Utes looking to take the bite out of Devils

TUCSON, Ariz. — After seeing her team come from 15 points down to defeat Middle Tennessee State Saturday in the first round of the NCAA tournament, Utah coach Elaine Elliott is going to do her best to not let her team get in a similar hole tonight against Arizona State.

The Utes and Sun Devils, with identical 25-6 records, meet at approximately 7:30 p.m. at the McKale Center for the right to advance to the Sweet 16 in Albuquerque. The game tips off a half hour after the end of the 5:15 p.m. game between New Mexico and Baylor. NCAA women's games are televised on ESPN2.

Elliott blamed herself for the Utes' large deficit to the No. 12-seeded Blue Raiders, which took every ounce of effort for the Utes to come back for the 76-71 victory.

"We have to play good half-court defense and do offensively what we can," Elliott said. "The other night we tried to be too conservative against pressure. Once we fixed that, we were obviously much more effective. Hopefully, that helps us if we have that style of game against Arizona State."

What the Utes need is a more assertive game from Shona Thorburn for the entire 40 minutes. Thorburn scored just four points over the first 30 minutes of the game but outscored the entire Middle Tennessee team over the final 10 minutes when she scored 17 points to lead the Ute comeback.

They also are expecting a better game from Kim Smith, who was admittedly "off" in her shooting Saturday when she was well below her average with 13 points. The Utes need Thorburn and Smith to have solid games along with junior forward Jessica Perry and guards Heidi Carlsen and Julie Larsen.

The Sun Devils are wary of the Utes' experience, particularly Smith and Thornburn.

"They're a very good team, a veteran team," said ASU coach Charli Turner.

Unlike Utah, which plays Smith and Thorburn nearly the entire 40 minutes, the Sun Devils are a deep team with nine players averaging double-digit minutes and none more than 27 per game.

Kristen Kovesdy, a 6-foot-3 senior, leads the Sun Devils with a 12.5 scoring average and also leads the team with 6.5 rebounds per game. Emily Westerberg, a 6-foot junior forward, is second in both categories with 11.0 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Another starter is 6-foot-2 Aubree Johnson (6.0 ppg, 4.6 rpg), while 6-6 Kirsten Thompson comes off the bench.

No wonder the Utes' Perry drew a chuckle at the press conference when she said, "We watched film today and they're big," with an emphasis on "big."