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Kim Smith became the Mountain West Conference's all-time leading scorer Wednesday night.
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Feb. 15, 2006
FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- University of Utah senior Kim Smith (Mission, B.C.) scored 18 points Wednesday night against Colorado State, leading the Utes to an 80-56 victory.
When Smith scored her ninth and 10th points of the game on a layup one minute into the second half, she became the Mountain West Conference's all-time leading scorer. That basket broke the record of 2,061 points, which was set by BYU's Erin Thorn from 1999-2003. Smith finished the night with a total of 2,070 points.
As for the game, it may have been decided in the first six minutes. Colorado State scored the first two points of the contest, but Utah went on a 16-0 run to take control of the game. Senior Julie Larsen (Logan, Utah) sparked the Ute outburst with the first of her five three-pointers in the game.
Utah maintained its double-digit advantage throughout the first half. The Utes pushed their lead to as many as 19 points, 27-8, when freshman Morgan Warburton (Price, Utah) hit a pair of free throws midway through the first half. Utah led 40-27 at the intermission.
Smith then scored the first six points of the second half for Utah, en route to breaking the MWC record.
The Utes led 47-33 five minutes into the second half. Senior Shona Thorburn (Hamilton, Ont.) then converted a traditional three-point play. That sparked a 10-2 Utah run, during which Thorburn scored eight points, including a three-pointer to cap the outburst and put the Utes up 57-35 with 13 minutes to play.
Colorado State pulled within 15 points with 6:47 remaining when Melissa Dennett scored under the basket. But Larsen hit another three-pointer, starting a 13-2 Utah run and icing the victory. The Utes led 77-51 with 2:29 to go and cruised to the 24-point win.
Utah is now in second place by itself in the Mountain West Conference standings. The Utes' win, coupled with New Mexico's 59-52 loss at New Mexico left Utah alone behind league-leading BYU.
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Vanessa Espinoza and Dennett led Colorado State with 11 points apiece. Molly Nohr added 10 points for the Rams. Marilyn Moulton led CSU on the boards, grabbing eight caroms.
The Utes are in action again Saturday afternoon at Air Force. Tipoff from the Academy is slated for 2 p.m.
-UU-
