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Lana Sitterud hit seven of Utah's school-record 15 three-pointers Saturday against TCU.
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Dec. 11, 2004
SALT LAKE CITY -- The third time was the charm for the University of Utah women's basketball team. The Utes failed in their first two attempts to defeat a nationally-ranked team this season. But Saturday at the Huntsman Center, Utah took an 85-72 victory over No. 23/25 TCU.
Utah (7-2) set a new single-game school record for three-pointers with 15. Senior guard Lana Sitterud hit seven of those to tie the Jon M. Huntsman Center record for individual treys. She also tallied a new career-high with 27 points on the night. Sitterud didn't do it alone, however. Junior forward Kim Smith scored a season-high 25 points, including five-of-five from behind the arc.
A back-and-forth first half saw six ties, six lead changes and a combined 15 three-pointers. Utah had seven treys in the first half, while TCU (7-3) connected on eight long-distance attempts. When the teams entered the locker room at the halftime, the Lady Frogs held a 38-37 advantage. Despite the 20-minute intermission, the fireworks continued for Utah in the second half.
Utah still trailed by one, 43-42, two minutes into the second half. The Utes outscored TCU 14-4 over the next 4:23 to grab a nine-point advantage, 56-47. Sitterud hit her fifth three-pointer of the contest as part of that Utah outburst. The Lady Frogs answered with an 9-1 spurt of their own. Three of TCU's nine points in that burst came from Sandora Irvin, who scored a team-high 20 points in the contest. Irvin became TCU's all-time leading scorer during the game.
While the Lady Frogs countered Utah's run, the Utes would not relinquish the lead. Smith hit her third three-pointer and Sitterud converted her sixth, sandwiched around a Moneka Knight layup for TCU. The two treys put Utah on top by five, 63-58, with 7:05 remaining. Three minutes later, Irvin pulled the Lady Frogs back within two, 67-65, on a tip-in.
Smith and Sitterud weren't going to be denied. Smith hit two three-pointers, while Sitterud nailed her seventh over the next 1:39, giving the Utes a 76-69 lead with 2:10 remaining. TCU's JimAnne Baker tried to answer with a three-pointer at the 1:56 mark. But that was the last field goal the Lady Frogs would convert.
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Junior guard Shona Thorburn picked up her second double-double in the last three games for Utah to go along with the performances of Smith and Sitterud. Thorburn tallied 12 points and 11 assists.
Irvin grabbed a game-high nine rebounds to go with her 20 points for TCU. Vanessa Clementino scored 12 and Baker added 11 off the bench for the Lady Frogs.
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