Utah Utes
Utah is firmly established in the top tier of the Mountain West Conference. Last season they were #1 with a 23-10 record. They lost to Maryland in the second round of the NCAAs.They face a whole new set of challenges this season and have been picked to finish third in the MWC (after San Diego State and TCU). They return just two starters (Kalee Whipple and Halie Sawyer) who will have their work cut out for them leading nine underclassmen in the new season.
Their performance so far is about as expected early in a rebuilding season — one win and two losses. One of the losses was a 69-33 whupping by UCLA, which began with two points for UCLA with a shot by Utah (oh, blush!) into the wrong basket.
Their starters this season have been:
6-0 senior forward Kalee Whipple is a three-time All-MWC player and is on the Naismith watch list. She is 10th all-time at Utah in scoring and has also been strong on defense. She currently leads the Utes in scoring (14.7 ppg) and is third in rebounding (5.3 rpg)
6'1" senior forward Halie Sawyer leads the defense with 8.3 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game. She averages 6.3 points per game.
6'0" senior guard Sasha McKinnon has been hampered by injury most of her career, but looks to have a strong senior season. That expectation hasn't shown on the scoreboard yet. She averages 3.0 ppg.
5'6" sophomore point guard Janita Badon leads the team in assists (3.3 per game), but unfortunately has almost twice as many turnovers.
#11 6"3" freshman center Taryn Wicijowski is the preseason pick for MWC Freshman of the Year. She played for Canada in the FIBA U18 and U19 championships. That experience is paying off in college—she plays 30 minutes a game and is the Utes' second-best scorer (10.0 ppg) and rebounder (6.3 rpg).
Only three players come off the bench for a significant number of minutes —5'9" redshirt freshman guard Iwalani Rodrigues, 6'4" freshman center Diana Rolniak and 5'9" freshman guard Rachel Messer (the Utes' best 3-point shooter (67%)).
Utah is unranked. Their RPI is 139 and their strength of schedule is 39.
Here are their 2009-10 player statistics and their roster.
Gonzaga Bulldogs
The Zags were the West Coast conference champion last season and #1 in the WCC with a 27-7 record. They lost to Pittsburgh in the second round of the NCAAs.They lost just two seniors to graduation and return 12 letterwinners, including four starters. They're picked to win the WCC again this season.
They are 3-1 for the season. Two of the victories were against Pac-10 teams—Washington and USC. Sunday's game will be the first-ever between Gonzaga and Stanford. However, the Zags have played at Maples once before—in the NCAA first round in 2007.
The Zags start three seniors and two juniors:
5'8" junior guard Courtney Vandersloot is the do-everything catalyst of the team. She averages 13.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.5 steals and 8.3 assists per game (her ATO is 1.9). She was the 2009 WCC Player of the Year and is on the Wooden Award watch list. In this article Graham Hays (ESPN) asserts, "... she might now be the best point guard in college basketball." Gonzaga head coach Kelly Graves calls her, "The heart and soul of our team."
6'2" senior forward Heather Bowman is the leading scorer (15.8 ppg, 44.9%) and second-best rebounder (7.3 rpg). She was the 2008 WCC Player of the Year and is on the Wooden Award watch list.
6'0" senior forward Vivian Frieson leads the defense with 8.5 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 1.5 steals per game.
5'10" senior guard Tiffanie Shives is the leading 3-point shooter (45.5%).
6'0" junior guard Janelle Bekkering averages 4.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.
Coming off the bench is 6'1" sophomore guard/forward Katelan Redmon, a transfer from Washington and the fifth Zag to average double-digit scoring (11.8 ppg)
Gonzaga is unranked, but received three votes in this week's AP poll and 19 in the ESPN/Coaches poll.
Here are their 2009-10 player statistics and their roster
No comments:
Post a Comment