games on only 12 attempts.
Thorburn was also named to the all-tournament team, almost averaging a triple-double with 11 points, eight rebounds and 7.5 assists per game.
For the first time in the young season, the Utes began to flash a bit of the potential that had many picking them as a Final Four darkhorse before the season began.
Up next, Utah hosts St. Mary’s at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday night in the Huntsman Center.
Then, on Thursday, the Utes will host the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
