There's a youth movement up on the hill.

Six freshmen and three sophomores are on this season's University of Utah women's basketball roster.

Fortunately for the Utes, they have two returning starters — seniors Kalee Whipple and Halie Sawyer — to ease the transition.

Whipple is a three-time All-Mountain Conference honoree who averaged 17 points and 6.2 rebounds last season.

Utah coach Elaine Elliott said the 6-foot forward ranks among the top group of talent to ever play in the program.

"She's got a lot of skills and a lot of ability," said Elliott, who noted that Whipple won't be able to get the job done alone. "Obviously we will rely on her to be consistent. (We're) not going to ask her to be Superman, just to be what her capabilities are."

Whipple, she emphasized, won't be the primary gauge of Utah's success.

"This is going to come down to how all of us progress throughout the year," Elliott said. "(And) not just Kalee's production."

The team's other senior starter gives the Utes experience in the post. Sawyer averaged 7.1 points and 7.6 rebounds last season.

Although others with various amounts of collegiate time will help fill the gaps, Elliott acknowledges her team will have a lot of young kids on the floor.

"So we have to see what the advancement curve is for them," she said. "We know what we get from our older kids. They're ready to go. We obviously need their consistency. But we'll have to see how quickly our young kids advance."

The new faces include Taryn Wicijowski, a 6-foot-3 freshman forward from Regina, Saskatchewan. She's the latest in a line of Canadian imports to join the Utes.

"She really has got a lot of plusses," said Elliott, who added that Wicijowski is a well-rounded player with a strong body.

In Utah's 81-40 exhibition win over Chadron State last Friday, Wicijowski tallied 13 points with nine rebounds.

The Utes open preseason play tonight at Utah State.

Utah at Utah State

Today, 7 p.m.

TV: CW30 (tape delay, 12:30 a.m.)

Radio: 570 AM

e-mail: dirk@desnews.com